We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samantha Paul. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samantha below.
Samantha , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I developed my confidence by doing theater in high school. It was the main thing that boosted my self-esteem and helped me come out of my shell. I attribute a lot of my current success to my acting experience. I am comfortable performing in front of large groups of people, so when I dropped out of school due to my health issues, I started posting on social media using the skillset I developed in high school. This helped me feel comfortable in front of a camera, and posting daily content has continued to boost my confidence.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a crochet content creator with multiple chronic illnesses. I started crocheting four years ago as a creative outlet for when my symptoms were bad. When I was 14 I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. Later, at 22 years old, I was diagnosed with hypermobile ehlers danlos syndrome, along with several of the comorbidities. These conditions cause chronic pain in addition to systemic symptoms. Shortly before I was diagnosed with hEDS, my health got so severe that I was forced to drop out of college. At this time, I was essentially stuck crocheting on my couch. I decided to start posting daily on TikTok, and after a few months of showing up, my account started to take off. I post crochet content and chronic illness content on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube every day. I also write and sell crochet patterns for the clothing I make.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The most impactful skill I have developed throughout my journey is my knowledge of crochet. When trying to grow a following on social media, I found it was really helpful to have a niche to be known for. I often get asked how I became so good at crochet, and the answer is simply time and practice. I’ve also found that what makes my accounts successful is me, and my personality. There are so many people out there doing the same thing you are doing so you have to find what sets you apart. For me it’s my personality and humor. I just really put myself out there and have fun, and people seem to resonate with that. I think a lot of that comes from my background in acting, but anyone can develop that by showing up and posting consistently. If you compare my videos from when I started to my videos now, you will see that a lot has changed. I find that change and growth come with time and experience. I also got a certificate in social media marketing to help grow my personal brand, as well as help others do the same. I find being open to learning new things, and changing directions is imperative for success.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I know that crochet clothing can be expensive, and I want my work to be accessible. That’s why I would love to do more bartering for my pieces with other artists. I recently traded some crochet items for some tattoos and I would love to do more of that. If you are an artist, creative, etc who is interested in bartering, please email me at [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.knottedbysam.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knottedbysam/?igsh=MXFwYWJhdXo4bG1qcg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr#
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KnottedbySam
- Other: Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@itsknottedbysam
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