Hidden Gems: Meet Jazlene Montes of Custom Bella Creations

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jazlene Montes. 

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?
Custom Bella Creations was my COVID-19 baby. While I’ve crocheted and knitted since the ripe age of 7, I never thought to share my creations outside of my friends and family. However, after making a lot of blankets, hats, and scarfs as gifts many others started asking if I could make gifts for them and they could buy some from me. Thus, Custom Bella Creations was born. I spent a lot of my time in isolation crafting and making positive use of my time outside of work. I started my Etsy shop last October 2020. As time went on, I bought my domain for our website and attended my first Market in March. Most maker markets are judged by a panel and I was scared to be rejected. But thankfully through social media I found a free market and was able to attend and learn along with the event planner.

After that under my belt, I had the confidence to apply to other local markets. Over the summer I attended the Raleigh flea market for more experience and have been a part of 8 smaller local vender markets.

This November and December I have another 11 markets planned. Markets are a great way to meet clients and sell during my “free” time. God willing I’ll continue attending markets and running my online store.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No journey as much as we plan it is ever smooth. One major struggle I have is managing my social media. While I am a millennial, I consider myself an old soul and that means as an old soul I struggle with socials. When to post, what to post, how to stay on brand etc. thankfully YouTube university has helped me learn my way through it and I do what I can to stay active and build an audience to share my brand with. Another challenge, I have is applying to markets. As I’m learning the Raleigh markets, I’m learning how to apply, when to apply, and the markets that have my “ideal shopper.” As I mentioned before, I was able to have a free market to try out without having to be judged and that encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and apply to others. As time went on, I’ve gained more confidence, learned of more markets, when their dates are and when I can apply. I hope to be more organized in the coming years as I learn more.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Custom Bella Creations?
Everything in my business is handmade by me. My mom has helped make some I my mini scrunchies to prep for markets but besides that, I make everything by hand. My scrunchies are made from high-quality seamless elastic scrunchies. I crochet velvet yarn around the elastic bands. The velvet is super soft and helps prevent hair pulling and scrunchie marks. My knit hair bows are made from the same velvet yarn and available with multiple finishes; alligator clips, nylon headbands, and scrunchies.

My chunky knit blankets are made from chenille yarn. This polyester fabric is super soft but durable enough to machine wash and dry. Many chunky knit blankets are hand wash only. If you have ever had to wash a large blanket by hand it’s extremely difficult and heavy. Our blankets remove that hassle for you and allows you to enjoy your blankets for longer.

My hair accessories and blankets are available all year around. This fall I started offering cold weather wearables. Not sure if they will be available throughout the year yet but they are available for the time being. My wearables are made from soft acrylic yarn. Like my blankets, they are machine washable and dryer friendly. Something really special about all our hats is that they have removable snaps for mix and match faux fur pom poms. If you don’t care for poms, you could simply turn your hat inside out to find the Pom as both sides are wearable. Further down, the line I’d love to offer hats that are stripped on one side and solid on the other to have two hats in one.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I love working and collaborating with other small businesses. The stickers I use and give out with my packaging we’re an outcome of a collaboration with a small local sticker business. They helped design and create images specifically for me and my brand. We’ve also had shared giveaways in the past. As for how someone could support me, the best thing would be sharing my work. Taking photos wearing my items and tagging the business. Sharing our post. Telling others how they feel about the products and services we provide. Reviews and feedback are the best support any client can share with a business.

Pricing:

• Women’s ear warmers, headbands are $25
• Unisex hats are $30; extra snap on poms are $5
• Scrunchies range from $3-5
• Bows are $10
• Blankets start at $40

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.CustomBellaCreations.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/CustomBellaCreations
• Facebook: Facebook.com/CustomBellaCreations