FRAZER ANDRADE
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At just 18 years of age, Noleen Aguiar is proving that passion and perseverance can weave together a remarkable story. A second-year LLB student at Kare College of Law, Noleen is balancing the demands of legal studies while success fully running her own crochet business, creating beautiful handmade products that have found admirers far beyond her circle of friends. What began as a simple lesson from her grandmother has today blossomed into a creative venture that combines tradition, entrepreneurship, and heart felt craftsmanship.
Noleen’s introduction to crochet came unexpectedly when she was in the seventh standard. One rainy evening, while sitting with her family, she watched her grandmother, Joyce Aguiar, skilfully crocheting. Seeing her curiosity, Joyce offered to teach her the basics. Although Noleen didn’t immediately pursue the craft, that special moment stayed with her. A few years later, she picked up the crochet hook once again, initially as a hobby. Over time, what started as a pastime slowly evolved into a flourishing business. While her grandmother laid the foundation by teaching her the basic stitches, Noleen’s eagerness to improve led her to explore advanced techniques through YouTube tutorials and various online resources. Today, she proudly describes herself as someone who is both traditionally taught and self-taught, blending family wisdom with modern learning. Like every artist, Noleen’s journey had humble beginnings. Her very first crochet project was meant to be a bun ny. However, as she fondly recalls, it looked like “everything except a bunny.” Made using jute thread, the project was her first attempt at amigurumi, and de spite its imperfections, it marked the beginning of a creative adventure that continues to this day. For Noleen, cro chet is far more than making decorative items. It offers her peace, fulfilment, and a sense of purpose. There is immense satisfaction in knowing that something lovingly made by hand becomes a meaningful part of someone’s life, whether it’s a key chain, a bouquet, an amigurumi plushie, or a thoughtful handmade gift. That per sonal connection with customers is what continually inspires her to keep creating. After long and hectic college days, crochet also serves as her way of unwinding.
She usually takes a short break, enjoys a cup of coffee, and im merses herself in crocheting, allowing the patience and concentration the craft demands to calm her mind. Crochet holds deep emotional signif icance for Noleen. It is not only a hobby or a source of income but also a cher ished family tradition. Growing up, she watched both her grandmothers and her mother crochet. Carrying forward that legacy gives her immense pride, making every hand made creation even more meaningful. The idea of turning crochet into a busi ness came unexpectedly. “After creating a crochet item for a friend and taking it to school, many classmates admired my work and en couraged me to start selling my crea tions”, Noleen mentioned. Supported by her parents and inspired by her friends’ confidence in her talent, Noleen decid ed to take the leap into entrepreneur ship. Every business has a memorable first sale, and for Noleen, it was a crochet mushroom lighter case. It was some thing she had never attempted before, making the order both exciting and challenging. More importantly, know ing that someone trusted her enough to pay for her handmade work gave her immense confidence and motiva tion to continue. Determining the price of handmade products is something Noleen says she is still learning. Her pricing generally takes into account the time spent on each piece, the effort involved, the cost of raw materials, and additional expenses such as packaging and other miscellaneous costs. Today, her growing collection features a wide range of hand crafted products. Among her most popular creations are crochet bouquets, adorable amigurumi plush ies, keychains, cardigans, and several other customised handmade items.
Managing academics alongside a growing business is never easy, No leen admits. She carefully dedicates specific hours after college to crochet while ensuring that sufficient time is reserved for her studies. Although jug gling customer orders and academic commitments can become particularly challenging during busy seasons, she remains committed to maintaining a healthy balance between both. Like every small business owner, Noleen has experienced moments of stress and overwhelm. Meeting customer dead lines while keeping up with college assignments often tests her time man agement skills. Yet what keeps her moti vated is the joy her customers express when they receive their finished prod ucts. Their apprecia tion, positive feedback, and happiness continue to encourage her to overcome every challenge. Over the years, she has be come bet ter at planning projects, estimating completion times, and organising her schedule efficiently. These lessons in disci pline and time management help her balance business responsibilities, ac ademics, and personal life more effec tively. Most of Noleen’s design ideas emerge from custom orders placed by custom ers. She also draws inspiration from platforms such as Pinterest and You Tube while occasionally designing orig inal creations entirely from her own imagination. Every handmade item requires different amounts of time and dedication.
Small pieces can often be completed within a few hours, where as larger and more intricate creations, such as cardigans, may take several weeks to finish. For students considering transform ing their hobbies into side hustles, No leen offers simple yet valuable advice. She encourages them to take the leap, explaining that running a small busi ness provides invaluable learning experiences while helping develop important life skills beyond earning money. At the same time, she emphasises the im portance of balancing stud ies with business. According to her, passion, consisten cy, and a willingness to keep learning can take creativity to unim aginable heights. As she looks to ward the future, Noleen hopes her crochet journey will continue to grow and reach even more people.
