Once upon a time...Nah, we don't have to start there.  My mother taught me the basics of crochet when I was about 8 years old.  In my teens, I abandoned the "uncool" hobby, but picked it up again late in my 20's for no other reason than I am completely unable to sit still; I have to be doing something with my hands.  I am entirely self-taught when it comes to patterns, designs, shapes, etc.  This whole thing came from a co-worker who saw me make a plain hat, looked at my collection of Minions at my desk, and said "Do you think you could make a minion into a hat?"
...And Tops By Turtle was born.  Since then I've expanded to over 50 designs, the vast majority of which came from others saying "Hey do you think you could make..."  It's rare that I answer no, though I have found some limits to my crochet abilities.  I'm constantly learning new techniques and methods to my craft, adding new inventory, and creating new designs.  
I welcome new challenges!  Just because I don't have something in my shop doesn't mean it won't be there after we collaborate on it!!  Plus, I don't claim to be an expert in all things Nerdy and Geeky.  I need help from my community to identify trends and provide ideas.  Will my next design come from you??