CAMBRIDGE, N.S. – Hannah Keith is already thinking ahead to next year. That’s a sign of a disciplined business mind, especially for a 13-year-old.
But the reason why she’s so focused on her business called Homemade by Hannah? To pursue her passion of dance.
“I make snowman pins, little tea lights that have knitted faces on them, and I also make cup cozies,” Hannah said from her Cambridge home. “I’ve always been a pretty crafty person.”
Hannah makes most of her crafts during the summer months, getting ready for the busy craft show season in the winter.
She’s wrapped up for 2017, having attended 10 craft shows mainly in the Annapolis Valley, but she’s already planning ahead to 2018’s craft season, perhaps expanding her reach into Halifax.
“It teaches me manners, how to handle money responsibly,” she said. “When I was younger, I would be shy and hide behind my mom, and now I’m more like, ok mom you can look at stuff and I’ll stay here.”
She’s also maintaining a Facebook page, which she says has helped her learn about promoting her work.
This is her fourth year in the biz and she plans to keep at it for the near future.
All about dance
“The money I get goes towards me paying for my dances, because I do so many and my mom said that if I want to keep doing them all I have to start helping to pay for them,” she said.
Hannah is involved with ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and more genres of dance out of Coldbrook.
Hannah said she started to take dancing seriously when she was only five years old.
“I’ve learned that not everything in life is given, you have to do stuff, you have to find ways to get what you want,” she said. “I love it, and if I keep dancing, I’m going to keep crafting.”
Hannah says a lot of her customers are surprised by her age and her determination.
Trina Keith, Hannah’s mom, says she’s incredibly proud of what her daughter has been able to accomplish at such a young age.
“In the last four years I’ve really seen her grow in what she’s done,” Trina said. “She had started out doing bean bags and little pins, and every year she adds two or more things, and all of her ideas come from things she’s had personally happen to her.”
Trina said Hannah hurt her hands on a cup of hot chocolate once, so decided to make cup cozies – she had a problem and solved it.
“It’s really fun to watch her grow as a young lady, get these ideas, implement them,” she said. “She’s learning how to knit, how to use a sewing machine and interacting with customers.”
