TULSA, Okla. — Sallie Dale is the CEO of "The Urban Acres."
"I say CEO -- Crafting Executive Officer."
The entrepreneur used to be a high school art teacher, but when she and her husband were getting ready to welcome their first child, Dale found a way to be a stay-at-home mom, "I started selling kits at Christmas in 2019 and it really went well."
Dale is the daughter of a cross-stitcher and granddaughter of a painter. She uses her talent to design punch needle patterns.
"I sell a kit that has all of the material, everything you need," Dale said. "You open the box and you can start making."
It turns out, her timing was perfect.
"And then 2020 hit and everyone was looking for something to do at home," she said.
Because of the pandemic, Dale's Etsy business, "The Urban Acres," thrived. Kits were selling like hot cakes. People who had never heard of punch needling were learning this very old craft.
"It's always been a way historically for women, specifically, to express creativity," Dale said.
"But also to provide income to their family."
Photos: Tulsa woman's startup craft business thrives during pandemic
Dale now employs other moms who help build the kits.
"Moms come pick up yarn at my house, they take it home, they wind it up and drop it off," she said. "So they get to spend time with their kids and make money."
Dale calls her designs a modern revival of punch needle and says it's something anyone can do. She's now expanding her designs and will include traditional embroidery kits soon. Her kits are sold worldwide on her Urban Acres website and in retail stores across the U.S.
"I've got a store in Australia that carries my kits, and Canada," she said. "It's way bigger than I ever thought it would be."
So big, her husband is saying goodbye to his career to help build the business. He wants to stay home with the three most important things in his life: his two children and the Crafting Executive Officer of The Urban Acres.
"I want to be home with my kids," Dale said. "I never thought that it would provide a way for other people to be home with their kids, and now it is. So it's very rewarding and exciting."
Check out "The Urban Acres" on Etsy here.
Visit the Urban Acres website here.
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