Introduce Yourself: Hi, I'm Angel! I'm a recent transplant to Saskatoon from sunny Florida. I love crafting Japanese silk hair accessories, illustrating stories and generally creating new shiny things.
How did you get started? I became interested in kanzashi after reading articles about the art form in college. After living in Japan and visiting Kyoto, the heart of traditional Japan, my interest deepened and I started concentrating my efforts on developing my kanzashi making skills. Where can people find you online? My website: Appledainty.com What do you like about selling on Etsy? I like selling on Etsy because of the awesome community of sellers, and the wide audience that the site reaches. I love shopping on Etsy for the same reasons! Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your shop or yourself? I'm always looking to learn new skills and help people who want to learn more of their own. If you ever have any questions, let me know!
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How did you get started? I actually started my business with a friend of mine, because I knew she had some experience on Etsy and I thought we'd make a great team. It was going good, but after a while she found it a bit too much, because she had just had her third baby. By this point I felt comfortable enough to do it on my own so I continued on. What do you like about selling on Etsy? I like selling on Etsy because of the community it creates. Also, I find it simple and very easy to buy and sell. What brought you to Etsy? I chose to build my shop through Etsy because I knew a few successful Etsy shop owners and I wanted that same success. What's been your best Etsy experience? My first couple of Etsy sales were from family members, so one of my favourite moments was when I got my first sale from someone that I didn't know! I always love hearing the 'cha-ching' sound of an order.
Introduce Yourself: My name is Michelle Janzen, I am a work at home mom. What is the name of your shop? I named my shop Smashingly Cute because I love making anything cute, including smash outfits! How long has your Etsy shop been open? My shop has only been open since the beginning of October and I am already getting sales and custom orders! How long have you been doing your craft? I have been sewing for kids for almost 18 years! How did you get started? Shortly before I had my first daughter I found an adorable vintage pink and purple singer sewing machine at a garage sale and I got the idea that I would like to make fitted cloth diapers. I had very little sewing knowledge but needed instructions, so I looked online for some things; using the internet at that time was sometimes an ordeal! I found a manual online and talked to my grandmother about where to start. Eventually through trial and error I figured out how to sew! Where can people find you online? I post most of my items and updates on craft shows at www.facebook.com/smashinglycute
What's been your best Etsy experience? My very first order was a custom request, that feels pretty cool! Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your shop or yourself? I provide quality handmade busy books, Lego mats, custom children's clothing and various accessories, I am also taking custom orders!
How long have you been doing your craft? Since 1985. ![]() How did you get started? My eldest child was 10 months old and colicky. My sister-in-law suggested I needed to get out of the house a bit. Her mother taught rug hooking classes. No one would take care of my daughter, so we took her with us...along with a baby swing. As long as the baby swing was going she was quiet. As soon as it stopped she'd start to cry. It was a long day or two, learning to hook. But it was fun because my sister-in-law and her mother had a great attitude about the whole thing. And I was captivated by the potential for the craft right from the start.
What do you like about selling on Etsy? I can reach a wide diversity of people from all over the place. It's easy to list and manage your items for sale. There's support and help if you need it.
![]() Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your shop or yourself? The work in my shop is all original designs, most of them worked directly on backing without a pattern, and therefore not reproducible. I am a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council. I exhibit across North America. I have work in private collections in South Korea, the United States, and in Canada. I am pleased to have my shop featured by Etsy. Thank you for all the opportunities Etsy!
How did you get started? Way back in high school, I made jewellery for gifts and craft shows. In the journey to find interesting but not expensive beads I got into making my own. Polymer clay was my favourite medium for that and the rest is history. Where can people find you online? my website and neglected blog: www.tooaquarius.com My instagram My facebook What do you like about selling on Etsy? Inexpensive, simple and effective. Plus, I'm used to it. What brought you to Etsy? Before Etsy I sold on Ebay (expensive and complicated), JustBeads (buggy) and my own site. Etsy was the next one to try. What's been your best Etsy experience? There's been quite a few good ones luckily! The best ones are generally meeting up socially with like minded etsians. It's always nice not to have to explain all the details of my little online work world from scratch. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your shop or yourself? I've done well on Etsy but I've tried half a dozen sites, several different Etsy shops, all sorts of social media, shows, classes, wholesale, article writing... there's no one way this works for people. Thankfully, there's plenty of options.
Introduce Yourself: Hi there! My name is Megan. I’m the face behind Megan’s Piñatas. I live in Moose Jaw and I just celebrated my second 29th birthday this year. I am happily married and have 4 children -1 Boy and 3 girls.
How did you get started? My mom used to make piñatas for mine and my siblings’ birthdays and I loved to help make and decorate them. I love to make (and smash) piñatas for any occasion -even if there’s no birthday. Once I had my own children, I carried on the tradition because it just didn’t seem like a birthday party without a piñata. I just took the leap and started selling them in the past year. Where can people find you online? What do you like about selling on Etsy? I love that anyone all over the world can see my work -not just local folks (although I do love all my Saskatchewan customers) What's been your best Etsy experience? My best experiences on Etsy are when a customer sends me a photo of my piñata in use - I love to see the kids smiling and loving it.
How did you get started? I was new to Canada, left my country and came to Canada to start from zero, then i met the crochet art online, i found it very therapeutic so i started to make the crochet dolls , hoping not to comfort myself but also get to comfort my buyers with love and care. Where can people find you online? You can find me on Facebook ![]() What do you like about selling on Etsy? it's well organized, and easy to deal with. Simple and clear and Etsy is a worldwide well known platform to sell my arty dolls. What brought you to Etsy? i want to sell to the world and Etsy is the best option that is really great for artists. What's been your best Etsy experience? It's great to interact with customers around the world and to receive their reviews.
Introduce Yourself: Hello! My name is Moira.I am a freelance illustrator and designer of greeting cards. I freelanced for a number of years for two American companies, but always desired to have a little company of my own.And now I do! What is the name of your shop? It is called LittleLightCardCo. How long have you been open? I have been open since April 11/2016. How long have you been doing your craft and how did you get started? I have been creating greeting cards since I was a little girl, but really didn't get into it commercially until 1998 when I submitted some of my work. That was a big day when some of my designs were accepted! Where can people find you online? I also have a Facebook page and Instagram page
What's been your best Etsy experience? My Etsy experience is very new to me, but in the last couple of weeks I have had so much fun! It is a lot of fun to see people favouriting my shop or even just viewing it from all over the world. I feel like I am connecting with other creative people. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your shop or yourself? One thing that I like about having my own little Etsy company is that I have the freedom to create what I want and not be bound by the limits of a large publishing company.I am free to be just me!
Introduce Yourself: Hi, I'm Tammy, and I live in Martensville, Sk with my husband and 2 children. What is the name of your shop? My Etsy shop "Ashryla" (pronounced ash-rye-la) is a combination of my kids' names. ![]() How long have you been open? I opened my shop about 5 years ago, but it has evolved a lot since then. I started out making some clothing and baby items, then eventually tried making a leather bag and I got hooked! How long have you been doing your craft and how did you get started? For the past 4 years, I've been making leather handbags, clutches, wallets, and accessories, all based on my own designs. I've been doing a lot of custom work lately, mainly consisting of matching clutch sets for bridal parties. I've been sewing and designing since I was a little girl, so this was a natural progression for me.
What do you like about selling on Etsy? As a mom, it's fantastic being able to set my own schedule and work around my family life. One of my favorite things about Etsy is that it's helped me connect with customers outside my local area. Also, the support that members shows each other is truly outstanding, and teams like this one really make me feel like part of a community.
How long have you been doing your craft? 5 1/2 years. I officially began in the fall of 2010 How did you get started? Shortly after our oldest was born in Sept 2010 I was desperately ( new mommy hormones!) seeking decor for her nursery. We had a small budget and found anything on the market that both went with her room and could be personalized was way out of our price range and still didn't quite match the vision I had in mind. I've always been a creative but generally expressed it through gardening, writing and interior design and occasional wood working. I assembled the meger craft supplies I had on hand, purchased a few sheets of scrapbook paper and created a personalized block set for her along with a matching painted sign on canvas. I soon had friends and family asking for their own block sets and realized this was the means to stay home and raise my daughter that had been on my heart, but that I hadn't been able to put into words yet. Over the course of our daughters first year I made nearly 100 wooden block sets. I knew that God had given me this creative outlet in order to both contribute to our income and to stay home with our daughter for as long as I was able. ![]() My business name came to me then, I quickly put together business cards and a Facebook page and got busy. It wasn't long before customers began asking after wooden signs to match their block sets. ( I had taken odd jobs over the years when sales were slow including custom planting in our local greenhouse, carpenters helper and assistant in our town office) Then our 'honey bee' came along in 2013 and it was around that time that I made the switch to selling signs exclusively and gave up my side jobs to take a leap of faith and pursue my dream full time. Where can people find you online? You can find me on Facebook - Sweet Peas & Honey Bees Boutique On Etsy - SPandHB And on Instagram - user name - @sweetpeashoneybees What do you like about selling on Etsy? The broad reach Etsy allows me that I certainly couldn't find on Facebook. Much like the Instagram maker community, the Handmade community on Etsy is so supportive, I adore shop talk and love discovering new to me Saskatchewan/ Canadian shops. It's so beautiful to see makers helping makers, women encouraging and building each other up all while balancing that thin line between business and family. ![]() What brought you to Etsy? Oh my gosh, I discovered Etsy nearly a decade ago and have always been a supporter of handmade. I come from a long line of strong hard working people with entrepreneurial spirits and have always found so much joy in the gift of handmade. It was a natural transition to open my Etsy shop. I will admit that it took me nearly a year to build the confidence to go ahead and open up shop, the what if's are so hard to ignore aren't they? What if nobody likes my work, Shipping is terrifying! What if I don't make any sales? etc. But I took that leap and encourage any of you who are on the fence to do it too! ( Plus, that first Cha-Ching! When you sell an item is heaven 😉 ) ![]() What's been your best Etsy experience? There have been so many, from watching in awe as my sales grew, new customers turned friends, 'meeting' people all over the world and truly connecting with them over a piece of my work, and gaining the support of my local shop friends. And honestly, learning! There is so much to learn in this business. Through trial and error I've tweaked and streamlined production over the years and found a formula that works best for me and my daily life. Discovering the Etsy Saskatchewan team has been an amazing way to not only introduce myself but also my followers to other local talent. ( We have a lot of it!) Taking part in my first Etsy Made In Canada pop up market in Saskatoon last fall was an amazing experience, I was astounded at the amount of people through the doors and they were genuinely there to meet us and talk handmade. That was a new experience for me and has absolutely changed the way I incorporate craft markets into my yearly lineup. And if I'm lucky, there will be more amazing Etsy experiences to come! Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your shop or yourself? Sign making is both my passion and my 'day job'. This business is not just a hobby, it sustains our family. I'm just lucky enough to also truly adore what I do. I work countless hours each week tweaking my original d signs and painting words on wood. Words that are decided upon and lovingly hung in YOUR nests, I never take that for granted.
I am the wood worker, designer, painter, framer, packaging/shipping department, marketing and PR. I am my business. But I am a momma first. This business is all for my girls. I pray it teaches them that big dreams do come true if you work your tail off for them, and thst it instils in them a love and appreciation of handmade pieces in a throw away society. The fact that my customers choose to spend their hard earned money on our family rather than big box stores or Pinterest d.i.y's is appreciated more than we could ever express. Behind every Etsy shop is a REAL family, working hard to sustain themselves and your support means that we can keep going. Xo |
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