My Upbringing

Hello!! My name is Kaleigh Bailey, I’m 20 years old, I am born and raised in Richmond, Virginia and I am the youngest in my family with my sister being the oldest. I was born in early January which makes my zodiac sign a Capricorn (which honestly explains a lot, but I’ll get to that later!).

Growing up I did online homeschooling from the time I started Kindergarten all the way to my Senior Year Of High School. Being that I was homeschooled, I had a lot of time on my hands which sparked an interest of doing extra curricular activities.

 

My Dance Journey

When I was younger, music was always playing in my house from: Mary J. Blige, Micheal Jackson, James Brown, The Whispers basically all the Black Music Household Staples!! Being that I was surrounded by music 24/7, I developed a love for music and for dance. My mom had the Ciara “The Evolution” album DVD were at the very end of the DVD you get to learn a dance tutorial from Ciara and her dancers were she would teach you the choreography of her song “Promise”. I remember me and my sister would run that DVD into the ground! Till this day, I’m trying to do that perfect the mic stand leaning move, but I still haven’t got it!!

Being that auditioning to become one of Ciara’s back up dancers was completely ruined out (so sad!!) the next best thing was to sign up for the praise dance team at the church I was going to at the time and sign up for dance classes at a location dance studio.

 

Taking Dance Seriously

I was juggling both praise dancing and dance classes at the age of 6 and I was honestly living my best 6 year old life. Until when I was 7, I decided to quit praise dancing and take dancing full time, leaving me to train and learn almost all the dance genres I could up until the age of 10 where I would audition to be on the competitive dance team at the studio, I was going to at the time and I got in.

From 10 to 16 years old, I was a competitive dancer going out of town and competing at various dance competitions learning and being taught by world renowned choreographers and got offered dance scholarships along the way as well. When I was 11 years old, I went to New York to see The Rockettes and also took the “Rockette Dance Experience” class where I learned choreography from the Rockette show that was taught to us by actual Rockettes from the show. Going to the “Rockette Dance Experience” class was dream come true because when I was younger my main aspiration was to become a Rockette. Even though that is no longer at my aspiration, it was still an amazing experience that will go down in the books for me.

 

The End Of My Dance Journey

At age 16, I was slowly approaching graduating high school and that’s when I realized I wanted to quit dancing. Age 16 was the time of my life where I started to really rebel and break out of the norm, do new things and get out of the little rat race I found myself in. Being that I dedicated my whole life to dancing, I put a lot of things on the back burner because dancing was my passion so I prioritized my passion and didn’t really prioritize anything else but that passion. I found myself not pouring to myself mentally, physically, spiritually, and even emotionally because I was so fixated on dancing and nothing but dancing and at some point, I realized I had a very unhealthy and somewhat toxic relationship with dance and I realized it was time to quit dance for my own good.

 

Discovering My Love For Creating

Just like that after I quit dancing, I became a new and improved Kaleigh! I finally had a clear headspace and felt fulfilled in all areas of my life and then one day I felt a push to finally do something new with my life.

When I was 8 years old, my mom taught me how to crochet, and I was instantly in love with it and that core memory really sparked my interest and passion for starting a small business where I would create and craft handmade items to share with the world. I’m the kind of person I see value in basically anything and the fact that something as simple as a spool of yarn, a piece of fabric, or paint to a piece of paper can be turned into a beautiful creation. That honestly really amaze me and I wanted to embark on that and make some beautiful creations as well.

Back in April 2022, I discovered a craft called tufting, and I was really amazed by the whole process, so with all the information I learned, I went to my mom and she helped me get the supplies I needed and I started embarking in my tufting journey. I knew right away in the practicing stage that tufting was for me because while I was tufting, I found myself to be so relaxed and found it to be a very mindless and therapeutic craft. With that feeling and clarity, I knew that I wanted to start a small business where I make and sell tufted products.

 

The Birth Of Creations by Kaleigh

When I was 17, I was manufacturing the idea of starting a small business and when I turned 18, I put that idea in full effect. In January of 2023, I took a big step and started my small business, “Creations by Kaleigh, LLC.”

Creating “Creations by Kaleigh” has been such an exciting and impactful experience that has opened my eyes to the world of entrepreneurship and small business ownership. Even through I experience hardships with my small business, the love I have for creating and connecting with others never goes away which gets me through the trials and tribulations of small business ownership. I surely wouldn’t have it any other way!!

My forever goal when it comes to Creations by Kaleigh is to always focus on creating unique, meaningful, and creative handmade items that people will cherish and love for years. I’m only in year 3 of starting my business which is absolutely crazy to think because it truly feels like yesterday. I’m always super thankful and humbled to be in the position of even starting a small business and I want to thank all the kind words and words of encouragement for the people who have been with me in the very beginning. I’m super excited to see where this journey leads me and I hope you can be a part of my journey as well!

 

Take A Closer Look

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you want to learn even more about me, click the link below to view my YouTube video where I dive deeper into my life and small business journey!
Craft And Chat Ep 1: Getting To Know Me | Getting To Know Me While I Detail A Tufted Rug
https://youtu.be/pReeVNJ86ZY