Today we’d like to introduce you to Zakyla Dickerson.
Zakyla, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Most summers of my childhood were spent doing something crafty at my Granny’s house and my aunt would help a lot. We’ve done beaded jewelry, decoupage boxes, shrinky-dinks, and all sorts of other crafts! I got started working with a yarn about 8 or 9 years ago when my aunt taught me how to loom knit. During undergrad, I began making beanies and scarves for family and for fun. Eventually, I actually sold a few items but there wasn’t a large amount of passion behind it. I just wanted to make money. Sometimes I’d try new designs just because but mostly, I wanted to make items for profit.
Around 2015/2016 Texas decided not to have a winter. Since my “business” was only profitable during colder months, I knew that I would have to adapt or I would always be limited or affected by the weather. So switching over from loom knitting, I found I had a random crochet hook and a crap ton of yarn and I had seen cute crocheted crop top tutorials on YouTube so I decided to try it out. I watched a video and three variations of attempts later, I made my first top. It was lopsided and misshapen and I was so proud of myself. Four years later, here I am, still in love with crocheting like I was when I first followed that video to create my first top. I’ve developed my own standout style and techniques and have joined a community of some amazing supporters and crafters.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been quite a few challenges along this journey. The first was the need to change my niche from warmer clothing and items to more spring and summer styles. When I first started out, I didn’t have a community. I didn’t know anyone else who did what I did personally. When I didn’t understand a technique or idea, I had no one to turn to. Which just meant many ideas came out of serious trial and error. I struggled to find the perfect fit of crocheted clothing for shapely bodies. I would use my roommates at the time as mannequins because I felt that my body wasn’t the best model for my brand.
Later, in 2017, I became an educator and started grad school and that took all of my time and energy. I didn’t crochet too often and I missed it deeply. Over the last few years, my biggest thing was that I didn’t have time to crochet. Crochet is considered slow fashion and if there is a better word for slow, that should probably be used. Maybe sloth paced fashion is what it should be.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I crochet! But not like your granny did! I create Art that Fits! ArtFit By Zakyla is my creative space. I specialize, for now, in crocheted clothing and swimwear. So far, I am most proud of my reach. Artists are always sensitive about what they produce. We pour our hearts into the craft and so if course, it feels good when other people see, love, and respect what we have created. As social media-centered and millennial-minded as it sounds, when I crochet something and make an Instagram post about it, it brings joy to others. People smile when they see what I create. I’ve gone from being inspired to being someone who inspires others. I feel that everyone should find room in their lives to create and if I can nudge them to express themselves through personal art, then I’ve served my purpose. I am someone who is very precise.
I’ve learned that just creating and putting a completed project out into the world isn’t special. As time and effort take place you get better at your craft, you hone in on skills. You realize that not all completed projects are ready to be displayed. You see that tweaks need to be made to the prototype. You see ways to become better. You find that you only want to produce greatness and that only comes with patience and the effort to want to improve. It’s like once you realize that gifts and talents come from God, who is the epitome of greatness, the gifts and talents He’s given you should produce greatness on whatever level greatness is for you.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Fond memories I have from my childhood would have to go back to spending summers at my grandmother’s house. She lives in what I consider the “country”, a small town in east Texas. There weren’t many things to in the country so I found things to keep myself busy. I had a lot of space to be creative even when I was sneaking to do it, like mixing all kinds of lotions and creams together to make my own concoction. I got to experiment with food making homemade pizzas and desserts. I got to make as big a mess as I wanted and then was fussed at to clean up. I still leave art supplies everywhere haha. I was blessed to be in a place that encouraged creativity no matter what it looked like.
Contact Info:
- Email: artfitbyzakyla@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/artfitbyzakyla
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