Rising Stars: Meet Christy Koch of Grain Valley, MO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Koch

Hi Christy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have always found joy in crafts and creating new designs. In 2022, God began to open doors for me and encourage me to move forward to sell my crafts. I was a bit hesitant with not knowing if I could sell what I made. I started attending local events with just my night lights to see what would happen. My confidence began to grow and I began making different items like kitchen towels, shirts, earrings, egg containers and more. Over time, I found my lane with my products being all about the sparkle. I add touches of glitter to my towels, shirts and night lights and the customers love it! My husband, a kid at heart, wanted to bring something in for the kids. We have a large display of croc charms and accessories for the kids. We found that so many people loved them but not everyone had crocs and so I started turning them into earrings, magnets, straw charms and kid’s necklaces. That has been a huge hit for us! We love that we can provide something that the kids get so excited over for $5 that doesn’t break the bank for the parents.

We started by attending smaller, local events as well as farmer’s markets which was a great start for us. We met incredible vendors that we have become friends with. It’s great to have like minded friends for support, encouragement and advice along with way. Meeting our customers, face-to-face, is so exciting for us. We love getting to know them and build those relationships. Many of them follow us around to our events and bless us by supporting our business. We now spend most of our summer at 2-3 day festivals and the colder season at local, indoor events. You can also find our items in two local stores: Tammi Sue’s in Buckner, MO and Artisan’s in Harrisonville, MO. We have recently started an etsy store as well which was a bit scary and exciting!

I am incredibly blessed that my husband is so supportive and attends and helps me at all of our events and restocking the stores. He has been a DJ for over 30 years and has done many weddings, corporate events, night to shine, and several events at a Cable Dahmer. Over the last few years, I have stepped in to help him with scheduling, working with the customers and you will even find us together, working at the DJ Booth. It is such a blessing to work together, in both of our businesses, helping each other become successful at what we do.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely been a journey. Our biggest struggle was that we drove a Camero. Learning how to have a great display at events was a challenge as you can imagine. I would spend time during the week trying out new ideas in our garage. We were very creative and it was funny to watch everyone when they saw what we had go in and out of this car. Many vendors would stick around just to see how we could make that work. Most vendors would be home before we left. It was a huge challenge and time consuming for sure.

We are so blessed that we were able to purchase a used cargo van after our first festival of the year this past summer and that has been a game changer for us. I can finally say that I am 100% happy with our set up.

Another challenge has been the long days with the hot temperatures here in Missouri. Setting up and breaking down can be very difficult in those temperatures. We have had to learn how to stay hydrated and keep cool.

I would say our last big challenge has been keeping up with inventory, especially when we have events every weekend. I have learned a lot on how to stay ahead but I am definitely looking forward to when my husband retires and I can teach him some of this to help. We can do so much more but it is a lot for one person to keep inventory up.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make a variety of items. I have heard many vendors over the years that say you should have one type of item only. I have found that we do incredibly well because we do offer a variety. So many customers come into our booth or tent and tell us they have never seen items like what we have and with such a variety they can do all their gift shopping in one place. I make custom night lights and USB lights with color changing remote. My glitter, kitchen towels can be washed and dryed and stay looking amazing. Many customers are surprised by that because of the glitter and it keeps them coming back for more. I make several Kansas City shirt designs and faith designs with the glitter as well. I get a lot of requests for some very unique towels and night lights and I love the challenge. Most recently, I had a customer send me a picture of her tattoo asking if I could recreate that on a towel for a gift. Of all the items I make, my favorite is still the night lights. I love coming up with new designs that make our customers smile and laugh.

Besides the glitter, our prices is what sets us apart from others. We have so many customers come in to our tent at festivals thanking us that we keep it affordable. Though the glitter is a lot more work and time consuming, it’s important to me that it is affordable. I know what it is like to see something so pretty and for it to be way out of my price range. Something else that sets us apart is having our shirts in 3xl and 4xl. We have had women in tears that we offer something in glitter in their size. We love being able to do this for our customers.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
As I mentioned earlier, we are in two local stores; Tammi Sue’s in Buckner, MO and Artisan’s in Harrisonville, MO. You can follow our website for upcoming, in person events at blessedinnovations.net. I will also share this information on our facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/blessedinnovationsbyChristy We would love to meet you in person so please stop by and introduce yourself. I recently opened an etsy store with my towels and will soon be adding my night lights. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyBlessedInnovations

I can also do custom orders if you do not see the design you are looking for. My email is [email protected]

If you are needing a DJ, you can follow us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/djkochentertainment or email us for a quote at [email protected].

Pricing:

• Towels $12
• Night Lights $10 USB Lights $20
• Shirts (short sleeve) Small-2XL $20, 3XL $22, 4XL $24

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blessedinnovations.net
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blessedinnovationsbyChristy
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyBlessedInnovations