Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirtrice Badger.
Hi Kirtrice, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Krowned by Kirtrice was started after a seven year sewing hiatus. It began with me making headbands and head wraps. At the time pop ups were popping up all over so I decided to jump out, start a business and begin selling at pop ups. Initially I only planned to make and sell what I was already doing, then I learned how to crochet. Once I learned to crochet, I began making things for myself and family. After sharing on social media I started to get requests. At that point I decided to incorporate my new skill into my business. I began selling custom crochet accessories along with my headwraps. About 6 months into my crochet journey, I taught a friend how to crochet and we started a separate business together. This business was called Haus of Hookers. after some time, we parted ways and I found myself back at square one with Krowned by Kirtrice. This time I decided to move forward with just crochet. I was no longer making headbands and wraps. My focus shifted to custom crochet apparel. After doing my first fashion show last year, I decided to shift my focus to teaching. Currently Krowned by Kirtrice has a focus around education. I began teaching sewing and crochet classes. I still do very few custom orders. I found out that my passion for teaching the crafts was greater than my passion for fulfilling orders.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely was not a smooth road! But in hindsight all of those obstacles were learning opportunities. It still sucked to go through at the time though lol. Some of my early setback had to do with the structure of my business. I had never run a business before so I was kind of learning on the fly. I was accepting custom orders with no down payment, which left me with a bunch of completed items that people changed their minds about. One pop up, I paid $100 to participate, drove to DC for the pop up and sold nothing. The pop up was promoted heavily and promised large crowds and when I got there it was ghost town. There have been times where I created so many classes and had 0 signups week after week. One of the hardest things to deal with was burnout. Putting so much work into something you love just for ppl to argue prices with you was so draining! It almost made me not want to create anymore. One of the major setbacks was renting space in a “permanent marketplace” and finding out it was basically a scam. A lot of money went into being there and hosting classes and later I found out the rent prices were not consistent across the board!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a designer and fiber arts educator and I specialize in teaching sewing and crochet. I’m also a semi retired cake decorator. Currently I think I am known more for teaching because I promote it so much. I am most proud of the prom dress I crocheted for my niece in 2023. I still show those pictures off to this day! She originally wanted me to sew a prom dress for her but I ended up creating a design for a crochet dress. The pattern was completely free styled because I could not find a tutorial actually lol. So I just started learning different stitch patterns and put it together. I also very proud of the collection I created in 2025 for the Foster Beauty fashion show. I had about 6 months to create 10 looks for the runway. I combined sewing and crochet to bring the looks together. That time period feels like a blur but I definitely remember working on my designs every single day! In my opinion, what sets me apart from others is the love I have for guiding others on their creative journeys. If I could do this for free and still live comfortably I would. To me that means my passion exceeds the need to fill my pockets. I am also very patient. I hear from a lot of my students they can’t believe I don’t get frustrated all the times they mess up but I embrace the journey and mistakes and a huge part of that!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Making videos with my sister and parents. This was the 90s so we used a video camera recorder and my dad would move them over to VHS tapes. My dad was military so he would be gone a lot throughout the year. When he was home we all would make silly videos together. Sometimes when my dad was out to sea, we made them so he could watch when he got back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://book.squareup.com/appointments/fotjb207ysai90/location/LPS58KHB91TMY/services
- Instagram: @krowned_by_kirtrice
