Aug. 15, 2025

From Frugality to Entrepreneurship: The Journey of a First-Time Vendor

Send us a text Creativity often springs from the most practical places. For Cristalyn, it was her self-described "cheapness" – or as she later amends, frugality – that launched her crafting journey. "If I see something and I like it and I see the price and I don't agree with it, I learned to make it myself," she explains with refreshing candor in this enlightening conversation about entrepreneurship, crafting techniques, and finding your market niche. We catch Cristalyn at a pivotal moment –...

Send us a text

Creativity often springs from the most practical places. For Cristalyn, it was her self-described "cheapness" – or as she later amends, frugality – that launched her crafting journey. "If I see something and I like it and I see the price and I don't agree with it, I learned to make it myself," she explains with refreshing candor in this enlightening conversation about entrepreneurship, crafting techniques, and finding your market niche.

We catch Cristalyn at a pivotal moment – her very first pop-up event after years of selling solely through word-of-mouth and online channels. The excitement of direct customer interaction shines through as she showcases her distinctive sublimation t-shirts, bags, and other custom items. Her business approach is remarkably intuitive, focusing on underserved markets like Black line dancing apparel and spiritual-themed merchandise. "There are things out there, but it was more country western. There really wasn't a lot of black line dancing gear," she notes, demonstrating her knack for identifying and filling market gaps.

The technical aspects of her craft reveal an entrepreneur who values both quality and creativity. Cristalyn breaks down the differences between sublimation and vinyl techniques, explaining why she prefers sublimation's seamless integration with fabric and greater design flexibility. Her practical advice for aspiring crafters – being realistic about startup costs and choosing techniques that match your budget – reflects the measured approach that has helped her succeed. For those nervous about their first vendor experience, she offers reassurance through her own example: "Be yourself and be prepared... Make the connections." It's a masterclass in grassroots entrepreneurship from someone who transformed curiosity and resourcefulness into a business built on listening to what people actually want.

Connect with Cristalyn on social media as "This Is Cris" on Facebook and TikTok, and "thisisCris84" on Instagram to see her latest designs and learn about upcoming pop-up events. Have you ever created something yourself instead of paying for it? Share your DIY entrepreneurship stories in the comments!

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00:00 - Introduction to Miss Krystalyn

01:28 - First Pop-Up Experience

02:10 - From Frugal to Entrepreneur

03:30 - Sublimation vs. Vinyl Techniques

05:31 - Advice for New Crafters

06:33 - Navigating Pop-Up Events

08:01 - Contact Information and Closing

WEBVTT

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Hey guys, have you ever wondered where your favorite t-shirt came from, how it was made, what it was designed with and who put the thought into it?

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Well, I'm here with Miss Krystalyn and, man, I tell you, all of her stuff looks beautiful and phenomenal.

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Check it out.

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Bags, tumblers.

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I just didn't have time to do tumblers but I think you did good.

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Thank you.

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Yes, you see it.

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You cannot see it.

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So we are here and she is going to tell us the secret sauce behind making a vibrant sublimation shirt in everything that she does.

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Welcome to the show.

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Thank you so much.

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This is such a great opportunity.

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I appreciate it.

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This has been almost a labor of love for me.

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I've been kind of crafting for maybe about five or six years now, but this is actually my first pop-up event.

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I've never done anything like this.

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Everything's been strictly either word of mouth or online.

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Really.

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Yeah, this is the first time I've actually had like my designs and my t shirts and bags like lined up for people to just kind of touch and see and ask questions.

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So this is definitely a very different atmosphere.

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It's, I love just people asking questions versus DMing and like messaging, like people can actually ask me a question directly.

00:02:05.209 --> 00:02:06.171
So this is very cool.

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So what got you into crafting?

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You know what?

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To be completely honest, I'm cheap, okay.

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So if I see something and I like it and I see the price and I don't agree with it, I learned to make it myself.

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So that's where it kind of stemmed from.

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I bought an embroidery machine because I can do that.

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I learned how to sew because I can do that.

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I don't need to pay somebody to do that for me, I just learned to do it myself.

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And then the other stuff sublimation and stuff just came out of just being curious about.

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I've never seen that before.

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How do you do it?

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And then if it was reasonable enough to get into.

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So that's where it kind of came from.

00:02:49.812 --> 00:02:53.551
Wow, I like the fact that you said you were cheap.

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We can all relate, but the truth is you were just innovative.

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When you're an innovative person, you don't want to pay someone to do what you can do.

00:03:02.836 --> 00:03:06.388
That's exactly right, it just doesn't make sense to a creative mind.

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No, and I guess a better word would have been frugal, but I really like the idea of not only being able to do it myself, but I can put the touches on it that I want.

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She's an entrepreneur.

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You guys Innovative, creative.

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It's a blessing to be that way.

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What is your biggest secret to creating sublimation t-shirts?

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Listening to what people want, if there's a need, really listening to what people around me, friends, saying what's not in the market, because right now what's really big is line dancing.

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So a lot of my shirts have the trail ride thing, line dance, pop your fan.

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Because there are things out there, but it was more country western.

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There really wasn't a lot of black line dancing gear.

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If you look on social media it's out there, but locally there really wasn't a lot.

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So I kind of went that route because a lot of my friends are in the line dances.

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I have friends that go every day.

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So there was a need to say hey, I want a shirt that says pop your fan, I want a shirt that displays trail riding.

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So you know, it came out of me for that.

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Also, spiritual based things.

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I'm starting to get into that a little bit more because you know there are some things out there.

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But listening to, won't he do it like, yeah, I want to, won't he do a t-shirt?

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So I just kind of play with some designs and it came out great.

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So you know just, I think the secret is just really listening to what people want.

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And sublimation, unlike vinyl, you know vinyl is you put the vinyl on the t-shirt and it's kind of like, kind of like.

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It's kind of you can feel it.

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It's kind of sticky.

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Sublimation goes into the t-shirt.

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So when you touch my t-shirt there's it feels like fabric.

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So that's the nice thing about sublimation too.

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Okay, so you do prefer sublimation over the vinyl.

00:05:06.204 --> 00:05:06.716
I do.

00:05:07.098 --> 00:05:11.396
I do, and then you can do a lot more with it With vinyl, even though I do use it as well.

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With vinyl, it's only so much you can do with sublimation.

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I can take your picture and put it on the shirt.

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You can't do that with vinyl, so that's the nice thing about it.

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So you can be a lot more creative.

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What would you tell a young crafter?

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I would say be knowledgeable about how much you can spend, okay.

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So what I mean by that?

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So sublimation you have to get a printer, you have to convert it or buy a printer that's for sublimation.

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If you're embroidering, you want to buy the biggest embroidering machine you can, because you can't go to Walmart just buy a four by four or a four by six frame, because you're going to have orders that fill up the whole shirt.

00:05:58.845 --> 00:06:01.202
So you have to be mindful of what you can spend.

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Start there, look into it, see what the costs are and if it's really realistic to you, go that route.

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So if it has a small startup budget, definitely go with that.

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But if you're looking at something that might require a lot more money, that may not be your lane yet.

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So I would just say be mindful of what you can spend because you want to invest into it, and you have to be mindful of what you can invest Okay.

00:06:29.961 --> 00:06:33.071
What would you tell a young entrepreneur doing pop-ups?

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They've never done it before.

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They're nervous, unsure.

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Be yourself and be prepared.

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I came with just my products and some business cards.

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That's all I brought and that was great.

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But looking around at the other vendors, I'm seeing signs and I'm seeing racks, so definitely take in what you're seeing and look at what others are doing.

00:07:00.333 --> 00:07:01.824
These ladies are so helpful.

00:07:01.824 --> 00:07:03.747
Hey, don't worry about your prices.

00:07:03.747 --> 00:07:05.125
Hey, maybe next time bring this.

00:07:05.125 --> 00:07:09.487
Hey, they are pops up all around Shreveport, so be mindful of what you're bringing.

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Be yourself and ask questions.

00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:14.404
Good job, good job.

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Definitely.

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Make the best out of your experience.

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Make sure you make the connections.

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All of us are doing this thing alone, but guess what?

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You can do it with us, oh for sure, and it is so comforting to know that somebody else is struggling the way you struggle or don't know what you don't know.

00:07:33.463 --> 00:07:35.889
Yup, so you are doing phenomenal.

00:07:35.889 --> 00:07:36.810
Oh, thank you I appreciate that.

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I love it.

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Your energy, your attitude, all of it for this to be your first one.

00:07:41.084 --> 00:07:41.766
I'm proud, oh yeah.

00:07:41.927 --> 00:07:43.490
Thank you, thank you.

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I'm proud.

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I'm proud, well, being on the show.

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Is there anything that you want to tell the people watching?

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How to find you, what the next pop up is?

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Where will you be?

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I don't know when the next pop up is, but if it is, I will be posting on my social media.

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So you can find me at this is Kris T-H-I-S-I-S-C-R-I-S.

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On Facebook and on TikTok and on Instagram, this is Chris84.

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So that's where you can find me.

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I will be posting pictures, posting products, prices.

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If you see something but you want something different, or if you want to be creative and have me maybe design something, you can DM me with ideas.

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I do it all the time, so that would be great All right guys, you heard it here first.

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We are out here.

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Come out and support your local vendors.

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We are out here trying to make a difference for you and for the community.

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And until next time, bye.

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Just keep tailin' on, just keep tailin' on.

From Frugality to Entrepreneurship: The Journey of a First-Time Vendor

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