Meet Mary Esposito

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Esposito.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my crochet business, Purple Pear, when I was 14 years old (I am now 18). I had to be hospitalized during my 8th-grade year for health problems, so I was away from friends, family, and the outside world. The other people in the hospital taught me how to crochet, and I quickly picked it up.

Since I had a lot of time on my hands, crochet was all I would do for hours. I had brought a stuffed plushie with me to the hospital: A little purple pear. My business name pays homage to that little guy who was by my side during a very pivotal and challenging part of my life.

When I was discharged, I continued to crochet stuffed animals. My friends and family expressed interest in them. I found I enjoyed giving them away as much as I enjoyed creating them. I started a little online shop in the spring of 2017. I started posting on Instagram, and my follower count slowly grew.

In the past 4 years, Purple Pear has grown to 700+ sales and 23k+ followers across social media platforms. I’ve shipped my crochet art to all 50 states and 3 continents.

Purple Pear was there for me during the lowest point of my life. Crochet isn’t just a business to me: It’s a coping mechanism, a passion. It fills me with so much joy when someone adopts a stuffed animal from my website, as I have a personal connection to everyone. I intend to crochet and share my plushies with the world for the rest of my life.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Once I was discharged from the hospital in the spring of 2017, I knew I wanted to continue to crochet. I wanted to start a crochet business because art gave me purpose.

I didn’t anticipate the challenges I would face trying to balance Purple Pear and academics. When I was in the hospital, my education was put on pause while I recovered. But in the real world, I had to juggle all these other responsibilities too.

It was hard figuring out my priorities (academics, Purple Pear, health, social life, etc). However, I slowly designed a routine that would allow me to participate fully in all my hobbies/responsibilities. I would attend school and get as much homework done as possible during the day between classes, before coming home to crochet my heart out.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I crochet plushies, or little stuffed toys (foods, animals, etc). I have restocks on my website (shoppurplepear.com) the third week of every month. Every plushie I make is meaningful to me, so I name every plushie I make/sell.

I let my social media followers choose which plushies I make. Especially on my TikTok (@shoppurplepear), people will comment with suggestions and I’ll make a video reply of me making their request. It’s a unique business approach that I like because it shows my customers I really do care and value their support.

It also feels more personal and therefore emotionally fulfilling.

What do you think about luck?
During all 4 years of me running Purple Pear online, I never really went viral on social media. I wouldn’t necessarily say this was bad luck, but it was just the reality of my business.

I would watch other artists who started their businesses after I go viral and quickly surpass me in sales and followers. I still find myself rhetorically asking “Why them and not me? when is it my turn?” I’ve had to confront this personal tendency to compare myself to others.

I’m continuing to grow and recognize that I should be happy for these other artists, as their meaningful art is finally being celebrated and appreciated. My turn will come.

Pricing:

• Plushies: $15-40

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: shoppurplepear.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/shoppurplepear
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/purplepearshop