Entrepreneurs Exposed
Updated: Nov 27, 2024
The COVID Granny Diaries
Shortly before the pandemic began, my daughter Eliza and I flew to San Francisco for a needlecraft trade show where we had rented a booth. Liza has developed a line of crochet kits that is aimed at millennials—and is absolutely hilarious. This was her commercial debut with the kits to make The Millenimals.
Stitches West, which draws hundreds upon hundreds of visitors over four days, was happening at the Santa Clara Convention Center during the last week of February. We had worked like hell and invested a lot of money to get ready. Everyone we had shown the Millenimals had laughed out loud; they are a range of millennial "types" in animal form, all of them with fun pun names. Obsquirrel, for instance, is an overbearing indie band aficionado, the kind of guy who lords it over you by constantly referring to music you've never heard of and deriding anything remotely popular.
What makes these kits special are the accessories that Liza carefully curates and creates, each of them included in the kit. Social Justice Terrier, for instance, comes with a poster sign that says "Love is Love. Black Lives Matter. Climate Change is Real. Immigrants Make America Great. Women's Rights Are Human Rights."
Coronaviper stares into his laptop, carries hand sanitizer, and hoards toilet paper.
Anglophillycomes with a teeny-tiny copy of Pride and Prejudice (yes, with all the words), a teacup, a Dr. Who scarf , and a shirt with the number "42" on the front.
The positioning line, posted prominently at Stitches, is "Not your granny's crochet kit." Liza added that after a grandmother at the Santa Fe Fiber Arts Festival picked up Folsom Street Bear, saying "Oh how cute!"—and then saw the whip and the nipple rings.
I was a little worried, to be honest, about a couple that were meant to play to the San Francisco audience (Liza lived in SFO nearly ten years and identifies as queer). Folsom Street Bear and Polyamordillo were particular worries—I had mental images of a bunch of needle crafters (who I wrongly assumed to be mostly conservative older women) freaking out. But Folsom Street Bear practically walked out the door—people loved him. One owner of a shop that caters to LGBTQ folks in the Castro District talked to us about a trunk show. Both the bear and the armadillos sold out. Even the old ladies liked them.
In fact, overall, we were a huge hit. We got lots of traffic and sold about half our stock. People came by to tell us we were the most unique booth at the show (which is huge) and photos of the characters were all over social media. We had craft shop owners talk to us about wholesale orders. We definitely had "proof of concept."
On the trip back, we got screwed on our seats. I had paid for aisle seats, but we didn't check in on time and ended up sitting in the middle in the back. But at least we were together and we spent the whole trip across the country planning and brainstorming.
Because of the close quarters and noise, we spoke at about a 10-inch distance or less the whole way home. Then, almost as soon as she walked into her apartment, Liza got sick. She spent the next seven days with fever, sore throat, coughing, and delirium. She chalked it up to a cold.
But I knew that a few cases of COVID had appeared on the Northwest coast and thought it was possible she had been exposed. Stitches was what we now call a superspreader event. And we also now know that the very first cases and the very first instance of "community spread" were in Santa Clara county, right where we were.
The question all along has been, if Liza had COVID, why I didn't get it? Did I get it and pass through it asymptomatic? I am one of those lucky people who seldom gets sick. But I am in the high-risk group. And Liza never got tested, so we will never know, probably, whether either of us had it.
We rake over these details continually. I guess most people have some suspected contact and probably do the same thing. Without testing and with a constantly-evolving understanding of the disease's transmission and symptoms, I guess this kind of speculative scenario was inevitable, maybe for all of us.
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The author's recounting of preparing for Stitches West and then facing both big success and small travel mishaps makes the piece feel honest and instructive for entrepreneurs. Specific moments, like selling out certain characters and receiving praise on social media, illustrate clear proof of concept and the kind of validation that justifies further investment. BacInk I appreciated the nuance about worrying over particular designs yet finding them among the most popular items at the show.
The narrative about Stitches West effectively illustrates how surprising audience reactions can be, as when items intended for a specific niche sold broadly and drew attention from shop owners. The detailed examples — from Social Justice Terrier's sign to Coronaviper's pandemic-era props — give real texture to why visitors shared photos and engaged with the booth. Face Attractiveness Test That the kits prompted wholesale talks the same weekend shows a practical route from booth novelty to business opportunity.
This post gives a vivid picture of product-market fit being validated at a large consumer show, where curated accessories differentiated the crochet kits and helped them stand out. The author also notes smart follow-ups, like shop owners discussing wholesale after seeing the booth, which is the kind of traction many creators hope for. Try the ai hairstyle preview The contrast between the author's worries over edgy characters and the crowd's enthusiastic response is a useful lesson for anyone testing bold design choices.
The story captures the chaos and excitement of trade-show life, from late check-ins to seats being messed up on the return flight, and it underscores how much effort goes into a successful booth. The way the author describes shoppers laughing at the Millenimals and social media spreading photos helps explain why they sold about half their stock despite the risks. https://blockblast.co/ko/lemon-game The anecdote about a grandmother reacting differently than expected to Folsom Street Bear highlights how real-world reactions can defy assumptions.
Reading the account of Stitches West made me smile at how risky creative choices can pay off; the Millenimals clearly resonated with that crowd and sold out quickly. It's interesting that even characters with edgy accessories like Folsom Street Bear found buyers among what the author expected to be a conservative audience, and the unexpected traction shows the value of testing ideas live at events like this. https://caesarcipher.org/ciphers/atbash I especially liked the detail about Coronaviper hoarding supplies — small touches like that make the products memorable.