Meet the Maker: Ella Erickson

By Victoria Shawgo

Born in Cedar City, Utah, Ella Erickson recently relocated with her family to Plant City. At only 15 years of age, she is starting her own small business where she sells her crocheted creations. She specializes in Amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed yarn creatures, but is able to make “just about anything.” Though her skill is evident, she has only been crocheting for the last four years.

“I was interested in it when I was younger, and my mom taught me,” she shared. Now the student is the teacher, and Ella is passing on her skills to her two younger sisters.

In the beginning, her creations consisted mostly of doll blankets, but at age 13, Ella had the opportunity to participate in an entrepreneurial event for kids where you could sell anything from $0.25 to $1.00, and she tried her hand at Amigurumi for the first time.

“I made these tiny snowmen,” she recalled, “and I wish I had one because it was one of my first Amigurumi that I ever made.”

After the event, Ella was inspired to continue selling her creations, and Ella’s Cookies and Crochet was born. At first she sold to family, which then became family and friends, and her customer base has grown as word of mouth has spread. She has now rebranded, and offers her items under the name of Ella’s Off the Hook Crochet. Her latest ventures into Amigurami are very detailed Harry Potter dolls inspired by the upcoming Last Friday in Downtown event (where she hopes to have a booth) hosted by Plant City Main Street.

She explained, “I chose that one because it had a whole bunch of unique touches you could put on it, including clothes and accessories that could come on or off.”

These dolls are quite impressive, but it is a tiny cow that made Ella an award winner. This cute little creature was taken from a pattern that she customized and entered into the Strawberry Festival youth competition, where she was awarded First Place in her age group, as well as Youth Grand Champion in her category.

“I love seeing a finished work come together,” she remarked, “and being able to make something with my own two hands and just seeing other people’s joy when they see what I’ve made.”

If you’re interested in making one of her products your own, you can find her on Facebook at Ella’s Off the Hook Crochet.