Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha Klimchock.
Hi Sasha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
In 2019 I stumbled upon my dream job. I was working as an Elementary School Media Specialist, I ran my own library under the direction of our administration, and I was interacting with students who were as excited about reading as I was. I’m sure you know where this story is going. In March of 2020, we were told not to return from Spring Break, and in May of 2020, the decision was made to lay off Media Specialists for the following school year. I knew I needed to stay busy, and opened an Etsy shop where I sold handmade bracelets inspired by book covers. A few months later, YouTube recommended a video called Gods Menu by Stray Kids, which flipped my world upside down. Over the upcoming months, I started posting my own YouTube videos doing music video reactions and dance analysis to kpop dance practices. I also rebranded my Etsy shop from books to the kpop groups I’m so passionate about.
From August 2020 to October 2021, I was working part-time in retail while maintaining my Etsy shop until one day; I passed out at work. I was later diagnosed with dysautonomia and had to quit my retail job after I became dependent on mobility aids and suffered from severe heat intolerance.
I began focusing on my Etsy shop full time while navigating the new daily challenges of life with dysautonomia. I got involved in my local kpop community and was asked to come to an in-person event as a local vendor. Since then, I’ve attended a handful of local in-person events as a vendor and watched my shop grow online thanks to social media outlets like TikTok and Instagram.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road has been anything but smooth. However, looking back each bump brought a new opportunity. I don’t want to sugarcoat it and pretend like I’m happy to have experienced the bumps that lead to where I am today. Losing my job in 2020 felt like a death I had to grieve. I then experienced a new kind of loss when I became dependent on mobility aids. Overnight I went from a person capable of deadlifting in a CrossFit gym to a person lying in a hospital bed, unable to sit up without passing out. But if I hadn’t been laid off in 2020, I wouldn’t have started my Etsy shop, and I wouldn’t have had something to fall back on when I became sick in 2021. There have been so many days where knowing I had orders to send out was the main reason I could get myself out of bed in the morning. Getting sick has allowed me to pour all my time into growing my Etsy shop and saying yes to more opportunities (like this interview).
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When my shop transitioned from books to kpop, I continued making bracelets. However, as time went on my ambitions changed. I knew I wanted to purchase an iPad and printer so I could begin drawing my own designs and creations. The ultimate goal was to make and sell stickers, but as with everything in life, that didn’t exactly pan out. Instead of designing stickers, I began making art prints, which morphed into bookmarks. It really all comes back to books for me. Being able to mesh my love of kpop and my love of books has been a wonderful niche in our kpop community and something I’m incredibly proud of. The response to my designs has been really encouraging, and I hope that one day I’ll have enough interest to be able to outsource to a manufacturer. Right now, I design every bookmark, print them, cut and laminate them myself. I always say in the listing description that every bookmark is an individual because they are. No two bookmarks from my shop will be cut, or printed, or laminated exactly the same, and that’s the beauty of buying from a small business.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I feel like I’m typically an open book, so this question is tough for me. I guess someone who is just discovering me today, whether at an in-person event where I’m using a wheelchair or walker or someone finding me online for the first time, might not know that I have a background in dance. What drew me in so deeply to kpop was their choreography and movement. It’s so rare these days to see artists who do it all, and kpop truly delivers. If you didn’t know me before I got sick it might come as a shock to learn that I danced for over 20 years, either as a performer myself or as a coach. Books and dancing are two of my biggest passions in life, and I hope to be able to integrate them into everything I do. There are a lot of amazing kpop dance cover teams throughout the world, and one day I’d love to either form my own as a coach or be brought on to coach for an existing team.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamingOfStarsCo
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamingofstarsco/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbxqjqoNWQE-n51XSe_8EJQ
- Other: https://readwiththelibrarian.com/
