Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Calonsag.
Hi Veronica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My wife & I moved from the Bay Area to South Bay LA so that she could pursue her career in healthcare & be closer to her parents while I stayed home to raise our young child. The pandemic swiftly hit after we settled in, and with her being a nurse, watching medical supplies quickly dwindling, I offered to make fabric masks to donate to her coworkers. My mother-in-law was generous enough to let me use her sewing machine, so I extended the offer of making masks for free to my friends and family across the country via social media and ended up donating 231 masks. From there, I was hooked on sewing. I opened my online store, starting with fabric masks and head coverings, but I wanted to figure out how to expand my shop. I knew that chip bags are not recyclable, and I’ve always been big on environmental responsibility, so I put these two passions together and started getting creative: I learned how to make bucket hats out of rice bags and turned chip bags into zipper pouches while learning tips and tricks from Youtube. I started setting up at craft markets, met so many amazing people, and have found my niche of upcycling single-use items into reusable, functional pieces in order to divert waste from landfills and bring some fun to basic things like bags and hats.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being a one-person operation has definitely been a learning process: I handle all of my social media marketing, bookkeeping, product development, and sales team, all while being a work-from-home parent. Before starting Nica’s Necessities, I was a District Manager in retail sales for almost ten years, so I definitely use the skills I’ve acquired in my career as the foundation for this business, but there is still so much to learn.
When I started out, my little one was only 18 months old, and while I love that I’ve been the one to take care of her, my work hours often started after 7 p.m., and I would work until 3 a.m. Being a stay-at-home parent feels very isolating at times, so this business has helped guide me into this chapter of my life, finding my new identity as “mom” and “business owner”, especially starting out in a new city, in search of a new community. This journey has connected me with so many amazing people from different walks of life that I’ve gotten to know and become friends with, all while they’ve encouraged me, applauded me, and they’ve even showed their support by donating equipment and materials when the budget was tight. Finding this new community has been uplifting and humbling.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Nica’s Necessities is a handmade shop where I focus on upcycling single-use items into fun and quirky accessories, such as rice bags transformed into bucket hats, tote bags, and fanny packs. Everyone’s favorite is definitely the chip bag zipper pouches and purses, and an occasional food box or shoe box notebook filled with recycled paper. One of my labors of love is my “Unpaper Towels” and reusable Facial Cotton Pads, which are great replacements to everyday single-use items.
While not always possible, I like to source raw materials from thrift stores as much as I can, so things like fabric lining and sewing thread sometimes come from someone else’s abandoned craft stash. While sustainability is key, my family and I are huge Disney fans, so I occasionally dip into theme park accessories, especially mouse ear headbands, although I mostly enjoy making things for myself that I can’t find anywhere else.
I take pride in everything that I craft, and I am definitely most proud of my rice bag fanny packs because, from the beginning, I was determined to deliver a functional, durable bag to people that incorporated upcycled materials. Making this bag has also shown me how much my skills have improved over the years and is a reminder that I will always have room to enhance my products.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is accomplishing what you set out to do. Above all, the most important ingredient in success is the goal that is set. Throughout 10+ years of sales and leadership training, I was always told to “dream big”. I struggled with it a lot because if the dream or goal was too big, I was so afraid of failing. Dreaming small was a sure way to achieve “success”… and while small goals are important to convince yourself that you can actually do it, those small goals should always lead you to a big one. The big goal that you’re afraid to admit that you really want.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nicasnecessities.bigcartel.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicasnecessities/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopnicasnecessities
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicasnecessities
Image Credits
Long Beach Vice Mayor Cindy Allen
