As the world awaits for a potential COVID-19 vaccine through a needle, Indiana University senior Cam Jansen is using another type of needle to pass the time as the pandemic’s global impact continues to loom.
Jansen, 21, was looking for a way to keep herself busy when her entire apartment was on quarantine earlier in the fall semester. During this time, Jansen collected wooden rings and thread to create embroidered rings as part of business she calls Cam’s Crafts.
“The embroidery rings I purchased online. No one makes those for what I know of,” Jansen said. “The embroidery thread, a lot of people have reached out saying that their hobby is over, and they’d love to fuel my hobby.”
Because many students at Indiana University are stuck inside their homes doing virtual learning, this project became a way for Jansen to express her appreciation for Bloomington’s campus.
“This is a way for me to enjoy campus by embroidering the Sample Gates or the old well or the clock towers you see around,” Jansen said. “It started with me just loving IU and wanting me to document my memories of IU.”
Once Jansen’s boyfriend, Josef Eisgruber, saw the crafts that she was creating, the two of them together realized that friends and family would potentially become interested in purchasing an embroidered ring.
“I think either she came up with the idea or I was like, “You should try and sell some of these,” because they were done with such precision and they were so creative that there was definitely opportunity there,” Eisgruber said.
In an effort to promote Cam’s Crafts and market the embroidered rings to a larger audience, Jansen shared her crafts on her Facebook page at the end of October.
In this video, Jansen explains how she spread the word and promoted her business, Cam’s Crafts.
Jansen is selling two different types of rings: 3-inch diameter rings cost $10, and the 4-inch diameter rings cost $12. Jansen says she has stitched over 50 embroidered rings since starting this project, and enjoys gifting them to others ahead of the holiday season.
“I think that friends and family, a tangible gift that you took time to sit down and make and think of them, it feels like every little stitch goes into that, you know, that thoughtful gift, bringing that hobby back, I think means a lot to people,” Jansen said.
From start to finish, Jansen says that it typically takes her around an hour per ring, depending on how elaborate the stitches and design are.
The precision and delicate hand movements embroidering requires is a skillset that Jansen has benefitted from this experience. Jansen is currently in the process of applying to dental school, and has been able to discuss her improved dexterity from creating the embroidered rings in interviews— particularly at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB).
“They did ask me if I’m skilled with my hands. They asked about my dexterity, how I work on it, and I brought up embroidering,” Jansen said. “I told them about my new hobby, and how I’ve taken advantage of this stagnant time in school. I’m using my time for a skill I’ll actually need to use for later.”
In addition to UAB, Jansen has applied to Indiana University, as well as schools in South Carolina, Georgia, and her home state of North Carolina. Jansen is expected to graduate following the end of the spring semester next year.
In this video, Jansen explains how Cam’s Crafts make great gifts for the upcoming holiday season.
As for what’s next for Jansen in the arts and crafts world?
“Josef gave me the idea that maybe you should use a practical item that people can work with but not just look at them. Designs on t-shirts, and dish towels, and Josef said some socks,” Jansen said. “So I do see some Cam’s Crafts continuing in the future, which I hope it does.”
For more information on purchasing or requesting an embroidered ring, Jansen can be reached at camjanse@iu.edu.
