LELAND — Grace Mills from Leland was 8 years old when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Without much else to do, she dove into a hobby with her grandmother that has since become a passion.
“I always loved crafting, playing around with things. So when she had some potholders at our house and she taught me how to do a basic pattern, it just kind of started. And then it was really fun. I was like, ‘Wow, I can actually just keep making these all day,’” said Grace.
Now 12, Grace has become an entrepreneur, selling her potholders throughout Northern Michigan. But it wouldn’t have been possible without a helping hand from her grandmother, Becky Ross.
“When she would come over here, we kind of got into our own little thing doing that,” said Becky. “Grace very quickly got faster at figuring out where to go on the internet than I could, and she’d tell me of a new something that she had found.”
“It’s a special thing to have with her, and we work together on it, so it’s a lot of fun,” she added.
Taking Potholders by Grace from a hobby to a real business took a leap of faith.
“You have to be brave,” said Grace. “I was really nervous when I went to bring the potholders to this woman and ask her if she still wanted them and everything. But then once I did it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is amazing. This is really fun.’”
She said she’s gotten a lot of positive feedback.
“At the first artist market ... I brought a few potholders with me that we had made, just to see. They all sold, and I got lots of comments on them. Everybody’s like, ‘These are so fun, you should do more of these.’ So I was thinking maybe this year I could try doing it again,” said Grace.
In addition to markets and art fairs, you can also find Grace’s potholders downtown in Leland at Goodness on Main.