78-Year-Old Sheela Bajaj Turns Her Passion For Crochet Into Profession

"At the age of 77, I finally decided to follow my passion and live independently. I have always loved to craft crochet sweaters and purses for my family, until I decided that I am going to turn my passion into a profession.

We have a little family of just me and my granddaughter and the 2020 pandemic hit us harder than ever. The boredom just made me feel low and I had lost all hopes. That is when my granddaughter said, ‘How about you start knitting again? But this time, for yourself’. She re-ignited the passion for knitting within me and randomly posted some of my past creations on her instagram account. That was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. We decided to turn this into a full time job for me.

I was responsible for manufacturing and marketing, while she had taken up the finance and logistics department. That’s how we crafted our little business and at the age of 78, I earned my first paycheck– Rs. 350! It was a feeling I had never felt before. I felt so proud and independent that I just wanted to dance!

Although the beginning was humble and the response was cold. A lot of people of my age told me what I did was nothing special and there are so many who make similar products. But I never let that get into me because I knew the love I’d put in all my creations. Soon, we started getting orders from all over the country and then there was no looking back. As a single manufacturer, I get 10 times more orders in a month than I can ever make, but it is never exhausting!

I was told by a 20 year old woman that she loved my crochet bikini and a mom that the crochet frock looked so cute on her baby daughter. I just love my job!"

This article is an excerpt from Sheela Bajaj's interview with SheThePeople. 

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