Today we’d like to introduce you to Pamela Sidharta.
Hi Pamela, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Indonesia and moved to California when I was three years old. I grew up in Northridge with three older sisters, who all have a knack for the arts. And my family has always been around me. When I was about 11 years old, I went back to Indo with my mom and one of my sisters. My aunt from mom’s side taught me to crochet my first scrunchie and doing cross stitch from a pattern. It was really fun to learn and do. I think from then on I enjoyed doing crafty things, hence doing a lot of things that were hands on.
In college, I studied film, photography, and architecture. I loved those subjects in college because they were more hands on than head in books. I enjoy doing photography, especially black and white film and alternative processes like cyanotypes and lumen prints. Love the beauty that you can find in the little details. With architecture coursed, I really loved doing the hand drawings. Something about the pencil to paper, the straight lines was therapeutic. I didn’t pursue architecture as a career, life had other plans, like finding consistent work and paying the bills. So I worked at at large video game company for about 8 years and I wanted to explore other careers, and I thought about photography. I took classes in DTLA at the School of Light, where I soon became the darkroom manager and one of the teachers. I was there for about 5 years and I wanted to take a break and focus on doing more crochet work, and possibly starting my own business.
I appreciate the arts and I like to think of myself as a photographic artist and crochet enthusiast. During 2020 COVID shutdown, my mom asked me to make her some sponges. So I made her a lot of sponges because what else was I going to do with rest of the yarn. I gave them to my mom, and then my six year old niece saw what I did and she began requesting me to make things for her. I couldn’t say “no” to her sweet little face and ask. So since then, I’ve been crocheting a lot. Looking online at patterns and making what I thought were cute and delightful.
It was towards the end of 2023 when I saw a cute chicken pattern online that I decided to make it and gift it to my niece. Then I had a lot of yarn left over and decided to make as many as I can, and thought i can find a small, local pop up market and try to sell them. Before I could do that, I had to come up with a name, and I came up with “Olive Blanche Handmade”. Its name comes from the love of my niece Olivia and the love of my dog Blanche (who recently passed away last year). So it was December when I was a my first market and the chickens were a hit. I sold about all of the ones I made, along with a few ornaments.
Since then, I began seeing so many other cute patterns online and I began making them. Being able to make them made me happy and seeing how happy my niece was when I gifted them to her, made me feel good. So I wanted to be able to share that with other people. I’ve been adding new things to my little business, along with my own photographic artwork. I really like seeing people and kids smile with joy when they come to my table to shop.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think anything is ever smooth. There are always challenges and struggles. I am crocheting and creating art on my own, so its sometimes hard to keep things in stock. Because there is only one of me and it takes time to make them. I used to stay up real late at night to make things for the market the following day, and sometimes they don’t sell. And that’s okay. It feels defeating but at least I’ll still have some stock to sell.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in black and white film photography, cyanotype, and lumen prints. I really enjoyed teaching people how to process their black and white films, teaching them how to print, especially when they do mural printing. And I really love doing cyanotypes and lumen prints because I can do those at home at my own pace. I like that each of those prints are all unique and you never know what you’re going to get. I like to make pretty and delicate images.
With crochet, I know what I the outcome will look like, but I get to choose the colors and change the looks accordingly. I get to make cute things that bring joy. And with my small business, I do curate what I make and sell that looks a little more boutique-y. I try to have something different that you don’t normally see others sell.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Hmmm… good question. I don’t know how to answer this. It’s usually the people that I work with or family members, who I look up to and who I can ask questions to. I think it can be anyone that you might sense or feel have the skills that you are looking for or wanting to learn. What’s worked for me is being curious about things and not be afraid to ask for help when needed. Asking is still something I continue to work on because it doesn’t come to easily for me.
(I don’t know if that answered the question or not. I don’t mind re-answering this if needed.)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Olive Blance Handmade
