Imagine walking into a room and suddenly being taken straight back to your childhood fair with cotton candy in arm, just waiting to catch the next trip around the ferris wheel. Well, you may feel complete nostalgia as memories like that pop up when you shop from this next maker. Today's maker feature is Jenna from Prairie Candle Co. She has the sweetest interview - up there as one of our favourites to date. We feel like we're in the room with her experiencing all of the emotions and she takes us down memory lane and shares so much about herself and her business. We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did... it's time to dig in.

 

The business side of the interview...

Tell us more about your company - what's your business' story or something unique that we'd love to hear?

There is something so comforting about lighting your favorite, scented candle. I love how a scent can trigger a memory, (like the smell of the cake my Mom bakes every year for my birthday) or a feeling like comfort, excitement and inspiration. 

 

When I started this candle business in 2016, It was a creative outlet for me and a start to having my own company (girl power?). Being asthmatic, I also wanted to create a beautiful, clean burning candle, free of phthalates and cheap wax. I fell in love with the hunt of finding the perfect scent, the perfect wick, high quality wax and the cutest jars. Shortly after, Prairie Candle Co came to be! I soon realized that candle making was a science with so, so much trial and error. It really has been a journey! I truly hope my customers enjoy their new candles as much as I have enjoyed making them.

 

 

 

What time of day do you feel most creative? How do you get past the lulls?

 

I find my most creative time is late at night, when the house is quiet and my family is safe in their beds. I get an arrangement of ideas and I can't stop thinking about it until I created it. I've had some pretty late nights trying to source the materials I see in my head or concoct a new fragrance.

 

What does your dream storefront look like? Is it online or brick and mortar, do you work all week long, do you have employees, etc?

 

I'd love to one day have my own brick and mortar shop. Big glass windows, a parlour, a more muted decor with pops of colour. My shop would be filled with the inspiring fragrance of my candles. I have kind, confidant staff but also work the floor myself part time to build customer relations and grass roots marketing.....oh and plants! My store would have an array of rich, green plants.

 

 

 

Now the fun personal side...

 

What is your favorite colour? Why?

 

My favourite colour is black. In school, I remember my art teacher telling us that black was not a colour, it was a neutral. But recently one of my favourite artists (Amanda Cook) put it this way when asked why she wore black alot of the time. She said, and I quote loosely, that black wasn't void of colour, it is actually a mixture of all the colours together. So I think I'll go with that.

 

If you could only choose one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

 

Favourite food? Mexican/Central American...I can't stand Pasta.

 

 

Would you rather spend your vacation at the beach or sight-seeing?

 

For Vacations, I'm a beach girl all the way. I love playing in the warm sand and the cooling waves. Hawaii is my favourite. I do like seeing the sights and in Hawaii, those sights are almost always accompanied by water, sand, roadside bbq and fresh coconut. I also collect sea shells. Maybe that could be my job when I grow up.

 

What is your biggest fear?

 

My biggest fear? Being pantsed. This may seem irrational. maybe it's a little bit of ptsd from 5th grade when a kid named Alex, pantsed me in front of the entire class....fun fact...I later went on to be friends with his Mom. I was managing a small business and his Mom was a regular. She was just great. There was such a light in her and I was so fond of her. When I found out she was Alex's Mom, I remember thinking 'but she's so sweet'. 

 

You can eliminate one world problem, which would you choose? Why?

Look at us, another feature so soon. We're on a roll. :) So, we started out writing this blog post with a big hey happy Wednesday... and then we realized it was Thursday. Which I guess is a good thing, we're that much closer to the weekend and we didn't even realize it. Before the weekend hits, we thought we'd put out another amazing maker for you to read about. Bookmark or save it for the weekend. You won't want to miss hearing about this amazing sentimental handmade business. Definitely a company that has helped turn special memories into keepsakes. We won't make you wait any longer...

The business side of the interview...

Tell us more about your company - what's your business' story or something unique that we'd love to hear?

RE-Vive the TEE is our take on preserving cherished special memories. Our speciality is creating beautiful hand crafted T-Shirt quilts made right here in CANADA. It is our hope that our customers can snuggle up with our creations with those that matter most while reminiscing on past times. It is our mission to breathe life back in to clothing that means the most. Just like a photo- a memory quilt can bring you back to a special time in a single moment. These quilts are meant to bring a little extra happiness into lives and a whole lot of meaning in to gifts for loved ones. At RE-Vive the TEE we strive to put a smile on our clients faces daily :)

 

Marketing is everywhere… what are your favorite places to be? What is the most successful?
 

My favourite places to market are both Instagram and Pinterest. As my product tends to be  very colourful, they make for good photos and using social media platforms that work mainly using visual posts, they work great! I also love to follow other handmade businesses and get inspirations from their posts on what to feature for my next blog post or topic of conversation for my feed. 

 

Are you a full time or part time maker? Either scenario, tell us what a day in business looks like for you? What’s your favorite part, what part would you rather hire out?
 

I am currently working full time on my business- although I also have a toddler at home so I do work around his naps/ bedtimes. So although it’s not like a normal 9-5, the hours I work each week is equivalent of that. I typically check all of my social media in the morning and create some new pins for Pinterest and content for Instagram and Facebook, and then I’ll check my emails and respond to any customer emails and questions. I then work on my blog posts/ researching and also try to listen to a podcast or two to try and improve on my marketing skills. In the evenings once my little one is asleep, it’s then my creative time- I have a home studio in the basement that I work from- I’ll put on some great music and sew away!

 

Are you a messy creative or an organized creative? What does your workspace really look like? Can you give us some of your storage tips?

 

I am a messy worker! Cutting and sewing is messy business with pieces of material and threads getting caught on my clothing and tends to be transported to other places in my house! I am organized in the way of customer orders. I have a large storage area at the back of my studio with multiple shelves and orders are placed in a number system of when they come in through the mail (when our customers mail us their clothing) we also have a separate area for storing all materials, threads and packaging etc.
 

 

 

 

Now the fun personal side...

 

We're back! If you haven't been following too closely on Instagram - there is a whole lot of fun happening over there. From the soft launch of an online store (accepting applications to consign), to releasing our ebook... we also have some pretty amazing giveaways coming in the future. But, today... we are trying to get back on track with our blog features, and we're excited to bring you Erica from Onsight Care. We're eying up some of her items to try, but also love all those places she's been exploring (seriously, check out their IG). Anyways, we'll let you read about it all for yourself. And, welcome back to the blog ;)

There are hand makers around the world, we’re bound to meet up with someone that makes something similar. Tell us how you keep your product unique. Also, do you change things up season to season, year to year, etc? Any advice for others who are wanting to find their own style?

Our shop is designed for travellers and climbers. So even though our products are a lot like other zero waste handmade items, we can market towards a community group that we are already a part of. Find your community and start there! 

What does your dream storefront look like? Is it online or brick and mortar, do you work all week long, do you have employees, etc?

We would love to have a brick & mortar one day that is also a coffee shop! Our sister company Onsight Coffee is what truly started this venture, so combing the 2 in a climbing community would be the ideal! But who knows what the future holds, gotta go with the flow and currently online is key.

Now the fun personal side...

If you could only choose one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Fav meal is spaghetti.

Would you rather spend your vacation at the beach or sight-seeing?

When you spend a lot of your life on an endless road trip it’s the best, easiest go to! Can I say rock climbing on the beach, like in Mallorca? That’s the dream vacation! 

Are you a book or movie person? Recommendations for the one you chose?

Bookworm for sure, fav book right now is Love Does by Bob Goff, pulls around the heart strings for sure! 

Where is your favorite place to travel?

Fav place is for sure New Zealand! So gorgeous, so much nature to explore, can’t wait to go back!

You can eliminate one world problem, which would you choose? Why?

Human Trafficking is definitely number one in wanting to see eradicated! We love being able to come alongside organizations like Radiant Hope in seeing a different future for people caught in unfortunate circumstances! Once you see how easy it is for someone to be stuck in such awful places you can’t help but want to make a difference! 

Okay, this business couldn't be any dreamier. Making such amazing natural ingredient products and focusing on exploring and traveling. Thank you Erica for giving us a little insight into your amazing business, we truly hope your brick and mortar comes to life someday. We loved hearing about your items but also your fave places to be. Be sure to show Erica and her amazing handmade items some love, you can visit her:

HC ♡

When Ri from PrintFromMyInstax reached out about gifting us some of her amazing polaroids and postcards, of course we said YES! These are so perfect for everything - from everyday keepsakes to gifts, or business cards and marketing material. They are so fun and unique, we knew we had to share.

Who doesn't remember how exciting Polaroids can be? They are small, with that fun vintage look - they seriously bring us right back to our childhood. When we received ours in the mail, the first thing my 6 year old said was "I want the dog one for my room". They are just so much fun for any age and a great way to capture your memories.

 

Then of course there are just taking all of your family photos, your recent trip to the beach or some fun photos from a walk around town. We know you'll smile when this nostalgic item shows up at your door step. Let's not forget the cute packaging that makes the order feel that more special.

And then there are the personal ways you could use the postcard. Birthday card for a loved one, Christmas cards for friends and family. Either way, its a fun way to offer that special memory that they can cherish for years to come. Who doesn't love that? It's a very fun alternative to your regular Christmas cards.

So much fun, with so many ideas. Pop over to their Instagram or stop by and shop their Etsy. Prints from My Instax was so generous to gift us our beautiful polaroids and postcards - we wouldn't have accepted unless we knew it would be something that you would love too. If you purchase, we'd love to know what you chose them for. If you have some other fun ideas, be sure to share them in the comments below. 

HC ♡

Can you believe we're almost halfway through November? With the colder weather and less busy schedules (hello Covid), we have a notebook full of goals for the community. It seems we've been plugging away even more so these past days to get things rolling. And, with that comes another maker feature - something we've been neglecting a little lately. We can't wait for you to meet Charlotte the maker behind Exile Jewelry. She has the complete story behind taking those first steps and getting the support to keep at it. And definitely a fun side you'll love to learn about. Take a peek:

The business side of the interview...

Tell us more about your company - what's your business' story or something unique that we'd love to hear?

I started metalsmithing almost three & a half years ago after my obsession with sea glass started to take over my dining room. My boyfriend decided I needed to find a way to get rid of it, knowing I would never stop collecting.

 

How did you get started selling? What made you finally take the leap?

 

I started selling almost a year after I started smithing because one of my very good friends encouraged me. She had started small artistic sea glass business, and wanted a partner in crime for the craft shows, and also saw the potential in my work. After a few coworkers & siblings asked for custom work, I decided it was time. It was a very small church Christmas craft show in Halifax and I sold three items. I was SO EXCITED my work was good enough that strangers wanted to buy it!

 

 

 

Give us your best advice for others that want to start making and selling. Which did you wish you knew when you had started?

 

Research and networking are both super important. I found a great community of smiths on Facebook - I swear there is a group for just about everything! Even being a passive observer in this environment has taught me a lot of things I would have never considered on my own & made me more confident in creating. Industry entities (like @metalsmithsociety on Instagram!) that bring the community together exist, and the more you immerse & invest yourself in the community, the more you’ll find.

 
Are you a messy creative or an organized creative? What does your workspace really look like? Can you give us some of your storage tips?

  

My workspace actually looks like chaos. I’m very messy and I like to work on about 20 projects at once, so I never get bored with one thing. Because I’m part time, I can pick and choose what I feel like working on with benefits my creativity. The vast majority of my customers are super understanding. I have a lot of tools like pliers, hammers, setting tools and gravers and use a variety of pop-up racks for the lighter items (kitchen isle of the dollar store). I’ve also found that modifying my work bench by drilling holes in it for commonly used tools has been really helpful in deterring me from misplacing things. 

 

 

 

Now the fun personal side...

Would you rather spend your vacation at the beach or sight-seeing?

 

I am not known to ever pass up a beach day! Any opportunity to find sea glass!

 

What’s your favorite part about home? Are you a homebody?

I am a total homebody! I love my outdoor garden, but my favourite place is my home studio.

Salty or sweet? What is your favorite of the one you chose?

I have a wicked sweet tooth & I’m a prolific baker. Bad combo! 🤣

Something unique about yourself that nobody really knows? (IE, one thumb is longer than the other, skipped a grade in school, etc)

Before the age of two I had several seizures including a grand mal seizure for which I needed an ambulance.

Three favorite Instagram accounts you think we should all follow, and their main focus.

@stringtheoriesca is the sweetest human and makes gorgeous macrame wall art & plant hangers. Her work often uses driftwood for the perfect beachy feel!

@metalsmithsociety for anyone interested in metal work and what goes into it!

@slightlyirreg for beautiful, handmade Nova Scotia Earthenware ceramic work.

 

 

 

Ahhh... Thank you so much Charlotte for telling us more about your handmade business. We loved hearing the honesty about building courage and knowledge to achieve your dreams. And of course, it's always nice to know that a passion can be very messy and sporatic - we can certainly agree! Your jewelry is absolutely beautiful and so unique, we hope all of your dreams come true with your business. Once again, if you want to see more stunning jewelry or get in touch with Charlotte, here's where you can reach her:

Instagram: @exilejewelry

Shop: Etsy + Website

HC ♡