Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendra Hayes.
Kendra, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in San Antonio, Texas and raised in Sugar Land, Texas.
My Parents worked very hard to ensure that my Sister & I never had to endure the type of upbringing they endured. My Father is from South Central (LA), California, that area is full of gang violence, drug selling, & more. My Father was able to remove himself from that environment by working hard and obtaining a football scholarship to Prairie View A&M University. My Father was the first & only member of his family to attend college. My Mother is from Atlanta, Georgia she is one of five children to a single mother. My maternal grandmother couldn’t afford to send five children to college so my mother worked hard in school. My Mother was able to obtain an academic scholarship to Prairie View A&M University. My Mother and her siblings were also first generation to attend college. Both of my parents knew how important it was to obtain a college education to ensure their children would be raised in a better environment.
In High School, I.H. Kempner to be exact I was the President of the Home Economics Club for multiple years. I truly enjoyed sewing, cooking, and interior design classes. No matter how much I enjoyed the home economics curriculum, I enjoyed math and science much more. My goal after high school was to become a Doctor, but my senior year of high school I realized I didn’t want to go through that much schooling. After making that decision, I felt lost because I didn’t know what else I could major in. After spending a few weeks lost about my future my Mother brought me an article about engineering and the different types of engineers. That is when I decided that I’d major in Mechanical Engineering, next step was applying to schools. All my friends were going to University of Texas at San Antonio so of course I wanted to go as well, but my parents had something else in mind. My parents basically forced my into attending Prairie View A&M University. They told me that PVAMU produces some of the best black engineers in the country, but at that time I just wanted to go to the same University as my friends. Nonetheless, I ended up attending Prairie View A&M University where I later graduated with a B.S in Mechanical Engineering.
Hindsight is 20/20, but I’m very grateful that I was forced to attend PVAMU because the Professors did more than teach us how to be Engineers. The Professors taught us how to be BLACK Engineers in an industry filled with people that do not look like us. My journey through Corporate America has not always been an easy one. In 2017, I left Anheuser-Busch InBev and accepted a position with Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU). BBU won me over by telling me they wanted to bring in people with more technical knowledge to help balance out the knowledge vs experience they currently had. I truly enjoy process optimization and process improvement types of projects so at the time I thought it would be a great opportunity to make my mark. I was very WRONG, from the beginning I was treated differently by my Peers. I don’t know if it was because I was the only Engineer if it was because I was the only Female or anything else I truly do not know. All I know is that I didn’t receive the same warm welcome that I saw others get who started after me. In 2018, I joined a chat called Young Black Professionals in Houston. With that group, get-togethers were more than networking they were a safe space for us to decompress. In November 2018, my Friend Kayla & I volunteered to co-host a FriendsGiving Event. I made an autumn inspired selfie frame for the event so that we could make fun memories. I never thought anything of it at the time, but my Friend Richard told me that I could make a business out of it.
Even after hearing that I pretty much ignored him, but for the Ugly Sweater Game Night Event that December I decided to make another frame. That frame was a hit as well & Richard told me again, you could turn this into a business. Fast forward to 2019, by this point I was truly unhappy at BBU & STRESSED OUT beyond belief. Christmas 2018, my Mother gifted me a sewing machine that I had not opened yet. March 2019, while doing some spring cleaning I realized I had a lot of Sorority shirts that I no longer wore but did not want to get rid of either. That is when I decided to make a quilt out of my sorority shirts to remind me of my time in undergrad. I finished the quilt, posted a picture on Facebook and the response was incredible! So many people expressed interest, but at that time it was just a hobby to relieve stress so I was only making quilts for family and my sorority sisters. It wasn’t until my split from BBU that I decided to make my services available to the public.
Kay’s Kraftbox is my baby & I’m still nurturing my business. Constantly thinking of new products that I can create to help others enhance their memories.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’ve wanted to be my own Boss for a while now, but I always thought that would be as a Franchise Owner.
Kay’s Kraftbox is a hobby turn business so it’s always growing. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes when running a business. For example, when I decided to be an Etsy seller I initially had to accept that my profit would decrease due to all the Etsy fees. With Etsy you have to ship your packages priority mail which is fine when your items fits in a priority box. For larger items that’s not the case so I have to come up with creative ways to standardize my process & profits. Also Etsy is a very competitive market, there’s a ton of people who can do the same exact thing I can so you have to set yourself apart.
What should we know about Kay’s Kraftbox? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Kay’s Kraftbox does more than just sew quilts is a crafting company. T-shirt Quilts & Sherpa T-shirt Blankets are the top seller but I provide holiday wreaths, jumbo selfie frames, & handmade sorority and fraternity crossing gifts.
Currently, my niche is the sorority & fraternity market since I’m in a sorority I know what those types of clients are looking for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KaysKraftbox?ref=search_shop_redirect
- Email: Kayskraftbox@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kays_kraftbox/
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