Keep Little Button Craft open after a slow season.

Hello,

My name is Shelby and I am the owner of Little Button Craft, a small business located in the South Wedge of Rochester, NY. We have spent the last eight years supporting local artists from within 100 miles of Rochester and are proud to say we work with over 250 talented creatives.

We work hard to make handmade goods approachable and affordable to anyone who comes into the shop. We offer free craft nights (with a suggested donation) that are open to anyone who wants to join and make something neat. We've taught classes on numerous crafts such as journal making, needle felting, crochet, knitting, resin, and more. I am proud to say that we have done our best to bring crafts and art into as many Rochesterian's lives as we can.

The first few months of 2024 have been our worst since before (and including) the pandemic. I have done my best to continue bringing funds in, save where I can, and bring our visibility up on social media to draw more customers. I recently have had to run with a skeleton crew of staff in order to keep our doors open and afford our monthly bills. This has delayed communication with our artists, scheduling of events, cancellation of events, and a backlog of tasks that can't get done by one to two people. We are also at a point in which we can not afford to bring in new inventory such as yarn, craft kits, or other goodies you've all come to know and love.

Over the years we've had many regular customers tell us how we hold a special place in the community as well as in their hearts. I am calling in a favor to the community that loves us to ask if you can help us financially so we can recover from these last few slow months and get back to offering free events (pronoun pin night, patch night, shitty craft night, and more) without having to survive on donations or day to day sales. I want to keep delivering all of the LBC goodness to this neighborhood without hiking up prices and restricting access to craft activities but if I'm being honest we are in a dangerous spot.

What Your Donation Will Support:

If you have the cash to help out, I wholeheartedly appreciate it. If you are also in a rough financial spot, please consider sharing this wtih someone you know or getting the word out about LBC. Every single sale matters to us, and being able to have a slight bit of comfort knowing that we have enough money to cover staffing as well as other bills, with the ability to offer free events is something that is invaluable to me as a business owner.

We appreciate all that Rochester has done for us and would truly love to keep moving forward and give you the LBC we constantly dream of.

Thank you for allowing me to be vulnerable during a very hard time, and thank you for your consideration of donating.

Best,

Shelby