Meet Carla Thompson | Needlework Artist & Business Mentor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carla Thompson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carla, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Wow! Great question! I wanted a business where I could support myself as an independent mature woman, and I needed to have the flexibility to work my own hours to deal with chronic health conditions. It had to be something where I could use my natural talents and abilities and it had to be something that fueled my soul. Something that made my heart sing when it brought a smile and warm fuzzies to others. After all that, it was the question of what I was going to create to sell at local markets. A fresh start in a different city with year-round markets and the internet to build my very own store shifted from a little girl’s dream to an attainable goal.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What do I do and what sets my business apart from others? Hmmm… Got a coffee? Hahaha.
I’ve been known to wear many hats in business pursuits. I’ve also worked in a diversity of industries so I’d have to say life experiences set me apart. Thinking back, I’ve been a solopreneur since that first lemonade stand with my brother when we were kids back in the 70s. When I played with my dolls, they were the customers at my pretend storefront.

I’m a 4th-generation stitcher and learned to thread a needle, sew a button, and embroider before I started grade school. I learned to sew at my grandmother’s treadle sewing machine around the same age. I received my own front-stitch-only electric Singer sewing machine as a gift from my parents when I was 10. At age 12, I taught myself to crochet during summer vacation. I was helping an elderly neighbour with her weekly cleaning, and she would sit and crochet beautiful doilies while I worked. When I was finished for the afternoon, we would have tea and cookies before I went home. I was in awe of the process and the results, so I used the money I earned to buy a ball of yarn, a crochet hook, and an instructional book with lots of pictures and fabulous step-by-step instructions. My mom still has the first ripple afghan I ever made. Throughout high school, I constantly had a stitching project of some kind going on.

Following high school graduation, I enrolled in a private business college and graduated a year later with a diploma in Junior Accounting and Business Procedures. When I married a couple of years later and had my son and my daughter, I found the creative outlets to be a relaxing break from the daily routine of raising a busy family. The kids were in school full-time, and I had all this free time to myself. I had all the equipment and supplies, so I upgraded my sewing machine, added a serger and started sewing baby items to sell at an annual Christmas market. I also sewed custom-made hunting clothes and accessories for a group of bowhunters I knew. Word spread when the group went to archery tournaments, and I took on extra orders for t-shirts, sweatshirts, and my version of a belted pouch with several pockets and quiet closures. All this was long before internet marketing and online stores.

Fast forwarding more years, I owned a small home-based shop designing and installing vinyl signage and decals on vehicles and storefronts. At the same time, I was vice president, bookkeeper, and office manager in a corporation that I was also a 49% shareholder of. Plus, I was working full-time as the assistant manager in a leather boutique in a large mall. In 2010, I was at a major crossroads in my life when an opportunity for much-needed change presented itself. Kids were grown and Mom moved out! With two suitcases and a carry-on bag, I booked a flight and landed 1355 km (842 miles) away from the Canadian prairie to a tiny island off the coast of Vancouver Island. Following a road trip to gather the sewing room items I had left with my parents for safekeeping, I applied for and was awarded a grant through a Labour Market Development program to develop a business plan and launch my gift shop business.

When my Mr. Gentleman and I moved to Vancouver, I was new in the city so I started by volunteering at local craft markets by helping at the door and assisting the vendors. It was a way to get a feel for things, for what people were making and what was selling. After a few markets, I was accepted into juried markets and sold my handmade-with-love crochet and textile creations. Over the next few years, I started teaching crochet one-on-one and eventually opened a kiosk gift shop in a riverfront shopping district. I had the kiosk shop part-time for a year and full-time for half a year before accepting the invitation in 2015 to move the shop to the art studio and gallery.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the industrial building that was home to 46 other artists and creators ended up slated for demolition and redevelopment earlier than expected. The venue had hosted art shows, open mic nights, paint & sip nights, private events, and other community events. At the time, I was one of the resident fibre artists, the events manager, the bookkeeper, and the owner’s executive assistant. I love being in the background and I’m passionate about supporting others with their operations. As a holistic solopreneur, I now provide mentorship and bookkeeping support to creatives so that they can build solid foundations for their business and have more free time for creating.

I still do crochet commissions, specializing in amigurumi, blankets and threadwork crochet. When there’s no hook in my hand, I’m usually wandering with my partner, along the ocean shore or a pathway, anywhere Nature can surround us. It’s my favourite way to refresh and recharge.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Victoria, the beautiful capital city of British Columbia. It is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island on the West Coast of Canada, and it is the unceded territorial home of the Lekwungen peoples. There are loads of sites here so we can visit Craigdarroch and Hatley castles, followed by high tea at the historic Empress Hotel overlooking the inner harbour of the ocean. Being close to supply, there’s always fresh fish & chips and a pint of locally brewed ales at your pub of choice. We have the famous Butchart Gardens full of flowers and the butterfly garden is there as well. There’s also Beacon Hill Park, with a couple of lakes for flocks of geese and ducks. The peacocks roam free and sometimes make an appearance at the market nearby.

Across from the park, you can sit with an expansive view of the Pacific Ocean, and on most days, you can look across to see the Olympia Mountains in Washington State. If you’re okay with it, there’s Ross Bay cemetery nearby where many notable people are buried, including Emily Carr. Oh, and you can have a picture taken with her statue when you’re at the inner harbour for high tea! =)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family and friends have always been supportive of my ventures. Especially my parents with their encouragement and their inspiration of having a small side business for several years.

My biggest supporter and cheerleader is my oldest and dearest friend who is also my “Mr. Gentleman” and my life partner. He’s been there for me through many ups and downs. He sometimes plays devil’s advocate which helps me process my ideas when it comes to decisions about my business. He’s been my partner in numerous adventures over the decades and is also an artist, writer, photographer, and nature lover.

I also need to dedicate a shoutout to Susan L. Greig, owner and founder of Braid St. Studios here in British Columbia. She found me on Instagram and stopped by my gift shop kiosk with a personal invite to be a crochet teacher at the studio. That was back in 2015. Over the years, I became her other right hand, supporting artists, members of the public and dignitaries when we hosted private and community events in the venue space. Susan is a successful Metis artist and a huge supporter of the arts and artists, especially here in BC. I am forever grateful for the amazing connections I have made through working with Susan, and for being part of the fabulous community she has built at Braid St. Studios.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theholisticbookkeepercanada/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theholisticbookkeepercanada/

Image Credits
Image 1 – 5: photography by Carla Thompson Image 6: courtesy of New West Record