Crazy Crafters

We have written, talked, and posted on social media about the KCZD ‘ohana. It is our “family” of volunteers who work together to save lives every day. Many of us are friends outside of the rescue world – we go to dinner, invite each other to parties, and even do yoga together. We are a happy, social group of folks who enjoy hanging out and talking about anything, but especially cats.

One of those random discussions one day happened to be about knitting and crocheting. We talked about a common interest in crafting and how it would be great if we could create something to sell to raise money for the rescue. And thus, the crafting and creating bug bit Karma Cat + Zen Dog volunteers.

It started with simple knitted catnip toys. I grew my own catnip in my garden and created a simple knitted kicker toy. We began selling these at our various community outreach events and they were a hit! Several of us began planting lots of catnip so that we could grow, dry, package and sell it on its own in cute little jars. From there our handmade merchandise continued to expand.

A call went out to volunteers to join Leslie, the newly designated Merchandise Director, at monthly crafting circles to work on all the various projects. This quickly became an anticipated event attended by many—with or without crafting abilities. Leslie brainstormed with everyone to come up with fun new items to make and sell at our events. She hit the jackpot with her cat-shaped cat bed! She received so many requests from volunteers, that we weren’t able to launch it at an event for months! There were rainbow beds, super hero beds, and even leopard print beds.

Soon our small amount of storage space began to fill up with so much crafted merchandise, we started to think of other venues to sell our stuff. We started researching various craft fairs and pet themed events to attend.

Then one day … it happened. Someone mentioned the “E” word. What if we started an Etsy page?

And so we started to take pictures of everything and come up with descriptions to attract buyers. All proceeds would go to the rescue—why wouldn’t someone want to buy from us? We did a “soft launch” of the page and almost immediately we sold one of Leslie’s cat beds. Then another one sold. These weren’t even our own volunteers!! Then we got a large order for Johanna’s cat pendants. We edited some of the descriptions, made a few changes, and now we are happy to share with the world!

Need a gift for your catlady friend? Why not order a custom-made cat bed? Kitties need some new entertainment? How about some handmade catnip toys? The Crazy Crafters (as they have dubbed themselves) are still meeting, brainstorming, and crafting. Head over to our Etsy store, pick up a few things, and keep them busy!