In the generation of side commotion, many Australians are looking for the key to earning extra income.
Dropshipping, cryptocurrency trading, online tutoring, and crafting are just some of the ways we raise extra money.
But some people are taking it to the next level, launching successful businesses and careers from home.
Sophia Czarkowski Art by Sophia’s business is booming, she now runs it full time from home. (Supplied)
The latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that some 867,000 people have more than one job, 180,000 more than in 2017.
Throughout the confinement, many Australians were desperate to supplement their revenue and online markets as Etsy was booming.
Sophia Czarkowski started her Queensland-based business, Art by Sophia, in 2016 and has evolved substantially since then.
In the early days, he was making it by hand, but as his business began to pick up, he was looking for ways to speed things up.
Sophia Czarkowski creates stickers, custom coffee cups, jewelry, (supplied)
He says investing in Cricut helped increase his productivity and is now one of the core parts of his business, including software.
“I had limited technical and design skills when I started, so the software created designs and cut them seamlessly,” he said.
The Cricut Maker 3 is the most impressive in the range, but also the most expensive.
It has the ability to cut, fold, engrave and draw among other skills. It can impressively cut crafting materials, including leather and even some types of wood.
Sophia has expanded its business, now taking on corporate clients and custom orders. (Supplied)
Czarkowski said last year that he made a pair of custom earrings for a wedding with the product.
“The bride absolutely loved them and still wears them, for me that’s why I do what I do: see the love and joy that comes from something I’ve created,” she said.
Czarkowski now runs her business full-time and is certainly not alone.
Nicola Dow Smith, Director of the Pacific Region at Cricut (supplied)
Nicola Dow Smith, director of the Pacific region at Cricut, told 9News.com.au that demand was high and that new products were being sold regularly to meet every idea.
“We’ve heard a lot of cases, not just in Australia but globally, where Cricut has been bought as a hobby, and that has become a full-time business venture,” he said.
“Members have been turning ideas into projects; projects into products; and before you know it, products into business projects to make money.”
The Cricut Maker 3 (supplied)
Dow Smith said the Cricut community was “super passionate” and had created dozens of Facebook groups to share ideas.
“Many people who use Cricut for their business are in these communities and are willing to offer their help and advice,” he said.
Prior to the pandemic, Cricut makers worked to support wildlife affected by the 2019 wildfires.
“The Cricut community came together, created a pattern and made joey and koala bags with Cricut cutting machines to send to wildlife support teams,” Dow Smith said.
There is a lot of talk about how good the product is, but I had to see for myself.
9News.com.au recently tested Cricut Maker 3. As impressive as it is, it can be quite overwhelming at first.
I consider myself very tech savvy, but Cricut Maker 3 was a bit of a learning experience.
It was easy enough to set up, but I fell short of creating my own custom designs.
I managed to create a custom sweater for my daughter with a smart holographic iron. (Supplied)
The design lab, while easy to navigate, does not offer a clear direction for custom designs.
I found myself watching a dozen tutorial videos before I could create them freely.
Once I was educated in all things Cricut, I went through custom designs, creating t-shirts, stickers, and gift cards for friends and family.
The addition of the Cricut Easy Press Mini for prefabricated designs was a blessing. This purpose-built hot iron has three heat configurations, most of which are used to help transfer vinyl to materials. Prefabricated designs often have a suggested heat level and guide.
If you’re new to crafting and Cricut, I’d say avoid Cricut Maker 3 the first time around, or at least learn as much as you can before you get into it. The software takes some time to master and its capabilities can overwhelm the user.
Cricut’s Design Lab software includes a template library, but if you’re really interested, they have a subscription model, which costs about $ 10 a month.
Subscribing to Cricut Access unlocks a number of premium designs and images, but it’s completely optional.
The Cricut Joy is a much smaller machine and should put anyone on the right track. He still cuts paper and cardboard, creates vinyl stickers and draws designs and costs about half the price of Maker 3.
Cricut Maker 3 can cut out shapes of cardboard, vinyl, fabric and even some light wood. (Supplied)
Overall, the Cricut Maker 3 is one of the most awesome home-making machines I’ve ever seen.
From the box, it will help you with the basics, but if you want to take advantage of and explore everything it has to offer, you’ll need to invest in some Cricut tools and resources.
Cricut has now grown exponentially and appears in many major retailers. It only slaps you in the face when you enter Officeworks or Big W.
Its high-strength Cricut Maker 3 model retails for about $ 650. While its most affordable Cricut Joy model costs $ 329.
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9News.com.au borrowed Cricut Maker 3 for the purpose of this article.