On Creative Entrepreneurship and Starting Your Dreams: Sierra Lewis of New Origin Shop
What does it look like to pursue your side-hustle full-time? As we gear up for our fall craftHER Market, we’ll touch base with a few of our vendors who have scaled their small businesses to support themselves and other employees.
Today, we’re spotlighting Sierra Lewis, the Austin-based fiber artist, curator and owner of New Origin Shop. In this interview, Sierra talked with us about her work/life balance, her creative process, and pivoting during crisis.
This interview has been conducted and compiled by Divina Ceniceros Dominguez.
Photo Credits: Sierra Lewis of New Origin Shop
MEET THE MAKER: Sierra Lewis of New Origin Shop
What initially started as an Etsy page in 2017 as a way to decompress and self-expression soon became Sierra Lewis’ launch into the world of creative entrepreneurship. Currently, Sierra personally handcrafts a variety of fiber-based products with a minimal, modern feel and highlights 36 different, predominantly woman-owned brands on her shop.
From scarves and handbags, to macrame home decor—you can find an item you love with a minimal environmental impact on her website and Instagram.
How would you describe who you are and what you do?
My name is Sierra, and I’m the owner of New Origin Shop. My primary practice is fiber arts—so things like crochet, knit, and macrame handbags, fiber jewelry, accessories, and home decor.
My love for thoughtful and hand-crafted wares does not end with what I can produce, though. So as we evolved over time, New Origin Shop became a space created to provide unique and affordable wares to shoppers who are eager to support independent makers and small businesses. I curate from makers and artists who I absolutely adore.
As it turns out, I find joy as an artist and curator.
When did you start your business? What motivated you to start?
New Origin Shop initially launched as an Etsy page in 2017. My brand started as a means of self-expression. At the time, I had recently relocated to Austin from New York City and I was in my first year of working a really demanding special education teaching position.
For one, I was truly inspired by the change of pace the move to Austin presented in my life, and I was really fascinated with the intentionality of being a “bagless” city. And secondly, I needed a way to decompress from the physical, emotional and consistent demand of teaching teenagers.
I turned to crochet as an outlet, first by crocheting minimal, stylish reusable bag alternatives. Before I knew it, I had so many bags that I chose to open my Etsy shop.
Looking back, what were some challenges you experienced that you weren’t expecting?
Honestly, the process of starting was a smooth, natural progression. Although my initial spark came from a place where I was seeking an outlet from the stress of my teaching job—my background is rooted in fashion and business. I studied Fashion Marketing in college, so the new endeavor was a welcome change.
Although the outside process was smooth, I think most of my unexpected challenges stemmed from within. Self-doubt and overcoming the vulnerability of sharing my art with others was (and remains to be) the biggest challenge for me. The more I connect with other creatives and entrepreneurs, the more I realize I’m not alone in feeling this way.
What’s important is how we navigate these feelings and don’t let it dampen our creativity. I have to remind myself to be kind to myself, to trust my decisions, and that I am worthy of sharing.
Sierra Lewis of New Origin Shop
We’d love to know more about your creative process. How do you make things and get in a creative headspace?
I’m fortunate to have a dedicated home office—a space of my own that I can go to whenever creativity strikes and explore. A calming playlist and candle are essential in this process as well.
I also need to feel prepared and available. This means quieting the other tasks and demands around me, deciding first the object’s purpose and intent—then I’m free to create. I don’t like to overcomplicate the design brainstorming stages, (I’ll get caught up in an endless spiral of details) so after a quick sketch, the actual creation begins.
As far as materials, my art takes inspiration from using simple materials like recycled cotton fibers, cotton thread, and brass elements to create our minimal/modern designs.
Let’s talk about time management—how do you find work/life balance as a creative business owner?
I’ll admit finding a balance is at the top of my to do list, second only to shop-related tasks. While I always make time to be there for family and friends, my business feels like everything to me—so it’s permeated into my personal life. I’m always thinking about it in some way. Marketing, products, shows, and everything that comes with that stuff is in the back of my mind even when I’m not focusing on it.
I’m grateful for this stage in life that allows me to focus on the business, and for my husband, whose unwavering support allows me to take up so much space (literally) in our lives.
What are some of the key advantages / disadvantages to working on a side hustle versus working on your business full-time?
The advantages for me of working on a side hustle was the comfort and stability that came from also working full-time and the decreased amount of pressure--especially to create. The side hustle phase (which lasted about two years for me), was a “show me what you got” phase. If pursuing this full-time was really what I wanted, I used this time to convince myself if it was an undertaking I could handle.
The side hustle nourished me in ways my full time job could not, so I definitely saw an improvement from a holistic point of view.
The disadvantage (depending on your point of view) is the discipline required to navigate in both spaces and the dedication of time. For those two years, I worked from 8am to 5pm (or longer), created before/after work, did events on the weekend and repeated that over and over again. It took a lot of discipline—some that I didn’t even know I had.
If you are working on your business full-time now, what experience and/or moment made that pivot possible?
As opportunities and the desire to grow increased, I knew that my focus and time needed to follow suit. After taking time off to save and prepare for our wedding in April of 2019, I returned to the business with a point to prove. I was working full-time, but still ramped up my side business even more.
I played it pretty safe. When I had managed to build my savings, pop-up events were being scheduled routinely, and additional wholesale/consignment opportunities were coming in—it gave me the financial confidence to leave my full time job.
What’s been the most rewarding thing about owning your own business?
There’s so many rewarding experiences from owning New Origin Shop.
I’ve always been a hard worker, but the determination, persistence and courage needed to own a business is like no other experience. It’s very fulfilling.
Being able to share my vision and values. I want each piece in our shop to have that “minimal statement” feel. Our products should be accessible, affordable, empowering, and conscientious.
Lastly is the opportunity to connect with others. Even when I lived in New York, surrounded by millions of people each day, it was hard to feel connected to anyone outside my own social circle. Being an entrepreneur—and having to interact with so many new faces at shows—has really broadened my horizons. I think that it has reinforced that we’re all different and unique—but also have enough in common to be open to new connections.
How have you pivoted or adapted to the COVID-19 regulations or changes? What did this pandemic bring up for you?
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on my business. The cancellations of shows, events, and closing of retail stores meant that income disappeared, almost instantly. That, coupled with the lack of access to government funding like PPP for boot-strapped small businesses like us—or confusion around unemployment relief for small business owners or “gig workers” has been difficult.
On the other hand, I welcome the opportunity to work from home alongside my husband and to finally tackle projects on my goals list. We originally started online and have maintained our online audience and shop, so I welcomed the opportunity to finally focus on building these channels. This encouraged me to file our business entity, continue to learn and streamline our accounting, and research ways to build a reputable standing (business credit, relationship with bank etc.). I wrote a blog post touching on this—taking this time to work on things we’ve put off for too long.
I’m constantly asking myself, especially now, how can I be of service to our customers? How can I fill the void? I’m also granting myself space from lofty design projects (I was supposed to launch new designs in April but find it a bit difficult to focus) so the current pivot includes:
Launching our first tutorial, which I had prolonged for a while (change can be daunting). But I feel really good about the written/video tutorial and DIY Kit we created to accompany it. Creativity fuels the soul—now more than ever. So we wanted to create something to encourage our customers to learn a new skill with the extra time they have on their hands.
Sharing resources with our community. So many amazing organizations are creating opportunities to engage digitally. From bossbabesATX launching The Stay Home Club to weekly tele-meditations, I’ll add this information to our email newsletter or share on social media.
Continuing to build relationships with other makers and entrepreneurs. I’ve launched a #MeetTheMaker series on our blog highlighting creative artists and entrepreneurs who offer their handcrafted essential products in our shop.
Making the difficult decision to end our brick and mortar pop-up opportunity in The Caravan Co-op. We’re so grateful to the owners: Caitlan of To The Moon, Sarah of Urban Izzy, and Paige of Ramblin’ Rose Company! They gave us the chance to pursue our brick and mortar dreams alongside the amazing group of women-owned businesses for the past six months. For now though, focusing on our online shop feels like the best decision for my business and family.
Like most business owners, I welcome the opportunity to adapt and I’m eager to maintain the hustle to ensure New Origin Shop endures during this difficult time.
Is there any final advice or lessons you want to share with other women and non-binary creatives that are looking to start their own business or taking that leap from side hustle to full-time?
Start your dream, but make a plan. Make a list of what you’ll need in order to know it's time to transition. This should include being fully aware of your responsibilities, have savings if your situation allows for it, and have some sort of plan for reliable income, diversified streams of income, etc. That said, it doesn’t have to be a perfect plan. Once you have some preliminary details ironed out, start. No matter what, you’ll adapt along the way.
Once you start, give it all you got 100% of the time. This means when you’re working on your business, give it all of your focus and dedication. As long as you remain consistent, driven, and passion-fueled, you’ll connect with others. It starts with proving it to yourself first, though.
All of these things—coupled with invaluable mentorship, engagement with other small-business owners, and my own support system—has led me to where I am today.
WANT TO SUPPORT SIERRA AT CRAFTHER?
Head here to join us in October. You can also learn more about Sierra and her work at New Origin Shop's website.