The Comeback of the Decade award has to go to the classic scrunchie. Towards the end of the 2010s, scrunchies were all the rage, replacing thin elastics as the hair accessory of choice.
I wanted them all. But where's the satisfaction in just buying what you want?
I've always liked making things. Whether it be upcycling old clothes, or revamping home decor, I always preferred doing things myself before buying from others. So I thought, making a scrunchie from scratch probably isn't all that difficult...
So in July of 2019, fresh out of college, I took my first trip to Hobby Lobby. A tutorial online told me to pick up half a yard of fabric, thin elastic, a needle, and thread. I naturally gravitated toward the scrap fabric section - no need for me to spend big on something that might not even work. I dusted off my mom's old sewing machine and
I remember finishing my first scrunchie. It took 45 minutes. It was too big. It looked bad. I was ecstatic!
It became my mission to make the perfect scrunchie. I experimented with different elastic to fabric ratios, hand-sewing techniques, and patterns. Finally, I "perfected" the design, and that same day, I decided they were worth selling (the scrunchies were neither "perfected" or worth selling).
And this was the start. Selling sub-par scrunchies to my friends and family.
Now since then, I have actually perfected the scrunchie science, and they are a best-seller. But I'm still just as proud of that first defective scrunchie as I am of every perfect one I've made since.
This do-it-yourself mentality has become my life motto. I value the creativity and work that goes into creating an item equally as much as I value the finished product. And as more and more customers purchased my amateur scrunchies, candles, and thrift flips, I realized that others feel the same.
monica's DIYs was built upon the idea that customers value the importance of sustainable practices, hand-crafted designs, and the work of a one-woman-show. With this foundation, I was motivated to create high-quality products that are made to last, and master the techniques I use to create handmade items. I expanded my shop from just Instagram sales to a proper Etsy shop, selling various DIY items like stickers, face masks, decals, and apparel. To my surprise, I began making sales beyond the tri-state area to almost all 50 states, and countries worldwide in North America, Europe, and Asia.
With this audience, I knew it was time to expand to monicasDIYs.com, and to share a larger passion of mine: sustainable fashion.
I've always wondered how I could combine my 2 passions of DIYing and sustainable fashion into one project. It never occurred to me that I would actually be able to DIY sustainable fashion. That concept seemed too out-of-reach.
But just like that scrunchie, I just started. They always say that starting is the hardest part. Whoever they are, they're too right.
I started sewing up a storm, and after some (a long) time, here we are on launch day of monicasDIYs.com.
It's with the support of my friends and family, plus complete strangers online who believed in me that I was able to go from DIYing a subpar scrunchie to a high-quality, sustainable, ethical, small business. Thank you all.