Back in 2020, when the first COVID lockdown was announced, I got diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It was very boring being high risk during a pandemic because I literally couldn't leave the house for 6 months. I was digging in the basement and I found some old curtains, so I started sewing scrunchies and drawstring pouches out of them and selling them to my friends. My mom and aunt offered to help me build a website to start selling the things I made. Thanks to a few tech-savvy family members, HMWASM was up and running within a few weeks. My mom helped me out with buying materials and promoting the website. Orders went out regularly until I was done with chemotherapy. When I went back to school, production slowed significantly. In September 2022 I started working on complex crochet projects and building a portfolio. I also started experimenting with simple patterns so I could sell clothes, toys, accessories. In February 2023 I rebranded the website, changed up nearly everything, including the logo. As I am navigating the roaring waters of senior year and college applications, business has slowed down once again, but I am still working on separate projects, a few hours each week. Hopefully, as I keep learning and expanding my inventory, I'll be able to take HMWASM to a craft fair and sell my creations in person.