I'm Portia and today I facilitate crochet classes/workshops and sell crochet and knitted wearables & accessories with the support of my husband, Jay, and my two beautiful tamariki, ‘Little Miss’ and ‘Little Man’. My journey started in 2015 as a high school student with an obsession for crocheting beanies. This was the birth of NZCreativeDuo, a small hobbiests shop on Etsy.
Our very first beanie display prop was the head of our guitar bag—yes, really. Then we upgraded to a polystyrene head… which promptly melted when my dad and I tried to spray paint it. Oops.
Days at home in front of the television with not much else to do, started to turn into trips to Spotlight on the way to see the midwife. With new yarn in hand and ideas in mind, the next few hours were spent with the crochet hook or knitting needles going full speed. After a couple of Etsy sales as Eccentric Nincompoop, I decided it was time to finally take the leap and start attending market days.
With my friend, Phoenicks, in tow for support and help moving things, our
first official market day was at the Birkenhead Artisian Market, then they joined us again for the Devonport Craft & Fine Food Market at Devonport Community House.
I also attended the Young Designers & Creators Market at Smales Farm before little Miss was born and the small business idea was put back on hold, with the name now becoming my branding.
Just before New Zealand was sent into the first ever level four pandemic lockdown in 2020, we were flatting with Chels, a creative friend, and together we decided to dip our toes back into attending market days.
We made it to one in February, Takachella. It was meant to be our slow ease back in before attending the Young Designers & Creators Market again. Instead we had to adapt to pandemic life.
When everything was up in the air and we as a nation were put into lockdown (2021) for the second time due Covid19, the itch to crochet got to me.
I started off with a couple of basic bikini & granny square tops and a friend at the time saw a business opportunity. With their support investing into raw materials, a website and new market set up SunflowerSistersNZ was crafted.
Together we attended the Auckland Mama's Market in Onehunga and slowly things were starting to take off. This was also the market that I was first approached about an opportunity to teach crochet to the younger generation. It was a bit of a rollercoaster and our lives took us down separate paths.
That was when I officially changed our name and became 'Creations by Portia' in 2022, continuing on as a small hobby side hustle. During June of that year, in the midst of settling into a new place, I started attending the Sustainable Papakura market along with little Miss. We became a regular stall holder here until December 2023 and helped to foster the networking needed to start teaching crochet in the community from a volunteer position.
While crocheting on the side, volunteering at weekly sessions and parenting two littlies, I took the step needed to further my business knowledge through a level 3 Small Business Certificate at Openpolytechnic.
This was the stage where my small hobby side hustle went from being exactly that to being an official small business of crochet goods and facilitating paid workshops.
Now a couple of years on, I have a small list of markets we attended regularly with either the kiddos or 'Market Dog', two shops that I am currently stocking and three locations that I facilitate crochet workshops & classes.
