Hello, Beautiful Peoples!
I'm Alissa and I'm the owner and creator of All Things Sensory by Alissa!
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Who I am:
I am a 31 year old (she/her) who loves the sun, but the sun hates me. I live in Michigan and have for most of my life.
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I LOVE animals! I currently have a dog named Pixel, a cat named Nero that I found outside of Vance Refrigeration and a kitten named Roomba, (and had 2 rats named Twitch and Oreo who recently passed).
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I also have a fish tank with a pleco, a blue mystery snail, a catfish, a killifish, 2 loaches, 2 scissortail fish, 3 tetras, 4 guppies and a handful of ghost shrimp!
I am Autistic and have SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), ADHD, and struggle with anxiety and depression.
My Interests:
I have definitely gone through my phases of things that I get hyper-focused on, a "special interest" as they are sometimes called. Taco Bell sauce packets, straws, wheat pennies, penguins, coffee mugs (even though I hate coffee), piggy banks, Star Wars, maps, encyclopedias, rocks, fossils, and more.
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Lately, my interests have been my shop and my blog, Star Wars (my first and one true love), aquariums, coloring, and The Office! You will see The Office sprinkled in a bit throughout my site, so keep an eye out for some hidden gems to earn a Schrute Buck!
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Or a Stanley Nickel...whichever you prefer!
A little about me
Alissa Merklinger
Owner, Creator, Writer, Nerd
How I Got Started:
I started by selling stress balls, slime, and homemade playdough at craft shows in late 2018. I was always tagging along with my mom, who is a bridal seamstress, when she went to the shows. I was already making fidgets for myself so I thought, "Hey, why not?"
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I doubled my stock every single show and sold out every time. I was constantly adding more and more products until eventually, I had to rent 2 booths just for myself! I was using about 10 feet of table space for all my products.
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Then 2020 hit. All my usual shows were cancelled and in September of 2020 I finally started an Etsy Shop. Now, I have nearly 200 items in my shop and I'm able to make a living doing my dream job!