Native Bostonian Shella Saintcyr is the creative entrepreneur behind the crochet accessories line House of Saintcyr. Saintcyr’s colorful pieces are unique, and would make any fashionista’s shopping day. Her line offers everything from church hats, to crochet hoops, headbands to crochet spiral earrings and messenger bags. Saintcyr is never short on creativity.
Kreyolicious: Prior to starting House of Saintcyr, did you ever have any sort of inkling that you were meant to be a business woman?
No. Not really. I watched my mother run a small business—buying clothing and accessories from New York and selling them out of the family van on various corners of Boston. She would take one of my seven sisters and I on the Greyhound bus with her to meet our extended family in New York. When we got there, she would barter with shop owners for the best prices for dozens of hair bows and dresses not easily found in Boston. My mother successfully learned to solve two problems—how to uniquely dress her 10 children and how to make extra income to supplement my dad’s earnings. Looking back now, some of my happiest memories of my childhood are attached to those business trips to New York with my mother—watching her haggle with other business owners.
I know that in school and in various jobs, I rarely fit into any particular circles. I’m somewhat of a misfit. I can see now how that “fitting out” helps me to be more comfortable in doing some unconventional things as a business woman. My life plan in college and in graduate school was to be a counselor—to help hurting people. Never had I imagined I’d be in the line of running an accessories business. It was two years ago when I originally visited a church in Chicago to learn how to sew but ended up learning how to crochet because the sewing lady wasn’t there. I found crochet therapeutic, especially since my father had passed away a few months before. I developed my skills watching YouTube videos and discovered that my sisters would pay me to make accessories for them. I thought that if I could get my sisters with particular taste to buy my products, perhaps other women would be interested in purchasing them as well.
Kreyolicious: You’re an entrepreneur and you craft your own products. Do you think that makes things doubly challenging?
Yes—it can be challenging in some ways. It means that if that specific product I’ve made for a client isn’t purchased for whatever reason, I have to find some way to sell it to another client who may have a different taste in colors or shapes. But crafting my own products also means that each client is purchasing a product that takes into consideration their unique style. One size does not always fit all. I personally like finding jewelry at a boutique that can’t be found anywhere else. I want the luxury of it being a rarity.
Kreyolicious: Do you find that the fact that you have a Master’s Degree has helped you in terms of budgeting, time management, and business management overall?
My Masters degree is in Social Work. It helped me become more aware of systems and family dynamics, but I can’t say that I lean on it for budgeting and business management. I wish I had completed a Masters in Business Administration but hindsight is 20/20 vision. I guess when I’m requested to serve as a vendor at a church event or at a school, my social work hat comes on. I know how those systems can run and how certain social norms govern their culture. I keep this in mind when interacting with potential customers.
Kreyolicious: How do you measure growth?
Beyond looking at sales, I measure growth by the networks formed. I connect with the saying, “Your network is your net worth.” I want to know at the end of the day that I’ve connected with—provided a service to people with various international, economic and social backgrounds. It says to me that in my efforts to work my craft in excellence, people from all over the world stop to admire it and purchase what I produce. I’m also concerned with personal growth, if when faced with setbacks or obstacles, do I run towards faith or fear. Do I continue to respond in an unhealthy way with similar challenges? I need to know that I’m graduating from self doubts or the need to always be understood.
Kreyolicious: If you had someone over for tea, and that someone wanted to become an entrepreneur in the same industry as you, what would you tell her?
I’d tell her that she will need to be patient with herself and with sales. Seeds spend a lot of time in the ground before one can see the harvest they bring. Keep getting up when you get knocked down. You never know what new opportunities can come with a new day or the next hour. There may be 50 other people who can crochet but no one makes that specific product like you. Customers are drawn to authenticity. Your story is what distinguishes you from the crowd. Teach others what you learn in the process of doing business, so you’ll have internal space to learn more. Women’s wants and needs fluctuate, come to every meeting prepared to present a few options in terms of product. A request for yellow accessories can quickly change to blue the next day, so be flexible. Collaborate rather than compete with other women. Competition confines you to another’s standards. Collaboration frees you to maintain your own standards.
Kreyolicious: It’s been said that now as more than any other time, entrepreneurs are being made every day. Do you think that this pattern will continue in the next 4-5 years?
I hope it does continue in the next 4-5 years since our world is ever changing and new problems are developing. We need more people in the world who approach problems in creative ways (e.g. standing on the corner of the water tower building in Chicago dressed in interview clothes holding a sign that reads, “Looking for work. Got a Masters Degree.). We need more people who aren’t afraid to take risks. I think a lot of people are sick of the mold but are afraid to make changes, to explore something outside of their comfort zone because of possible ridicule and failure. I often meet people who are more financially secure than I am who think that owning a business is somehow outside of their reach. Sometimes the one who succeeds is the one who had enough courage to try something different or didn’t give up.
Kreyolicious: Where do you hope to take House of Saintcyr?
I’d like to see House of Saintcyr accessories on the runways in Paris, New York and in Africa or adorning an actress on the set of a major movie production. I want a portion of the business to be dedicated to coaching and mentoring girls and women internationally to start and maintain their own businesses. I hope to establish a legacy that sends the message to women everywhere that out of the ashes of life there is beauty—whether the ashes come in the form of the death of a parent, the loss of a career—or the loss of a valued relationship.
HOUSE OF SAINTCYR ON ETSY| HOUSE OF SAINTCYR ON INSTAGRAM| HOUSE OF SAINTCYR ON FACEBOOK
CLICK HERE to read interviews and other articles with fashion and beauty entrepreneurs.
