Elena Coln is a 23 year old woman with Autism from Cape Cod who has a natural gift for crafting. During the pandemic, she added a bit of business savvy and started her own online business on Etsy selling beaded and crochet items.

Elena initially started with lanyards but a suggestion from a therapist to make mask holders is what really helped her business take off. Elena was already making beaded bracelets and necklaces. The suggestion was to make them a bit longer and call them mask holders. Mask holders have been in demand more recently because they help people stay safe during the pandemic, allowing them to handle masks without touching them.

Elena manages her Etsy page, Elena C’s Creations, herself and runs the business 100% independently. She takes all photos of her products, uploads them to her Etsy store, packages all her deliveries with personalized hand written notes in them, and takes them to the post office to ship them. She also sells her items at some local businesses in the Cape Cod area. 

Elena encourages others with disabilities to give starting their own business a shot because it’s fun and certainly a good source of income.

Here’s a video discussing Elena and her business in greater detail.

Source: Boston 25 News