A hobby turned part-time job
Fort Smith woman creates popular tutus
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 19, 2014
THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
What started out as home-made Christmas gifts has turned into a surprising part-time business for a Fort Smith woman.
Kristie Vyse showcased Tiny Dancer Tutus at the Fort Smith Trade Show on May 3. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo |
The gifts were tutus created by Kristie Vyse, who runs a day home in Fort Smith and is now owner of the new Tiny Dancer Tutus.
"I started making them because I wanted to give them to my day-home girls as Christmas presents," she explained. "And then I posted a picture of a couple of the ones I made on my own personal Facebook page, and people just started ordering them all of a sudden."
Vyse said she had 12 orders overnight when she first posted the pictures on the Internet.
"I thought it was crazy because I wasn't expecting people to order them," she recalled.
Vyse admitted her new part-time business is almost accidental.
"I kind of fell into it," she said.
The 31-year-old mother of two sons did not put the picture on Facebook with the intention of selling tutus, likening it to someone posting a photo of an interesting dinner.
"My cereal isn't that interesting, so I posted a picture of a tutu I made," she joked.
That all happened in mid-October, but it was November before she had more supplies to continuing making tutus.
Vyse estimates she has sold between 150 and 200 tutus since November.
"I have shipped to B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ottawa and Nunavut," said Vyse. "One of my dresses went to Ireland and one is headed to New Zealand."
Plus, she said a store in High Level, Alta., ordered 10 tutus to sell.
"It has been expanding very quickly," she said, adding she also makes accessories, such as headbands, necklaces and bracelets.
The first time many residents of Fort Smith might have seen her tutus was at the Fort Smith Trade Show on May 3.
"Three or four people came over and photographed them because not everybody is on Facebook, so a lot of people didn't know I was doing them," she said, adding she ended up with quite a few orders.
Vyse there are two reasons for the popularity of playing dress-up with tutus.
"I think a lot of it is little kids wanting to be a princess, and then a lot of it is the parents want them for photos. They look amazing in photos," she said, adding one woman ordered a tutu embellished with real peacock feathers for her child's ninth birthday.
Vyse has made tutus for ages ranging from a newborn to an adult.
"One lady wore it out for her bachelorette party. So I can definitely do them in any size range," she said, noting they are primarily made for girls up to eight or nine years of age.
She also sometimes does some more elaborate work, such as recreating the dress of Queen Elsa from the movie Frozen or a Sleeping Beauty dress for a girl's birthday photos.
Aside from her new part-time business, Vyse, who has lived in Fort Smith for eight years, has been running Kristie's Kiddie Garden day home for three-and-a-half years.
As for whether she would like Tiny Dancer Tutus to become her full-time business, she said, "Ideally, I'd love it if it was, but I don't think I could give up my day home. I would have to pick one or the other."
Right now, she makes four or five tutus each week, and expects the maximum will be an average of six a week.
"I find it very relaxing," she said. "Instead of at the end of the day sitting down and crocheting or quilting, I sit down and make a tutu."
