Life and Work with Samantha Martin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Martin.

Samantha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
For as long as I can remember, I have always loved making things. I remember being overjoyed to go to the bookstore as a kid – I loved reading but even more than that, there was a specific section that had books on crafts with some of the supplies to get started. I would dream of the day when I would have enough allowance saved to buy the book on friendship bracelets, then a few months later, the book about paper twirling. When I was in second grade, my mom randomly bought yarn and knitting books because she wanted to learn how to make scarves. She picked it up and then taught me how to knit, which I picked up fairly quickly for a seven-year-old. In middle school, I started wandering through the bead aisles at craft stores, stocking up on beads and supplies to make earrings and other jewelry I could picture my mom and her friends even wearing. My grandma and I would go to craft fairs to sell the jewelry so we could stock up on more beads and tools. Eventually, I got tired of picking up the beads every time I knocked over my containers and moved on to sewing while I was in high school.

Flash forward to about two years ago, I was newly married, recently graduated from college, and working for a non-profit Christian organization. I loved what I was doing and I was thankful for the opportunity to mentor college students alongside my new husband. But something I noticed at that time was how task-oriented I am. I would spend the whole day working, driving from one place to another, having four back to back meetings, going shopping for the next recruiting event, write a workshop, lead a Bible study, then get home and feel like I had not accomplished anything. I felt an urge to create things because then I could look at what I made and feel like I actually had accomplished something that week. I was running out of wall space in our tiny apartment to hang something else that I might have painted or nailed together, so I went to a craft store and decided to walk around until I found something to keep my hands occupied.

When I got to the yarn aisle, I remembered learning how to knit when I was seven and thought of the many times I picked it back up throughout the years. I went home that day with two balls of yarn, a set of knitting needles, and some stitch markers, genuinely excited to see what I could make and ready to relearn a skill I thought I had probably forgotten. I have hooked right away and soon, I had more hats than I could wear. My friends were complimenting me on what I would make, and I was running out of the money I had allotted myself for crafting and unable to buy more yarn. I opened an Etsy shop and quickly realized how much joy it brought me to make things for other people. I called my shop Called by Name because as I made hats and scarves, they would remind me of other women who would wear them. I was reading my Bible and read Isaiah 43:1, which talks about how God calls people by their name, and they are His. I decided to name the items after my friends who He had “called by name” because they were people who I know inspire those around them to live as the women they were created to be.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In many ways, I think it has been very smooth. Technology opens so many doors now and it’s easy to learn something in a hurry. Thankfully, this isn’t and has never really needed to be a full-time gig that I rely on for income to pay rent.

But on the other hand, there are a lot of struggles because of that. I know there is a huge knitting and crocheting community, but it’s been really hard to get into because I haven’t been able to go to any knitting groups due to my weird schedule. When someone compliments my work or asks for knitting tips, Impostor Syndrome becomes a real thing and I feel unqualified to have anything to say about knitting or selling handmade items. I have done four craft fairs (one of which was for a cult and I didn’t know about it until I was already set up- oops!) and only one of them went even slightly well. So it’s definitely been hard. But I’ve been so encouraged by how much I’ve learned in the process. Even though I have been doing this for almost two years, I am still very much a beginner and I am learning that it is okay to be a beginner! I think that in our culture, we see a lot of people who are doing well on social media and it looks like their life is just magically all put together. It has been important for me to remember that I only see a part of reality. And even if it is as good as it looks, they didn’t get there overnight.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I love knitting first and foremost, but I also dip my toes in crochet and macrame. I particularly seek to make modern items that are not what we might think of like knitting and crochet. Everyone has that image in their head of a scratchy, lumpy, shapeless poncho or blanket that a very old relative made them when they were little. My goal is to create things that people love and feel comfortable in. I would love to design sweater patterns someday because they are my favorite to knit in my free time. As a brand, I only sell and provide the best items that I can. My husband makes fun of me because I’ll spend two hours knitting a hat, sew on my tag, and realized I twisted a stitch in the first row (which is something only I would ever notice), then spend the next hour unraveling the hat I just made so I could start over and make it perfect. Something I hope sets me apart is that I hope to be an encouragement to women who buy my items or even follow me on Instagram. I want them to leave any interaction feeling confident and encouraged rather than little and insignificant like we usually feel after spending too much time on social media.

Who have you been inspired by?
Overall, the women I name my items after are all huge inspirations to me. I do not think I will ever run out of people to name things after, either! My grandmas are also both huge inspirations to me as I find my niche in the craft market. And I’m super encouraged by all the side hustlers, stay-at-home moms, work-at-home moms, and all the women in between who are taking time to be the best woman they can be while being honest about the struggle.

Contact Info:

• Website: etsy.com/shop/calledbynameco
• Phone: 9703893144
• Email: calledbynameco@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calledbyname.co/

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.