Meet Nima Patel | Crochet Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nima Patel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nima, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
My absolute favorite quote is by Theodore Roosevelt, from a speech he gave in Paris in 1910. It is the last line of his speech, now known as “The Man in the Arena.”

“So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

This quote means so much to me, because it encompasses that nothing good will come to you without taking a risk. For you to become successful in whatever it is that you want in life, you have to try, fail, and try again. It reminds me that I would never want to be someone who doesn’t both win and fail, because it is through the failures that you learn the most, and those learning lessons are what allow you to ultimately win. For someone to have neither won or failed at anything in life, means that they’ve remained stagnant. That is one of my greatest fears in life: to be stagnant.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
For someone that’s Type A, my art and creative side is my favorite thing about myself. This business was never intended to be a business. It started out as a hobby, and it gained so much attention from friends that I decided to turn it into a business in order to share it with others who appreciated it just as much as I did. The most exciting thing about it is being able to take inspiration from literally anything, have a vision, and turn it into a piece of clothing that someone loves just as much as I do. It truly allows me to connect with people on a completely different level. It’s definitely been a long and hard road. With social media these days, it’s almost impossible to gain the exposure you want or deserve due to the way the algorithms work. My biggest challenge has been in that aspect of growing the business. I still struggle with that right now. A huge lesson that I’ve learned is that you can seek out advice all you want, but until it feels right to you, it won’t work. Essentially, go with your gut. Go with what feels right. There are so many things I could do to shift my business in order to gain more traction or make more money, but for me, it’s all about remaining true to myself and being authentic. I guess that’s the biggest thing I would want people to know about my brand and my story. My brand is ME.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oof, this is a hard one. There’s just way too many things to do here! Some things on my MUST list are:

Hiking at Torrey Pines
Hillcrest farmers market
Hash House brunch
Sunset Cliffs for some sunset action
Bencotto for an Italian dinner
Noble Experiment for after dinner drinks
Balboa Park Yoga on Sundays
Temecula or Escondido for some wine and/or beer
Possibly a day trip to Mexico!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My biggest supporters have been my parents and my brother! They’ve been pushing me to what I love ever since I was little, and all of my successes, both professionally and creatively, I owe to them!

Website: Knottyapparel.co

Instagram: knottyapparel

Image Credits
All pictures are mine!