PROFILE: EMANI MILAN
Bespoke garments and yarn vending machines – Emani Outterbridge is the young entrepreneur bringing fresh ideas to the crochet world
Have you ever dreamed of living a life of yarn? Emani Outterbridge has. Not only did she dream it but she is making it a reality. At only 24, Emani is the CEO and creator of Emani Milan with almost a decade of experience in her business. She creates custom pieces for clients, sells her crochet patterns, teaches courses, has her own line of yarn and more. Putting her heart and soul into the business is what Emani does every step of the way and her success is a testament to how ambitious she is. I found out from Emani about how it all began, where she is heading next and what it’s like to work with major celebrities.
DISCOVERING TALENT
It all began back when Emani was only 15 years old and she needed to come up with a business plan for an entrepreneurship class she was taking a school. Seeing as she already knew how to crochet she figured that it was a great idea to combine the two and she launched Emani Milan (and passed her class of course).
Since beginning the business it has grown from strength to strength and Emani’s talent for both crochet and business shines through. Emani attributes much of her success to her ability to engage with her audience and potential clients with her honest, transparent and fresh approach. It has meant that people naturally gravitate towards her and the exciting projects she takes on. Not only does Emani have a strong online presence though, she lives and breathes her work in real life. “Wherever I am I always make sure I’m stepping out in my crochet pieces so this helps a lot with sales, as word of mouth is really the best form of promotion.” She recounts many conversations of people being amazed that she created her outfits herself, which we all know as crafters is the best compliment anyone can pay you.
DRESSING THE STARS
A huge aspect of Emani’s work is creating completely unique and fabulous pieces for others. When I say others, that can often mean super-famous celebrities! She has worked with many music artists including Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion (if my mum is reading they are really famous singers!) who just love her style. Although Emani told me it’s one of the things she loves most about what her crochet business offers, it doesn’t sound like it’s for the faint hearted hookster – she created three bespoke
pieces in just 12 hours to make a music video shoot deadline! I was literally exhausted just hearing about what was involved but Emani’s energy is infectious and she clearly adores what she does.
Not only do the challenges sound like amazing fun for her but it helps reach a new audience too. Emani was tagged online by Cardi B when she wore one of her pieces and so millions of people saw her work. Emani credits this exposure as really taking her business further and as also helping her do something for her beloved home city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, USA. She talks so fondly of her home, “but it’s hard being here, so when people outside of the city show me some love it’s like they’re showing the city some love too.”
YARN VENDING MACHINES Another thing that Emani is putting her home town on the map for is her new and exciting venture: yarn vending machines! I mean, it’s difficult to think why this hasn’t become a thing before now and the idea has been so successful it’s gone viral. The idea came about when Emani was simply chatting to a friend about the best thing she could imagine. Her answer was a machine full of her own brand of yarn and she tells me that it literally changed everything. The idea became a reality thanks to Emani’s incredible tenacity and entrepreneurial spirit, and is so popular with yarn crafters that the vending machines are spreading out to have more in Philadelphia and the local surrounding area as well.
To a large degree Emani sees her followers as being the key to supporting her in her success with ventures like this. Having such an engaged audience meant that when she asked for help with crowdfunding for the first machine, they were only too happy to help. The story has been spread through major media networks too and has shown just how positive and powerful social media can be; thankfully in this case for good and yarny reasons!
JUST GETTING STARTED
As you can imagine, when I asked Emani what’s next for her there was such a huge list of plans! She has just released her own line of crochet hooks, has more vending machines coming out and has also added new colours to her expanding yarn line too. If this isn’t enough she is planning to keep growing her business by doing exactly what she loves: more and more crochet. Emani says, “I love crochet whole heartedly so every time I crochet it’s out of love”, and this is apparent in everything she does.
Although she’s had a small break from crochet commissions to focus on the vending machines, she doesn’t plan on stopping for long as it’s what she loves best. Most of all Emani desires to stay fresh. Her dream is to keep looking for new designs, to work with new colours, to experiment with more textures, teach more courses – it’s a wonderfully exciting list. Emani told me she takes pride in all of her work as a small business owner, but most especially in her customer service, her ability to communicate and her transparency. These are the attributes that, alongside her hard work and drive, are making sure that she will fulfil every one of her dreams.
Written by Hannah Cross
“the idea of a machine full of yarn has literally changed everything for me”