INSPIRING PEOPLE
Allyssa Westhoek
An interview with...
We chat to entrepreneur Allyssa Westhoek about her many stitching ventures – from SALs, to running a stitch business, to writing stitching books…
Interview by Julian Odessa
Kingdoms Of Life Stitch-A-Long.
Spring Biscornu.
Not many people can say, they’ve built a cross-stitch business, a loving stitch community, and host events while on the road. But Allyssa Westhoek can! We chatted with her to find out her secrets to success…
A pattern club, a Stitch-A-Long, an online and wholesale shop – you’ve got so many aspects of cross-stitch covered! How did this come about?
I definitely started small. I‘d done pixel art as a hobby through school, and, after seeing cross-stitch patterns on Etsy, I thought I’d try my hand at it. When those started to sell, I decided to make kits. I did everything by hand – cutting fabric, choosing thread, printing, and packaging – and attended markets and craft conventions. As things got busier, balancing my job and making kits became tough. So, I quit my job and found others to help with production and shipping. My partner Jasper joined in, too, quitting his job to take care of admin, marketing and strategy.