Tuesday, January 5, 2010

an idea for my knitting

hat by me, cute little girl by my brother & sister-in-law


I've been debating about opening up a little Etsy shop to sell my knitting projects, but obviously just haven't made the commitment (or kept enough of my projects to sell). So here's my latest idea, let me know what you think.

I found this website before the holidays and knew that I could definitely do something like this. The hats are simple, classic and definitely something I could make in mass quantities. But I also don't think it's something I could make a living from, nor do I think I would want to anyway. I like my job and I also like the idea of not having arthritic hands by my 35th birthday.

This leads to my next idea for this venture. Since I'm not looking to really make money from this venture, why not use the money I would earn to help others. I've been thinking a lot about my little brother that passed away from cancer almost 22 years ago (wow, that sounds like a really long time). I think about him a lot during the holidays, the anniversary of his death (that's approaching next month) and I have dreams about him sometimes. I know there are a lot of races or other such events that people dedicate to lost loved ones, but maybe I could use this talent of mine to dedicate to my little Tony's memory. I could knit hats for kids going through chemo, or use the money from selling these hats to donate to families to help with their expenses (as meager as it may be).

So what do you think?

Now I just need to figure out the logistics of it all. I know someone I could ask for help in creating a website, or I could even just create a blog with a little paypal store. But I'm not really sure how it would work financially. Do I need to set up an LLC, or a charitable organization, or how do I report this money to the govt., etc., etc.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Oh, I also need a name for this little shop of mine.

4 comments:

BBC said...

what an AWESOME idea! i think every little bit helps regardless of the size of the donation! count me in for a few hats for sure! i'd like maybe a black/gray/white one and maybe a red one... i don't know for sure, but i'm sure you'll come up with something great! let me know when i can officially put my order in! love ya mandy! i think naming the store after your brother would be awesome... like Tony's... [insert something perfect here]! i'll keep thinking on it! but i don't think you'd have to set up an LLC or anything... especially if it's small. :)

Sarah said...

I love this idea. So sweet. So Mandy. You could probably just set yourself up as a sole-proprietorship. That way it's still an official business, but a bit easier when it comes to taxes (I think). I'll double check with Spencer and see if he thinks you'd even need to.

Also, definitely let me know if you want/need any help getting your shop site set up! So fun!

Jenna said...

hmmm i wish i had a good name suggestion, but i think it is a really cool idea. i agree with your friend that said it is 'so mandy.' i wish i had more ideas that were 'so mandy'.

at least you can have access to a baby model for free :)

Britt said...

I think it's fantastic. I'll be thinking of name ideas. I wish I had more business/legal advice to offer. I'll ask around, though. Maybe I could have my friend teach me how to do the nintendo/star wars beanies that I told you about and I can contribute to the cause as well, although at a much slower rate than you, master-knitter!

If you want any more ideas, I just bought Janie a crocheted hat in Seattle. http://www.seattlehats.com/ They are super cute.