My Slipper Story
I like to make things. I also get bored easily. Good thing I’m a multitasker! Crocheting is the perfect activity for me. I’m usually watching a movie (classics only), a game (Minnesota sports), AND crocheting away on a pair of slippers. Yep, all at the same time. It’s become an addiction. Or an obsession. Maybe a compulsion.
It started out of necessity. I’ve had multiple foot surgeries and subsequent issues over the past few years (CRPS — more info coming soon, but look it up — it’s horrible), and had trouble finding slippers that I could wear without pain. They needed to be soft and lightweight but, most importantly, not tight. After months of trying out different yarns and patterns … success!
I liked them so much I made them for EVERYBODY — family, friends, Christmas, birthdays, weddings. It became a thing. Everyone was telling me, “you should really sell these!”
Yeah, right.
Fast forward a few months. I had a lot of slippers. Slippers, slippers, everywhere, everywhere. (Bonus points to anyone who got the Casablanca reference!) I just kept making them, every day, all winter long. Maybe that selling thing wasn’t a bad idea.
So summer roles around and I take the plunge and get a booth at the Gallatin County Farmer’s Market. I had no idea what I was doing. I think I sold four the first day. I was texting everybody I knew, so excited to sell FOUR slippers! By the end of the summer I was selling A LOT of slippers. Crazy. And fun!
My products have evolved over the past year. Started out with just a plain slipper. Cute, but it got a little boring. So I put the Montana emblems on them. Cuter. And sold more. Then I got requests for sports team themed slippers so I made them. If I could make the team slippers I could really put ANYTHING on a slipper, right? From there I just got carried away and … well, you see what I have now.
I started getting more and more requests for baby slippers which I was not planning to make. I’m not really a baby person. But I relented, and added the Toddlin’ Toddlers. The toddler slippers start at size 6-9 months, so my newest addition is a newborn size.
I think that covers EVERYBODY now. 
One more piece to the story … $1.00 from the sale of each pair of slippers goes to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. (About $200 in 2017!) As a 33-year veteran of Crohn’s disease (and over a dozen surgeries), I do my fair share of “resting.” Lucky to have crocheting and other crafty things help to make that time more productive. (See previous “I get bored easily” comment.)
If you have any questions or comments about CRPS or Crohn’s Disease I’d love to hear from you! Ask me anything — I’ll tell you everything.
