Paying for school, one custom crochet item at a time

Mylé Moody looks to share her craft of crochet with FAMU’s campus. Photo by Kelis Scott

Most college students join organizations, socialize and party throughout their time at school. But there are a select few, when given the opportunity, that get a head start in their careers by starting their own businesses, providing goods and services to the faculty and students on campus.

According to an article on CNN, the art of crochet has been getting 34 million searches on Instagram and 2 billion on TikTok, making it a popular activity.

Mylé Moody is the owner of Crochet by Mylé, a business that features custom-made bags, belts and everything else crochet.

Moody is a graduating business administration student from Grand Rapids, Mich.

Moody came to Florida A&M because she wanted to attend a Historically Black College or University.

“I decided to come to FAMU because I always wanted to go to an HBCU, so HBCUs were the only thing on my list, ” Moody said. “FAMU was at the top because there was an alumni association in Grand Rapids that was reaching out to us and I was offered a  scholarship better than any other one I received, so I went down to Florida.”

Moody, being an out of state student, decided to use her crochet skills to start a business and support herself financially.

“When I got here, I realized that the set was always lit and businesses were always out there, so as a way to make extra money, I decided to monetize my craft,” Moody said. ”Why not take something I love and make money with it?”

Moody says the best part of running her business is how many people knew of her.

“The best part about having a business really is to hear that people have heard of me and I had never met them before,” Moody said. “That means a lot to me, you can’t buy that, to have people recommend your brand.”

With her business getting exposure on campus, Moody has gained a few loyal customers in return.

“I think Mylé’s ability to get creative, thrive in her efforts and give quality product every time is amazing,” said Sherlanda Telusmond, a fourth year biology pre-medicine major. “The amount of support she pours into others is something that should be returned with three times back.”

In five years’ time, Moody hopes to make this small business into something greater.

“I already have a job lined up after college, but really that’s only to keep me stable in America,” Moody said. ”I really think I could go full time with this by the time I’m 27.”

Moody’s overall career goal is to branch outside of the business of crochet.

“The overall career goal is to be a serial entrepreneur,” she said. “I’m not one to be involved in just one thing.”

Moody hopes to use her business to inspire others as well as teach people to crochet.

“Our goal is to inspire creativity and individuality as everything here isn’t made the same,” Moody said. “I thought everything looks the same, it’s made with my individuality.”

Moody has a business Instagram and Etsy page for future customers.