Hello

Hello there! My name is Alyssa and I make bags. I’m a navy brat turned small town kid from humble beginnings in rural Ohio who grew into a multi-faceted diva, hospitality professional turned crochet designer, proud ally, and the one-woman workshop behind Very Slow Fashion. I’ve always marched to the sound of my own oboe and given where I grew up and my nuerospicy superpowers, I managed to develop a myriad of objectively random and equally impressive skills. I am just as good with a crochet hook as I am with a chainsaw.

 

I get my grit and creativity from my mom, she was my heart, inspiration and my best friend.. Growing up with her meant, imagination, crafting, unforgiving laughter, learning to spit like a lady and always finding a way to make it work. I think it was because of her strength and creative spirit that she gracefully overcame the everyday challenges associated with being a navy wife, & person living with a debilitating spinal condition. She was that mom who was everyone's mom, and like so many others she loved into being, after she passed, I carried her creative spark forward. 

 

In leiu of the traditional path, upon entering adulthood, I took a swan dive into the wonderful & wild world of hospitality.  Long story short, not for lack of trying, I spent the last 13-ish years building an amazing career in the hospitality industry and that time I became an expert in craft beer, cocktails and creating memorable experiences for others. I had finally found something that fit, a job where I could be my weird, nerdy, sarcastic, and sassy self and my passion for being of service and making things that make people smile.

 

Fast forward to 2019 with an upcoming wedding and oddly too much time on my hands, I decided to teach myself to crochet. I kept following the dopamine and eventually found my way into the world of recycled and sustainable materials and that was it. As soon as I discovered that I could combine bilateral stimulation with creativity, fashion, art, and sustainability, I became hooked, both figuratively and literally.

 

Thanks to thousands of hours of study, practice, trial and error, my skills evolved. In 2025, I started Very Slow Fashion and made my debut onto the Columbus Vendor Market scene and the response was overwhelming. Despite the demands of being of a full time "mixologist", I kept creating. And wouldn't ya know it, while I was busy being busy, I somehow managed to turn this side hustle with a name, into something resembling an actual business. So, in June of 2026, I decided to leave the hospitality industry and pour all of my sparkle and whimsy into VSF. 

 

So, here we are. And with that....

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Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Alyssa. I am an artist, full time crochet designer and the one-woman-workshop that is Very Slow Fashion. I specialize in creating handmade, objectively rad, meticulously crafted, crocheted clothing and accessories from recycled, repurposed and sustainable materials while simultaneously giving the middle finger to the fast fashion industry. I enjoy playing with everything from timeless silhouettes to modern clean lines, and from power-clashing prints to subtle, everyday colorways, ensuring each creation is as sassy as you are—let’s make eco-friendly the new black.