Help Enlightened Butterfly Soar
Donation protected
EnlightenedButterfly began as an Etsy shop in 2014, selling upcycled clothes and locally harvested specimens of petrified wood. Earlier that year I had started teaching myself how to crochet, it had always been an intriguing art to me but I never expected to love it as much as I do. I got my first custom crochet request from a friend in 2015 and I was hooked, but it had been a special circumstance and so my dream of pursuing crocheting as more than just a hobby has been dampened by my overall lack of finances. Now that I have been able to piece together a bit of a portfolio by crocheting for friends and with a fiery determination to utilize thrifted yarn, I feel comfortable asking for help because I know that crocheting is something that I am great at. With your help, I will no longer be bound by my financial struggles which affect everything from the quality of yarn I am able to use and the price of the product to having a stock of items to sell or yarn to crochet with, rather than needing money up front for creations - custom or not.
And because you are being so incredibly generous by donating to my cause, I have been inspired to use this campaign to help others as well. Hardship affects everyone at some point in life and we all could use a helping hand to warm our spirits once in a while. There are many people out there like myself that have to plan every penny of their paychecks and are faced with difficult financial decisions month to month, week to week...day to day.
So I am proud to announce that 50% of all the proceeds that you are donating to help build and stabilize my business will go towards buying yarn to make hats and scarves to donate to one of the four chapters of Warmth for All (http://www.warmthforall.com/) or to distribute within my own community next winter, because no matter what the circumstances, everyone deserves to stay warm.
To quickly break down how the hat and scarf drive works: One hat uses two balls of yarn, which is $15 in material cost. One scarf uses 3 balls of yarn, which is $21 in material costs. Donations of less than $30 go towards transportation, packaging and distribution. To be economical about the donations, hats and scarves - both to be shipped out and distributed within the valley - will be pooled until there are 20 or more items to donate. The extra funds from the additional donations that would go to shipping go towards more yarn to make extra hats and scarves to distribute because 50% means 50%. Once the package ships or the items are distributed in my area, a new chapter of Warmth for All and new local charity or way to distribute the items will be chosen for fair and equal distribution of donated goods.
Disclaimer: Although EnlightenedButterfly is contributing to a cause via this fundraiser, EnlightenedButterfly is not a charity.
I am, always have been and always will be a fashion designer. Your life changing contributions are going towards helping my childhood calling into a legitimate art using the medium that I am most passionate about. Because of you, I will be able to explore higher quality fibers and more exquisite designs.
My goal for this campaign is to have the money raised by May 1st, 2018, so that I can have all the funds gathered, allocate them properly and then begin crocheting hats and scarves in May. This way I can have them ready to donate during the winter of 2018.
And finally, this campaign is merely a launching pad for my business. The money will be going towards building a studio space, buying supplies, promoting my business and distributing goods. My long term vision is that EnlightenedButterfly will blossom into a full time opportunity, but I know that is entirely up to me giving it my all and using these funds appropriately as well as dependent on supply and demand.
To see my crochet portfolio, check out @EnlightenedButterflyMT on Instagram.
So where exactly is your money going?
You are being incredibly altruistic by donating to help my business spreads it's wings, so of course I'm more than willing to provide full transparency of where your funds are being allocated.
-$1000 - Rents a storage unit for 1 year.
Right now, I live in a pull behind camper trailer, we barely have room for our bare necessities. Having a storage space would give me a clean, organized space for supplies and inventory as well as a better work space.
*$1450 - Creates the EnlightenedButterfly Custom Crochet Creation Station within the storage space.
-$100 - Lounge chairs
-$50 - Coffee table
-$100 - Shelving
-$100 - Wire Baskets
-$250 - Storage Totes
-$250 - Male and Female mannequins
-$600 - Adjustable dress forms in small, medium and large
*$6550 - Makes the magic happen
-$3250 - Yarn and supplies.
Mostly yarn, I plan on branching out into higher quality fibers as well as finer gauge yarn so I can create exquisite designs like lingerie, leggings and socks...dresses, skirts, shirts, sweaters, pants... I am too excited about the design possibilities, you are a dazzling individual for helping turn my dreams into reality. With a legitimate budget for supplies, I will be able to source better, higher qualtiy yarn that is local when possible. Also included in supply costs are a complete set of bamboo crochet hooks, a 32 pack of fabric markers and plain (presumably thrifted) T-shirts.
-$200 - MommieMadeIt 100% cotton sew on labels (https://www.etsy.com/shop/MommieMadeIt) Right now I make my labels by taking thrifted cotton T-shirt material, drawing the logo on the material with a permanent marker, letting it sit for about two weeks and then ironing the design to further set the dye. Buying labels would save me a ton of time while simultaneously supporting another small business.
-$200 - Camera.
For excellent pictures of product, need I say more?
-$200 - Laptop
-$200 - Printer.
To print receipts, invoices, shipping labels and so on.
-$1000 - 1 year internet
-$1500 - Promotion and Marketing budget
*$1000 - Car repair and maintenance.
Because every business involved in distribution needs a well maintained vehicle.
*$7000 - 6 Months Living Expenses.
I was hesitant to add this, but over the past couple of months trying to complete a couple of projects while working full time I realized that in order to truly succeed at my endeavors, I am going to need some time off of work.
*$17000 - Donated hats and scarves
Yes. It seems like a lot, and it is a lot, this is a very good thing that we are doing. To get this figure I merely figured out how much I need to comfortably launch EnlightenedButterfly as an official business. Although, there is no real cap on this fundraiser. Additional funds raised through this GoFundMe campaign continue to go towards hats and scarves with the other 50% going to more yarn/supplies, filling out the marketing budget and continuing to maintain the car.
And because you are being so incredibly generous by donating to my cause, I have been inspired to use this campaign to help others as well. Hardship affects everyone at some point in life and we all could use a helping hand to warm our spirits once in a while. There are many people out there like myself that have to plan every penny of their paychecks and are faced with difficult financial decisions month to month, week to week...day to day.
So I am proud to announce that 50% of all the proceeds that you are donating to help build and stabilize my business will go towards buying yarn to make hats and scarves to donate to one of the four chapters of Warmth for All (http://www.warmthforall.com/) or to distribute within my own community next winter, because no matter what the circumstances, everyone deserves to stay warm.
To quickly break down how the hat and scarf drive works: One hat uses two balls of yarn, which is $15 in material cost. One scarf uses 3 balls of yarn, which is $21 in material costs. Donations of less than $30 go towards transportation, packaging and distribution. To be economical about the donations, hats and scarves - both to be shipped out and distributed within the valley - will be pooled until there are 20 or more items to donate. The extra funds from the additional donations that would go to shipping go towards more yarn to make extra hats and scarves to distribute because 50% means 50%. Once the package ships or the items are distributed in my area, a new chapter of Warmth for All and new local charity or way to distribute the items will be chosen for fair and equal distribution of donated goods.
Disclaimer: Although EnlightenedButterfly is contributing to a cause via this fundraiser, EnlightenedButterfly is not a charity.
I am, always have been and always will be a fashion designer. Your life changing contributions are going towards helping my childhood calling into a legitimate art using the medium that I am most passionate about. Because of you, I will be able to explore higher quality fibers and more exquisite designs.
My goal for this campaign is to have the money raised by May 1st, 2018, so that I can have all the funds gathered, allocate them properly and then begin crocheting hats and scarves in May. This way I can have them ready to donate during the winter of 2018.
And finally, this campaign is merely a launching pad for my business. The money will be going towards building a studio space, buying supplies, promoting my business and distributing goods. My long term vision is that EnlightenedButterfly will blossom into a full time opportunity, but I know that is entirely up to me giving it my all and using these funds appropriately as well as dependent on supply and demand.
To see my crochet portfolio, check out @EnlightenedButterflyMT on Instagram.
So where exactly is your money going?
You are being incredibly altruistic by donating to help my business spreads it's wings, so of course I'm more than willing to provide full transparency of where your funds are being allocated.
-$1000 - Rents a storage unit for 1 year.
Right now, I live in a pull behind camper trailer, we barely have room for our bare necessities. Having a storage space would give me a clean, organized space for supplies and inventory as well as a better work space.
*$1450 - Creates the EnlightenedButterfly Custom Crochet Creation Station within the storage space.
-$100 - Lounge chairs
-$50 - Coffee table
-$100 - Shelving
-$100 - Wire Baskets
-$250 - Storage Totes
-$250 - Male and Female mannequins
-$600 - Adjustable dress forms in small, medium and large
*$6550 - Makes the magic happen
-$3250 - Yarn and supplies.
Mostly yarn, I plan on branching out into higher quality fibers as well as finer gauge yarn so I can create exquisite designs like lingerie, leggings and socks...dresses, skirts, shirts, sweaters, pants... I am too excited about the design possibilities, you are a dazzling individual for helping turn my dreams into reality. With a legitimate budget for supplies, I will be able to source better, higher qualtiy yarn that is local when possible. Also included in supply costs are a complete set of bamboo crochet hooks, a 32 pack of fabric markers and plain (presumably thrifted) T-shirts.
-$200 - MommieMadeIt 100% cotton sew on labels (https://www.etsy.com/shop/MommieMadeIt) Right now I make my labels by taking thrifted cotton T-shirt material, drawing the logo on the material with a permanent marker, letting it sit for about two weeks and then ironing the design to further set the dye. Buying labels would save me a ton of time while simultaneously supporting another small business.
-$200 - Camera.
For excellent pictures of product, need I say more?
-$200 - Laptop
-$200 - Printer.
To print receipts, invoices, shipping labels and so on.
-$1000 - 1 year internet
-$1500 - Promotion and Marketing budget
*$1000 - Car repair and maintenance.
Because every business involved in distribution needs a well maintained vehicle.
*$7000 - 6 Months Living Expenses.
I was hesitant to add this, but over the past couple of months trying to complete a couple of projects while working full time I realized that in order to truly succeed at my endeavors, I am going to need some time off of work.
*$17000 - Donated hats and scarves
Yes. It seems like a lot, and it is a lot, this is a very good thing that we are doing. To get this figure I merely figured out how much I need to comfortably launch EnlightenedButterfly as an official business. Although, there is no real cap on this fundraiser. Additional funds raised through this GoFundMe campaign continue to go towards hats and scarves with the other 50% going to more yarn/supplies, filling out the marketing budget and continuing to maintain the car.
Organizer
Emily McIntyre
Organizer
Bozeman, MT
