Purplestitcher by Lisa

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Lisa Rickards. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ohio University and a masters degree in counselor education from the University of Dayton.  I hold an Ohio license in clinical counseling with a supervision designation. This means I can diagnose mental disorders and provide psychotherapy as well as supervise students/interns working on their degrees. That’s my day job - a clinical therapist. I love what I do!!!

How did the side hustle start? Well I did a few markets with another product way back and then I helped my daughter with a few markets and I noticed there were not a lot of cat items out there but there were a lot of cat people. I started with treats and really wanted to try dog bandanas. This was in 2021.  I was intimidated by the sewing machine. I knew how to use a serger like a beast but not the sewing machine.  I was determined to learn because I really wanted to do this.  After a lot of you tube videos, trial and error, blood, sweat and tears I finally perfected what I thought was a good product. Then I decided to add the scrunchie feature because as I was doing markets I realized no one was doing that and I wanted to be different!! Then I expanded to collars, leashes, and bow ties. Then I introduced the headbands which ends up being half the sales. So I feel I have finally mastered products I make well and feel good about offering to customers.  After a couple of years of doing small shows I decided to take a risk and apply for bigger shows.  In order to do this I needed help and asked/begged/recruited (depends on who you ask. lol) my husband to help.  He also helps with some of the production by assembling some of the steps in the process of making the products. He is the mastermind behind the logistics part of the booth especially the outdoor shows. I have learned that this whole process is very therapeutic for me which is very important for the day job.  My goal this is year is to build our Instagram page to reach more people and to build Shopify. I absolutely have no business background or knowledge. But I do have skills in listening to the customers and understanding what products you want and need for your pets. And I can totally relate to wanting to pamper your pets. They are family and you want to make them feel more special than they already are. So here we are!!! Ready to do that for you! 🐾