Knitting a New Career: Interview with Fotini Pandi

Quitting your job to sell your creative work for a living sounds like an amazing but daunting goal. It's always inspirational to meet vendors who have made the leap, and have some advice to share.

Today, we're talking Fotini Pandi, a knitting crafter from Athens, Greece. Fotini left her day job as an accountant to work for herself full-time. From her store Homelab, she sells hand-knitted clothing and accessories.

Since Homelab opened in December 2007, Fotini has enjoyed steady sales. That encouraged her and her husband to open a second store, Milloo, which specializes in handbags. Operating these two online stores provides the couple's main source of income. I asked Fotini a few questions about what it's like to run her own business, and how she adjusts her product line to sell knitted items year-round.

1. What made you decide to leave your day job to work for yourself?

Fotini: My former job was an accountant and I can’t say that it was a very creative job, so I was always looking for a way to make a living out of my hobby. I randomly found Etsy while Googling knitting ideas for my two children.

I thought of giving it a try, and step-by-step, I managed to support myself and my family. Luckily, my husband shared my same passion for crafts and was very supportive from the beginning. It wasn't very difficult to choose between a job that only gives you money and a job that gives you pleasure, spare time for your family, new friends around the world and, of course, a good income.

2. Your main store specializes in knitted items. How do you keep business afloat in the warmer months?

I began making shrugs for winter, and then last year I thought to make some for spring. The idea was that in some places when the night falls, it gets a little chilly out there, even in summer, and it would be great to have a knitted shrug in cheerful colors that will brighten up your outfit and keep you warm enough at the same time.

For the warmer months, my customers prefer items made with cotton yarns that are lighter and more suitable for warmer weather. They usually buy shrugs with short sleeves and bright colors. Sewing with looser knit-work for summer items is also a way to update knitting for spring and summer fashion.

3. What advice can you give for crafters on how to continue sales in any season?

A shop should always try to update its collection.  Not major changes, but tiny little steps at a time. This way your shop will always be up-to-date without looking like a totally different store with each visit. You must have something new to show to a customer that returns to your shop, but yet still maintain the same look and feel of your brand.

Thank you, Fotini for that great advice, and congratulations on the success of your two stores!

Readers: Do any of you run your creative business full-time?  What advice would you give to others who want to make the leap?

Dionne Christiansen is a graphic designer based in Houston, Texas. She is the face behind the Etsy store City of Dionne, and blogs at Notes From Dionne.