Weaving Conversations
Source: Faraha Faeaz
Looking to adopt small, cuddly plushies made with love from scratch? Meet Anne Goh, who first started crafting ‘for fun’ and is now the owner of a worldwide-known business!
Meet Anne, a 21 year-old crochet artist who started her six-year journey selling handmade frogs on Carousell.
If you do crochet, you must have heard of @tinybunnycrochet on Instagram. Anne kick-started her account back in 2018 when she was just 15. She was in primary six when she picked up a crochet hook for the very first time. Inspired by handmade scrunchies gifted to her, Anne started looking up tutorials on Youtube.
Anne’s Instagram account (@tinybunnycrochet) initially served as a mini crochet diary, but the account blew up in no time. Over dozens of creations later (from amigurumi patterns for sanrios, little froggies with handbags, to trendy handmade tops), and six years of taking pictures of mini stuffed animals under the hot sun, Anne’s account has accumulated over 17.6k followers.
Apart from selling products online via her Instagram page, Anne also runs booths from time to time at places like Fleawhere or Curbside Crafters. The long hours are worth the wait though as Anne makes over $400 to $800 each time she runs a booth.
With over hundreds of craft businesses out there, what makes Anne so different?
Source: Instagram (@tinybunnycrochet)
From small talk to big success
Growing up, Anne was always known as a social butterfly, or in other words, a “chatterbox”. “My friends say I talk too much.”
“I guess I'm a people person. Which you would not expect if you see me in University, because for the first one year, I sat at the back of the class and did not talk to anyone. It's called being scared,” Anne said as she giggled.
Source: Anne Goh
When it comes to business however, she leverages her whimsical personality to her advantage, which is what got her this far. When conversing with customers and followers online, Anne would be the first to forge deep-rooted connections with everyone.
“I really like talking to people. So at booths, I’ll pass the items to customers for them to hold. Then I’ll talk to them, ask them what they like,” Anne shares from her multiple years of experience.
When running a booth, Anne draws from her own encounters that grabbing the attention of a passing customer within one to two seconds is absolutely crucial. Anne, however, had to learn it the hard way.
She once took drowsy medication right before running a booth from 11am to 4pm at the Christmas Carnival at Suntec. Throughout the first half of the day, Anne recalled herself standing up, chatting with shoppers as per usual, saying things like: “Come and see”, “You can hang it on your bags”.
In the last hour, the grogginess started kicking in. She sat behind the booth in silence, and to her surprise, not a single person stopped by.
“The moment I stood up and started talking to people, only then people came and bought,” Anne told her story, bursting with enthusiasm.
Tips & tricks
Anne further shared a marketing tip she picked up from a post she saw online.
There are two types of customers: Type A are those who would show interest in small talk, whereas Type B customers are those who are less likely to socialise and would simply “buy and leave”.
When asked how to differentiate between the two, Anne shared that she would first start off by greeting them, “Hi, looking for anything?”. Type A customers would typically respond with, “Oh, this looks cute, what’s this?”, while Type Bs are more likely to reply, “Just looking…” Strategically identifying customer types has played a major role in helping Anne build a strong customer base.
“People in Singapore are shy, we don't want to break social norms,” Anne added.
But that’s not all, Anne’s charm and sociability has allowed her to network and collaborate with crafters all over the world…
Weaving friendships
Throughout her journey, Anne has met all kinds of crocheters online.
One of the most memorable companionships was with a fellow crocheter from New Zealand, @fibres_of_whimsy on Instagram. Little did she know, @fibres_of_whimsy’s family resides in Singapore and Anne even got free tickets to the Singapore Zoo via her uncle. Who would say no to free tickets?
The two collaborated and did a booth together at Curbside Crafters, which turned out to be an overall success.
Source: Anne Goh
What you can look out for
Years later, Anne still actively sells her niche creations online and offline.
So, If you feel like treating yourself to a mini plushie handmade with love, you’re in luck because Anne is running yet another booth this coming December. The booth will be held at the ever popular annual convention, the Singapore Comic Con (SGCC), on the 7 and 8 December this year.
Some iconic characters and elements, in relation to the SGCC, are to be incorporated into her crafts. Do look out for Pokemon or gaming-related crafts, with little crochet twists to it!
