More than Just a Hobby with Heirloom Hobbyist

Sometimes a link to your past is actually the start of a bright future! for Liz Blanton, the founder and creative force behind Heirloom Hobbyist, continuing an old family tradition has gone from a hobby meant to help her preserve and remember her family's past, to a thriving business!

We were thrilled to get the chance to speak with Liz about how Heirloom Hobbyist came to be and how she has found success using our stamps to help her build a brand!

My original idea for the Heirloom Hobbyist was to document myself learning and growing in the skills that were passed down to me. I wanted to try and document my journey of learning how to sew, crochet, cook different family recipes, and whatnot. Not only am I an only child, but I'm also the last of the grandchildren on both sides of my family. So, when I do finally get married, both my mother's and father's family line will be done [I do have other cousins, but they are also all girls and I'm the only one that hasn't been married yet].

I realized this early on, and after losing my mother to breast cancer when I was in middle school and then all of my grandparents as the years went by, I was able to do the math and realize that one day I was going to be the only one left to pass down these memories and these traditions to the future generations. I started to dive head in with all the different cookbooks, crafts, family heirlooms, pictures, restoring vintage furniture that was passed down, and family heritage things so that I could properly document our whole family and our history.

"I was going to be the only one left to pass down these memories and these traditions to the future generations."

From that want to preserve the past, I started to teach myself the skills that I had lazily put to the side as a bratty teenager who naively thought that these strong women and men in my life would of course always be there. The Heirloom Hobbyist was to be a place to hold me accountable for this undertaking and to document my journey into my own self-discovery. It has changed and morphed several times, and is currently focused on my handmade crochet items which have become quite popular! I would love to expand upon it someday. How that will grow and look in the future, only time will tell.

I have some ideas of teaching myself how to sew and quilt so that I can finish my granny's last quilt that she was working on before she passed. I am also currently learning herbalism and making different tea blends and remedies to get in touch with my Appalachian roots. It's been a fun journey and it's already changed several times and will probably change again.

"The Heirloom Hobbyist was to be a place to hold me accountable for this undertaking and to document my journey into my own self-discovery."

I find my creativity through my past, trying to relearn all the lessons that those who came before me tried to teach me. I didn't think anyone would care about my little journey of preservation, but it turns out that my friends and family have been super supportive and I've even inspired them to start on their own family projects!

The inspiration for this company just simply came from me wanting to preserve some of my family traditions. The biggest one being that every year for Christmas, or for a wedding or for every new baby that joined the family, one of my grandmothers or my mother would take time out of their lives to hand-make a blanket, a christening outfit, a sweater, or something to celebrate that family milestone.

"The inpsiration for this company simply came from me wanting to preserve some of my family traditions."

In teaching myself how to crochet and other skills of the like, I learned that not every single grandmother or mother knew how to do these sorts of things in this day and age, and I started making things for my boyfriend's very large and loud Italian family. Naturally, if one cousin got a blanket, then the others had to get one too, and then of course I had to start making baby blankets for their friends and co-workers and it just sort of snowballed from there.

It's been a lot of fun and I have been consistently busy, strictly by word of mouth for the last year or so. My starting of this little business of mine came from the sheer need to step my skills up and keep up with the growing demand. It was started by complete accident and wanting to keep up my family traditions and to share them with those around me.

"My starting of this little business of mine came by the sheer need to step my skills up and keep up with the growing demand"

The logo came from a place of need. Honestly, my handmade items were being talked about and shared so much by word of mouth that my friends and family wanted to show them off, so I was asked to make something to look a little more professional and real. My wonderful boyfriend [whom I've known since we were in pre-school and have been best friends our entire lives, by the way] sat down one day and started messing around and created it for me!

I love to be creative, I love to help people and make them happy, but I've never been super business savvy nor did I ever anticipate this growing the way that it has. The inspiration was that it was something simple that we could apply to any sort of project or thing that I was currently working on; whether it be handmade crochet items, documenting my journey on trying to restore my granny's victorian couch, or trying to teach myself an old recipe to share with others.

I kind of explained my idea to my boyfriend and he jumped on the computer and about 20 minutes later he came up with the logo that we are using today! Everyone seems to really like it, and I wanted something that I could use on basically anything.

"The inspiration [for the logo] was that it was something simple that we could apply to any sort of project or thing that I was currently working on."

Honestly, when I first got the stamp in the mail, I was super obnoxious with it and literally tried to put it on everything in the entire house. I stamped every single one of my crochet patterns, I tried to put it on my crochet hook holders, I stamped every single piece of wrapping paper and cards and nearly everything my boyfriend would allow [he literally drew the line and said there was no reason to stamp anything in the kitchen]. But now that the newness has worn off, I use it to stamp all my tags on all my different items that I make or pass out to friends and family.

I put it on the label for homemade dog treats that I gave out to our neighbors for Christmas. I put it on the tags of all my crochet baby commissions, I put it on my craft supplies, and just about anything that has to do with my personal project of learning all my family traditions. It's been a wonderful journey of learning and self-discovery.

"I use rubber stamps to stamp all my tags on all my different items that I make or pass out to friends and family"

Using the stamp and the logo has definitely changed my business for the better. As someone who started out just making things for friends and family, using this stamp and upgrading my packaging has been a night and day difference. I have gone from a simple little creator of things for those I love to someone who is getting a steady stream of commissions. It has really made a huge difference in the way that people see my creations and how seriously they have taken this little side business of mine.

"It really made a huge difference in the way that people see my creations and how seriously they have taken this little side business of mine."

It is still in its infancy stages, but seeing the way people respond to my packaging and the care and time that I have put into each and every single thing that I have created has really been amazing to watch, and it all started with a simple logo and a stamp. I already have new ideas on how to upgrade my branding and I will certainly be using more of the rubberstamp products to help with that.

I know that I will always be a small-time creator, but having something so simple and easy to use has had such a huge impact on how people see and treat my items, and has been so encouraging and makes me want to push myself and my little business further.

"having something so simple and easy to use has had such a huge impact on how people see and treat my items."

I chose to use rubber stamps because it was the easiest and best option for me and my small business at the time. I just wanted something small and simple to help upgrade my packaging and to help myself and others take my little handmade business a little more seriously. There were so many interesting options to pick from and using the custom designer tools was far easier than I ever thought. Although I only bought a single rubber stamp, we did spend a few hours playing around and daydreaming about different products that I could potentially use in the future.

For $20, I was able to get a stamp and ink pad and upgrade my small little business to something that looks far more professional than I ever could have thought. It has been a lot of fun figuring out new and fun ways to use the stamp, and I can't wait to buy more products and upgrade my business even further in the future. It was the perfect tool and the perfect price point for my little slice of handmade heaven.

"For $20, I was able to get a stamp and ink pad and upgrade my small little business to something that looks far more professional than I ever could have thought."

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