My First Order From a ChatGPT Search

Running a handmade business is full of small moments that quietly feel like big milestones. Recently, I experienced one of those moments.

For the first time since starting Crochet By Shivani, someone discovered my work through an online search, specifically through ChatGPT and reached out to place an order!

Until now, most of my crochet orders had come from friends, family, colleagues, or extended networks. That’s often how many small handmade businesses grow in the beginning, through word of mouth and personal connections. But this time was different.

This time, it was someone I had never met, never spoken to, and had no mutual connections with. And they had found me simply by searching online.Someone, somewhere, searching online for crochet products had found my work 🥹

When Someone Finds Your Handmade Business Online

One day I received a call from someone who told me they had been looking online for custom crochet scrunchies in India and while searching, they used ChatGPT to find crochet businesses that create handmade and customizable products.

And that search led them to my website.

For a small handmade business owner, this felt like a surprisingly meaningful moment. Because it meant that something I had built, something that started purely as a hobby and a passion, was now discoverable beyond my personal network.

The Order: 10 Completely Custom Crochet Scrunchies

But the story didn’t end with just discovering the website. The customer had a request.

They wanted 10 crochet scrunchies. But not just any scrunchies, they wanted each scrunchie to be completely different!

• Different colors.

• Different designs.

• Different textures.

In fact, most of the designs they asked for were styles I had never made before. So the entire order became a fully customized crochet project. That’s one of the things I enjoy most about crochet - the ability to experiment and adapt designs based on someone’s idea. They shared 10 reference images, and all I said was, "ho jayega, sir" (it'll be done, sir).

Why Custom Crochet Orders Are So Special

When someone places a custom crochet order, it’s very different from simply choosing something from a ready-made catalog. It becomes a collaborative process.

The customer shares their vision and I slowly translate that idea into yarn, stitches, and shape. That’s exactly what happened with these 10 handmade crochet scrunchies - one by one, each design came to life.

And by the end of the project, the set of scrunchies looked like a small collection of unique crochet accessories, rather than identical pieces. You can check them out here:

• Crochet Bow Scrunchie 🎀

• Crochet Cherry Scrunchie 🍒

• Crochet Flower Scrunchie 🌼

• Crochet Hanging Flower Scrunchie 🌻

• Crochet Kajra Scrunchie

• Crochet Scrunchie

A Small Milestone for My Crochet Journey

What made this order particularly meaningful wasn’t just the customization. It was the fact that this was the first time someone discovered Crochet By Shivani through an online search engine and placed an order without any personal connection.

For many small businesses, that moment represents an important shift.

It means that the work you’re creating is now reaching people beyond your immediate circle.

And that’s a very encouraging feeling for someone who started a crochet business simply out of love for the craft.