Nestled on her soft brown couch with bright red, pink and yellow spools of yarn scattered around her, Melany Cristobal is in her element. A Spanish language show blares on the TV across from her, younger cousins shout as they run around the house, and the spicy smell of her aunt’s homemade tacos de birria wafts in from the kitchen.
Despite the distractions, Melany stays laser-focused on her crochet needle. She loses herself in the relaxing rhythm of her design. The string of bright red knots grows longer and longer on her lap.
Five hours later, Melany sits in the same spot on her couch and smiles at her crochet creation. She snaps a photo of the handmade bouquet of roses for her business Instagram account: @MadebyMelany.
In 2023, Melany knew nothing about crochet, owning a business, or life in the United States. She lived in Amatitlan, a little town on a lake in southern Guatemala, with her sister Ashlee, their father, and grandparents.
When Melany was four years old, her mother made the difficult decision to leave Guatemala and find work in America. Growing up without a mother wasn’t easy, Melany said.
“In Guatemala, when I was in school, they celebrated el dia de la Mama,” (Mother’s day) Cristobal said in Spanish. “It was like a reunion where the mothers came to school. We made baskets and gave them as gifts, but we gave ours to my grandmother. She was like our mother. She had cared for us since we were very small. My grandmother was always with us.”
While her daughters were growing up thousands of miles away, Melany’s mother worked hard in restaurants for 11 years. She hoped to build a life and become financially stable so her family could join her
Melany’s mother later met and married an American man, who ended up being crucial in the immigration process for Melany and her sister.
“He helped us to obtain visas and passports,” Cristobal said. They were able to take a flight from Guatemala to Boston and settle in Gloucester in October 2023.
Melany’s first few months in Gloucester weren’t easy. As an academically-focused person, she was especially excited to start school in the United States, until she realized what a challenge that would be.
The most difficult part was learning English, Cristobal said.
“I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t understand my teachers,” she said. “I didn’t even know what classes I had.”
But after learning to ask Spanish-speaking staff for help and use Google Translate, Melany started to feel at home.
“I lost all my fear of asking questions,” she said. “Before I had stayed quiet, and I didn’t ask.”
Even though she struggles daily with the language barrier between her and most Gloucester High students, Melany is slowly finding her place. As a natural-born creative, Melany’s favorite class is art with Mrs. C.
“In art class, the teacher is relaxed,” Cristobal said. “She tells us to draw, even if it doesn’t come out well. If we don’t know how to do something, she can help us, and she explains stuff to us very well– it’s a very good class.”
Taking elective classes like Clayworks and Drawing I at GHS has helped Melany explore her passion for the arts.
“I like to draw, I really like to paint with watercolors, and I love to make things out of clay,” Cristobal said. “I feel happy when I am making things.”
But creating isn’t just a hobby for Melany– it’s a side hustle. She found her passion for crochet after learning from a friend in Guatemala and now sells the brightly-colored headbands, flowers, toys or small rugs she has learned to make.
Though it’s just beginning to grow, Melany’s business already works like a smoothly oiled machine. After receiving a few orders, Melany and her stepfather pack his delivery van with vibrant crochet pieces, each adorned with a silvery bow.
They drop off products to Melany’s clients, who are mostly friends and family eager to enjoy their own piece of Melany’s talent. At each stop, Melany wows her customers with a crochet treasure, whether it is twenty red roses for her cousin’s girlfriend or a soft Spiderman toy for her younger cousin.
She conducts most of her business through her Instagram: @Made.by.Melany. Orders for custom crochet art can be made through Direct Messages on the app.
For Melany, her crochet pieces are a bridge to memories of Guatemala. They help her stay connected to the culture and people she misses every day.
Among the daily difficulties of navigating school in a foreign language, Melany has found her solace in brightly colored balls of crochet yarn. “ It relaxes me,” said Melany, “and I focus only on that.”
Cristobal says her advice to other immigrants would be: “Don’t be scared– talk to new people.” But most importantly: “Don’t have fear.”
Though it hasn’t been easy for her, Melany’s positive attitude demonstrates how important it is to be open to new experiences while finding your place in a community– just like she has found through her crochet business.
To anyone who is considering ordering a custom piece that is “Made by Melany”, she encourages them to check out her Instagram. She says her pieces are always made “with affection and with love.”
Read the first two stories in the Breaking Barriers series”
What Can We Learn From the Multilingual Students of Gloucester High
