Creative Outlet Turned Side Hustle with Erica Ross of Glamouross Goods
Collider is passionate about sharing the stories of entrepreneurs and small business owners! We recently chatted with clay jewelry artist, Erica Ross, about her experience with starting her side hustle, Glamouross Goods.
Photo contributed by Erica Ross.
Erica Ross, librarian by day and polymer clay jewelry artist by night, has always loved crafting in her spare time and recalls her two grandmothers teaching her how to make things as a little girl.
“I remember my abuela teaching me how to cross stitch, which I found tedious at the time. But she helped teach me some of those skills that I now love. My other grandmother, Granny, is an artist and primarily does sculpting and painting. She taught me how to make paper out of cattails and always had watercolors and pastels ready for me to paint with. She really has ingrained into my life the importance of practicing art.” Erica explained.
Erica was born and raised in Stillwater, Minnesota. After graduating high school, she acquired her master’s degree in library and information science, along with an undergraduate degree in psychology. She and her husband lived in the Twin Cities up until the end of 2018, at which point they moved to Rochester, seeking a less expensive city to live and work in. Erica got a job at Mayo Clinic, where she works in the medical library, predominantly focused on public services and making sure people have access to library resources.
In 2014, while living in the cities, Erica had started her first crafting side hustle, That Sassy Stitch, with which she sold cross stitch designs and sweater mittens, and also collaborated with a vintage collective to embroider vintage sheets.
“I did a lot of vendor events in the Twin Cities, which ended up being really difficult just because there was so much competition. On any given day there could be many separate events happening which would impact turnout at all of them. I just never found that I had great success with sales.”
Photo contributed by Erica Ross.
After having her son and moving to Rochester, Erica thought it was time to give up her side hustle.
“After moving I thought, ‘Well, I’m done.’ Because now I was a mom, we didn’t have family nearby anymore, and I felt like it was time to focus on being an adult. A year went by, and it was really clear to me that I was missing something and needed a creative outlet.”
Erica started crafting again, this time playing with polymer clay and making earrings. Not long after, the pandemic started and her husband suggested that perhaps she could start sewing masks.
“Initially I was giving away masks, like one thousand of them. From that, people started following me on Instagram. Eventually another local artist suggested that I start selling my masks at Threshold Arts, because they were starting their storefront downtown. Later, I started selling my earrings there too.”
Photo contributed by Erica Ross.
Slowly, more opportunities to sell her crafts and participate in events came her way. Erica has been a vendor the past two years at The Night Market events.
“When I first got back into crafting after moving to Rochester, I had decided that I wouldn't get back into vending because of my experiences with it in the Twin Cities. But I was convinced to be a vendor at The Night Market. It was my first event in three years and I was absolutely blown away. The community really showed up in a way I hadn’t seen before.”
For Erica, some of the greatest challenges she’s faced while turning her hobby into a business have been “making it legit,” from figuring out sales and use taxes, to settling on a name for her evolving crafts.
“I’ve changed my business name a couple of times now as my projects have changed. It’s been hard making those adjustments in such a way that people can find me and my products. But people are really supportive. There are some customers who used to buy masks from me who now buy my earrings. I’ve also been lucky to connect to other small business owners who have shared their experiences and shed some light on how to work through problems that I’m having.”
Now rebranded under the name Glamouross Goods, Erica predominantly sells polymer earrings out of Threshold Arts in Rochester, Refill Goods in Plainview, Minnesota, and online. She also teaches classes on how to make earrings locally at Art Heads Emporium.
Photo contributed by Erica Ross.
While Erica loves crafting, she also finds much fulfillment in her work as a librarian, and has no plans to grow Glamouross Goods into a full time gig.
“Ultimately this started as something to help me relax after my full time job, and I want it to continue to be that enjoyable thing I look forward to at the end of the day. I would love to continue teaching classes and mentoring people as they experience this art form, as well as continue doing vendor events, growing, and meeting other artists.”
Outside of work and crafting, Erica spends a lot of time with her five year old son. She loves trying new foods and some of her favorite local restaurants are Thai Pop and First Meeting Noodle. She is also an avid podcast listener and cat mom.
She concluded, “Sometimes it’s so funny for me to even consider this a real business or of myself as an entrepreneur. In my mind I’m still just making my little crafts in my bedroom. It’s exciting that other people love the things that I make too.”
Thank you for taking the time to read Erica’s story! If you find value in this content, please consider donating to help Collider continue amplifying the voices of Rochester entrepreneurs. You can also find out more about Glamouross Goods by clicking the link below!
Article by Corrie Strommen, Director of Community at Collider.
