I could tell you about when I created the listings and photographed the products and started making sales...that could be when this story began. But it began much before that, when my grandma taught me how to crochet at a family reunion and introduced me to a craft that was not only a way to make useful things like dishcloths and hats but could make luxuries like slippers with bunny faces, or baby booties with bows, or scarves that looked like reindeers...it could add value and love to the world.

I was thirteen, and I was hooked (pardon the pun). Picture the next few years as a flurry of yarn, hats, scarves, slippers, stuffed animals, and everything in between. I furiously created and my family patiently picked up the yarn from around the house. Surely at thirteen I couldn't make money off this newfound passion, right?

Think again. My sister did some research and combined her business mind with my creative one, and we found Etsy. Since I was a minor, the original shop became a family effort, with my mom owning the shop and assisting in various ways, my dad and sister handling the business side of things, and me fulfilling orders and creating patterns to my heart's content. The shop, originally called Jay's Boutique because of my family's nickname for me, paved the way for a blog, a Facebook page, and a part-time job for my family.

When college rolled around, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to continue this hobby-turned-business amidst the flurry of college. I temporarily closed the shop, but within months it was open again. It was, in fact, the flurry (read: stress) of college that pointed me again and again toward picking up a hook and yarn. I found that nothing was more therapeutic for me than crocheting gifts for others, interacting with fellow Etsy-ers online, responding to my blog readers, and (not to mention) making a few extra dollars on the side. Jay's Boutique returned in full force my freshman year (renamed as xoxo crochet to reflect the love with which it is run), and now I can honestly say it is part of what keeps me thriving in college, both financially and emotionally.

I love what I do, and my age or stage of life won't change that.

So with every purchase, every like, every interaction, you are supporting this college student in ways you may never understand. I love creating value, beauty, and love in a world that often rejects youth as immaturity or self-care as unnecessarily indulgent. Each of my products is made with love and the best care I can give it, so that you can best care for yourself, your little one, or your loved ones.