This month we are excited to introduce you to Kelly Hughes at Knot Just a Bow hailing from the west-side of the state (Grand Rapids, to be exact). As she proclaimed, “I’m a west Michigan transplant.” After receiving her Elementary Education degree from Grand Valley State University, she taught in Detroit for a year and then headed back to the Grand Rapids area landing in the Kentwood Public Schools. She grew up crafting, first with her mom and grandma, and then a little more while in the Girl Scouts. After completing a large service project of making quilts for kids in the foster system she was gifted her first sewing machine her freshman year in high school and she’s been at it ever since.

When she first started sewing with her own machine she made endless pajama pants and pillowcases and gifted them to family and friends. Two years into her big girl job she started making dresses and matching bows for her co-workers daughters’ and suddenly it was a business. The name for her business came to her as she was creating these items and has been a driving element of what she does and teaches to her students ever since. She explains, “so, Knot? or Not? For me, this shop is NOT just a shop it's a living example of what can be accomplished when you put your mind to something. It is KNOT bows that started it but it is much more that will continue it.”

As you may have already gathered, Knot Just a Bow is a side gig for her most of the year, but says “during the three months of summer, I have fully engrossed in my craft.” Her favorite parts of the process are the final step of tuning a project right-side-out and customer reactions to her handmade items. When she isn’t teaching or spending time with her sewing machine Kelly also loves camping and spending any time possible outdoors. You can shop her handmade items in our shop or by visiting her on Etsy at the link below.

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