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WINLOCK — When four local crafters met earlier this year while selling their wares at a venue, they decided to team up as a group to counter the economic brunt of the pandemic.
It was April, just weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting non-essential businesses down. So Winlock residents Becky Trotman, Diane Rupp, Sheryl Fenton and Phyllis Bujnowski decided joining forces would be the best way to keep their craft selling alive.
“Bit by bit, we formed a little group and chose our name,” Trotman said. “We’re just going from here and make a little extra money for our families. We’ve all become good friends.”
The group offers a variety of handmade crafts, including crocheted items, jewelry, suncatchers and an assortment of fabric items. Each member specializes in a different craft and they each do some custom orders to an extent. Trotman’s forte is crocheted items, something she’s been working on her entire life, from shawls to gloves to hats and scarves. She also creates fabric purses and jewelry.
Bujnowski focuses primarily on kitchen items, such as aprons and potholders, which are very popular among customers. Fenton creates intricate jewelry and suncatchers with crystals, including a little bit of crochet. Rupp does knitted items, such as scarves and hats, along with felted items, like hot-pad holders, covers for frying pans and catnip-filled mice.
“Everything is handmade,” Trotman said. “That’s our key thing; that everything is handmade. There’s all kinds of stuff. Lots more than I can even mention. We have fun at it.”
The pandemic has taken its toll on the group’s sales, Trotman said. She’s the only group member who has a website (freespiritscrochet.com), starting it about a year ago after her Etsy page stopped getting visitors. She’s still struggling to get sales through the website, totalling just two, so far, since she launched the site. She also has a Twitter page with over 1,500 followers (twitter.com/FreeSpiritsCroc).
“It’s all affected us in different ways and limited our abilities to be able to sell like we used to,” Trotman said.
It wasn’t until recent months that the group was able to start selling their wares at craft shows at the Centralia Market and in stores. They have a counter with items for sale at the Rowdy Rooster Bistro in downtown Winlock, and recently started having pop-up craft sales there, too.
The group held two Christmas pop-up craft sales there this month and one in November, most recently on Dec. 12. The group plans to hold pop-up sales there at least one Saturday a month, starting again in February, and possibly a day here and there during the week as well.
Anyone interested in browsing or buying items from 4 Rebelz Designz can do so by visiting its Facebook page at facebook.com/4rebelzdesignz. The page includes photos of items and updates on when and where the pop-up sales will be.
“If they see something there that they like, or saw something at one of our shows and didn’t get it then, if they contact us through the Facebook page, we can always arrange a local pick-up,” Trotman said.
More Information on 4 Rebelz Designz
Owners: Becky Trotman, Diane Rupp, Sheryl Fenton and Phyllis Bujnowski
Location: Winlock
Email: 4rebelzdesignz@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/4rebelzdesignz
Twitter: twitter.com/FreeSpiritsCroc
Website: freespiritscrochet.com
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Reporter Eric Trent can be reached at etrent@chronline.com. Visit chronline.com/business for more coverage of local businesses.
