Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelly Daood.
Hi Shelly, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
As a lifelong creator and admirer of functional handmade goods, Bound to be Creative® was born with creative hands. Twenty years ago I had an insatiable need to use my hands, a yearning to feed my creative soul, and an outlet as a stay-at-home mom with a growing family. Although my handmade business began as a self-taught bookbinder, fifteen years ago I traded in my book-binding boards for sewing needles and thread and began sewing hats from my own patterns.
I’ve been an avid hat wearer since I was a teen and as an adult I got frustrated with finding a cute hat large enough to fit my head. I desired a functional, cute, comfortable and wearable hat. So, with a notebook by my bedside, a passion for problem-solving, and a bit of inspiration, I began to sketch hat patterns as they came to me in colorful dreams.
A too-large hat for my daughter became an adorable and wearable hat for me. With a burning desire to continue my handmade business, Bound to be Creative Hats was born. Today, around the globe thousands of women are continuing to connect with their purposeful hats, wearing their personal style confidently and expressing their individuality.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As any handmade business owner or otherwise can attest, it’s never a smooth road.
Like that of a hot iron ready to even out the fabric wrinkles, sometimes it needs a little spritz of water and sometimes a lot. Same with a handmade business. Early on, I internalized hearing everything from “When are you gonna get a real job?” to “Can I take a photo of your product so my friend can make this for me?” was gut wrenching and I know many handmade owners can relate. I used that negativity to energize me to keep going and push myself to continue learning the ins and outs of handmade business owning and creating no matter what, the beginning of ironing out those wrinkles!
A turning point was listening to some great advice – “when you begin to take your business seriously then the people around you will, too.” Practicing to speak confidently to others about my business, carrying my posture with assuredness and hearing myself engage passionately about my creations was, quite frankly, the imperative water spritz to iron out some nasty wrinkles for good!
Being all the things from the maker to the photographer not to mention the accountant, marketer, box folder, and website guru – they all have their place in the business and need to be done. As a solo owner, getting to all the things can be a struggle; however, learning to plan ahead and accepting my process in conducting my handmade business is key. Without our own acceptance, we’re like the wrinkled fabric that never learns. I try not to compare myself to others, but I’m only human. While I’ll never have it down perfectly, I’ll keep my spritz of water handy when the hot iron strikes.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As an introverted people-person (yes, it’s a thing) it’s appropriate to say that my handmade business is more of “who I am” rather than “what I do.” Sewing is threaded into my very being one stitch at a time. I’m passionate about encouraging and connecting women with their purposeful handmade fabric hats. From bucket hats to fleece hats and every hat in between, I specialize in sewing custom hats for women using various fabrics and sizes. Your hat is trusted to fit and was originally designed and created with a personal touch.
As I continue to focus on my handmade hat business, I welcome and encourage you to visit my southeast Minnesota shop where we can measure your head, determine a hat style for you and choose fabrics all while experiencing handmade and connecting you with a hat you’ll love for years to come.
Gratefully, I am inspired by the personal connection with my customers as we collectively reinforce your hat-wearing confidence, enhance your personal style and express your creativity. It puts a feather in my hat when a customer shares that they’ve been converted from being a non-hat person to a hat person due to the comfort, cuteness, and wearability of my hats.
Thank you to all of the Bound to be Creative hat-wearing babes out there – you rock!
Although I am most known for sewing hats and will continue to keep my focus there, I have also sewed limited versions of various other handmade one of a kind products found on my website. Most recently, a vision came to fruition as I began using up oodles of fleece scraps and fabrics from hat-making. New life was breathed into upcycled Creative Cuddles, huggable and adorable stuffed animals, including unicorns – yes, I’m excited, too!
It goes without saying that my customers are not just getting a handmade hat, bag, or cuddle – they’re getting a piece of my heart and soul.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Speaking to handmade as a whole, it’s becoming more of a movement rather than a trend. I truly believe it’s snowballing into the lifestyle fiber of many people. Finding comfort through function and quality made, for some, is taking precedence over trendy, short-lived, and cheap. Shifting to handmade quality comes with purpose, trust and personal connections, and knowing where your product is made. I truly believe the handmade industry is here to stay and will only continue to contagiously thread its way into many wardrobes and homes for years to come.
Moreover, with the mixed blessing of marketing through various platforms, handmade business owners have the means to share, support, and encourage one another in their handmade journeys and beyond. The movement toward more videography empowers us makers to showcase our unique talents and goods and can set us apart from others.
While showing up with my face and voice via video is something I’m still getting comfortable with, I believe, acknowledging our fears and diving into them will only encourage others to show up authentically thus catapulting the handmade movement into an unstoppable force.
Thank you so much for reading my handmade journey and thank you to Voyage Minnesota for a platform to share it.
Bound to be…inspired by all of you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boundtobecreative.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boundtobecreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boundtobecreativeshop/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@boundtobecreative
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/boundtobebcreative/
