Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 10/7/2021
GRANBY - Granby resident Tasha Rich is the creator of the Rich Stitch Crochet, handmade crochet blankets, animals, critters and creatures. She participated at this year's Dino Fest, a one-day event for families and vendors.
Rich said the Dino Fest was the first event she attended as a vendor. "I have only been doing this for a few years. It's a very small side hobby more than a business," said Rich. "The original idea behind the Rich Stitch Crochet is that I have an inventory and go to the crafts fair. I started out with very small camp ground crafts fair and Dino Fest was actually my first big crafts fair. I did 20 small dinosaurs for Dino Fest and those were a hit."
She continued, "I've always been crafty and artistic. Crocheting came along eight years ago. My aunt taught me a very basic a double crochet stitch and that was to make a blanket. From there it kind of exploded and now I make almost anything that anyone can ask for."
Rich said crocheting is another creative outlet for her. Her best friend who has a small side business convinced her to make an Instagram page for her creations. "My thoughts going into Dino Fest were mostly about my display. I wanted to have a little of everything to offer everyone. I wanted it to cohesively come together to show a good range of my creations and I was very happy to have pulled that off," Rich expressed. "I was given Dennis Doucette's number for the event when he went into my brother's work looking for vendors and people interested. My brother passed it along and said I should do it and that's when I started making the dinosaurs for the event - can't have a Dino Fest without dinosaurs."
Rich told Reminder Publishing she didn't expect the outpour she received after Dino Fest. She said she felt it was a good way to let the world see her creations and release a lot of the items she collected over the last year and a half with the pandemic. She explained she received a few custom order requests from people that bought items at the Dino Fest and was already working to get those done as soon as possible. From there, she said, she would work on building more creations for next year. Because she has a full-time job as a hairdresser, Rich said, "It usually takes me anywhere from two to three days to a couple of weeks to create one animal, so I do as much as I can while working."
Rich is planning on making an Esty page in the near future and is on the lookout for crafts fairs next year. "I'll definitely be doing Dino Fest again and plan to bring a whole bunch of new stuff there," Rich added. "I love getting pictures back of peoples' children with their creations they've asked for. There'll be a lot of mothers that email or message me a picture of their child with the crochet animal they chosen and it makes my whole day."
For more information, visit Rich Stitch Crochet on Instagram or email at therichstitchcrochet@gmail.com.