Most of us have experimented with making friendship bracelets in summer camps. We pick out our favorite colors, stitch them into a pattern and give them to the ones we treasure most.

For most people, this is where they tie the bracelet off and move on. But for sophomore Megan Sage, she decided to tie the knot with bracelet making by founding Blooming Threads Co, a friendship bracelet selling company.

Megan has been developing her bracelet-making skills since fourth grade, starting with a friendship bracelet making kit that she completed with her mom. At first, Megan was discouraged because her bracelet was nowhere near the perfection of her mother’s.

“I was like, how could my mom make one that looked so perfect and so beautifully knotted, when mine was all lopsided and all crazy?” Megan said. “I gave up pretty quickly because I was not really excited about how mine looked. But my mom taught me to [push] through. She would say, ‘It’s okay.’”

As Megan’s patience for bracelet making grew, so did her skills. In seventh grade, Megan started to pick up speed, figuring out harder patterns and churning out bracelets on par with her mom’s.

Despite her clear talent, Megan never thought of transforming her hobby into something more— until freshman year, when her friend and fellow sophomore Esmé Wilson helped to plant the idea during a sleepover. While friendship bracelet-ing, the two recognized their speed and skill at making the bracelets, while also seeing their opportunity of success with the friendship bracelet trend soaring.

From there, the two set out to explore the world of entrepreneurship, starting with an Instagram account to gain publicity, @blooming_threadsco. They came up with the name of their company during a lunch with their friends, inspired by the summertime feel of a floral name.

The company soon gained over 100 followers, and business was booming—or blooming—for the company. However, Esmé soon found she couldn’t be as committed to bracelet making as Megan, causing her to leave the company and allow Megan full ownership.

Even with Esmé’s departure, however, Megan’s passion for making friendship bracelets never faltered. She saw the company not only as a creative outlet but also as a way to spread joy to others. To appreciate the depth of work that goes into making a friendship bracelet, it takes an understanding of the work that goes into a single friendship bracelet.

“She’d spend three hours on a bracelet that she wouldn’t get much money from, but she wanted to make the bracelets for the people,” Esmé said.

Another one of the challenges of pursuing business in friendship bracelets has been the association to the VSCO girl stereotype, a summer 2019 fashion trend referring to the photography and social app called VSCO.

“It’s really been a stereotype that I have struggled with,” Megan said. “Even my Spanish teacher Señora Hughes has actually called me out for being a VSCO girl. But, you know, I just brush off those haters and keep going because that isn’t my intention.”

Even with Esmé’s departure and facing the VSCO girl association, however, Megan’s passion for making friendship bracelets never faltered. She saw the company not only as a creative outlet but also as a way to spread joy to others. To appreciate the depth of work that goes into making a friendship bracelet, it takes an understanding of the work that goes into a single friendship bracelet.

Going forward, Megan hopes that she can expand the company to reach new consumers.

“I want to have more models and be more active on my Instagram account,” Megan said. “I want to make an effort to be a little bit more public. However, for me, it’s never been about the profit. It’s just me making bracelets and making others happy.”

You can find @blooming_threadsco on Instagram for more information.

Q&A with Megan’s friends: Do you think Megan is a VSCO girl?

Note: These responses have been edited and condensed.

Sophomore Esmé Wilson: She’s a down to Earth VSCO girl. I don’t know much about VSCO girls. But I think that being a VSCO girl also comes with this idea of wanting to have a certain image online. Megan is very honest. She doesn’t try to create this certain persona, she’s true to herself.

Sophomore Holly Deck: I would say yes because she’s always wearing oversized t-shirts and stuff like that, but I think she’s in the middle. There are some things she definitely does, but she doesn’t act like one in her personal life. She is still very sweet and humble.

Sophomore Riley Capuano: Of course! She’s a VSCO girl because she likes to wear anklets and she makes really nice ones. And she likes to wear big t-shirts, so it looks like she’s not wearing pants. And she likes to wear scrunchies and she likes to say “sksksks” a lot. So she’s perfectly a perfect VSCO girl.

Sophomore Sofija Dimitrijevic: I wouldn’t say she’s a full out VSCO girl. I feel like she’s more of a mix between like a granola girl and a VSCO girl. VSCO girls are seen as way more superficial and like not very interesting, but Megan’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. I think that the stigma around VSCO girls shouldn’t affect how people view them.