WESTie Wednesday : featuring Everything Little W

WESTie Wednesday with Jessica of Everything Little W!

Welcome to WESTie Wednesday, where each week we get to know a proud WEST member and their Etsy shop! Learn about Jessica and her shop Everything Little W.

"I sell natural educational toys that encourage imaginative play, such as puppet theatres, wooden peg dolls, Waldorf-inspired dolls and doll clothes, chalkboard mats, hand kits, crayon rolls and art kits. My demographic is 1-10 years olds and anyone who has children in that age bracket in their lives, for whom they would buy gifts."

"I started creating 5 years ago after I had my daughter. I had been teaching full time until she came into our lives. After we fell into a routine, I found that I needed a creative outlet and chatted with a friend who was already selling. I started by selling through her, since my items worked well with hers. I went with her to craft markets and really enjoyed myself, so when it came time to develop more ideas, I knew I could do it! I chatted with my sister over the following summer, and we decided to start creating together, and so Everything Little was born!"



"We both designed and created our own items and I was in charge of getting them to the masses (sometimes a bit tough when we were separated by two provinces). Now it's just me and I've found my passion for using my educational background to help create toys that are imagination based and fun to play with, but also have some educational value. All of my dolls, chalkboard mats, theaters, pegs, etc. are created at my dining room table often after everyone else in the house has gone to bed. Each night I put in a movie or listen to a pod cast while sewing by machine or hand, or painting as I put together each and every toy with a lot of love and attention to detail." 

"As much as possible, I try to source my materials from Canadian retailers. For example, the carded wool used in all my dolls is a combination of roving sourced from a family run farm in Ontario (Egli's) and raw wool (which I clean and card) from a small farm out of Carman, MB. The doll skin is purchased from an Etsy seller out of BC, who gets it specially milled from the Netherlands. Most of my other fabrics are purchased from a small Canadian fabric shop (Funky Monkey Fabrics) out of Ontario. That being said, I also source from big box stores like Michaels and Fabricland for things like ribbon and thread."

We asked Jessica “Why Etsy?” "I started my shop to try to reach a wider audience and expand my business."

Want to see more? Be sure to check out Everything Little W on social media:

Facebook | Instagram

Meet the Westies at the St. Norbert Handmade & Vintage Sale (Three Dates)

Don't miss out on this chance to shop from a number of West Etsy Vendors at the

St. Norbert Handmade & Vintage Sale this summer!

The sale takes place at St. Norbert Arena

3450 Pembina Hwy (right next to the Farmer's Market).

Saturdays, 9am-3pm July 23, July 30, August 13.

Admission $1
FREE PARKING! (just tell the lot attendant you're there for the craft sale).

Shop for Crafts, Refurbished, and Antiques!

July 23rd WESTies:

Atomic Age Vintage Shop

Bitchin'Kitsch Kitchen

Heidi and Seek Boutique

Raiment Resource

Art on a Whimsy
Playful Peanut

July 30 WESTies:

Bitchin'Kitsch Kitchen

Mosaic Pendants Plus

Little Big Ideas

Raiment Resource

Heidis Jewels
Playful Peanut
Peachy Green Eco
The Bearded Lady

August 13 WESTies:

Bitchin'Kitsch Kitchen

Raiment Resource
Playful Peanut
Peachy Green Eco
The Bearded Lady
Nancy Blokland Pottery

WESTie Wednesday : ft Piccadilly Signs Decor

WESTie Wednesday with Paul of Piccadilly Signs Decor!

Welcome to WESTie Wednesday, where each week we get to know a proud WEST member and their Etsy shop! Learn about Paul and his shop Piccadilly Signs Decor.

"We make and sell small business decor and fun signs for small shop owners and crafters."

"Piccadilly Signs is a small Sign and creative services business that opened in 2010 we make hand crafted custom cottage and commercial signs, movie props and small business decor."

"We work out of our two story converted garage, which is conveniently next to our 1911 house. Our materials are based upon the projects we have in the shop, most of our Etsy items are from recycled lumber and off cuts from the custom sign work we produce."

We asked Paul “Why Etsy?”

"Its Fun and we enjoy seeing our items going to so many different locations around the world."

Want to see more? Be sure to check out Piccadilly Signs Decor on social media:

Facebook

WESTie Wednesday : ft Peachy Green Eco

WESTie Wednesday with Robyn of Peachy Green Eco!

Welcome to WESTie Wednesday, where each week we get to know a proud WEST member and their Etsy shop! Learn about Robyn and her shop Peachy Green Eco.

Peachy Green Eco sells a selection of handcrafted items that are all natural or up-cycled from locally sourced materials. The bird seed ornaments, brown sugar hand scrubs & vintage baby bottle terrariums make wonderful gifts & favours for any wedding, corporate function, bridal shower, baby shower or just as a gift for a friend. The wooden buttons are a great addition to any piece of clothing you are making or to add as little show piece to a bag or hat. The up-cycled plaid smocks & aprons are perfect for anyone. Use them to keep your clothes clean while doing crafts, baking or as an everyday bib for your kids.

 

  

"Peachy Green Eco came to be out of my love of crafting, owning a small event planning business & a love of nature. I am always doing something new such as the small things you see in the shop all the way to making locally sourced building materials such as mud plaster for a straw bale building. So far I haven't found a craft I haven't been a fan of!" "The bird seed ornaments that you see on the shop were originally a craft night project that didn't quite turn out with the recipe I had found but I was really in love with the idea of making something truly eco-friendly & that would help feed some of our little winged friends here in our cold winters so I came up with my own recipe. These are by far my biggest sellers for wedding, birthday & shower favours & make great little gifts at Christmas time."

"The sugar hand scrubs were another craft night idea but this time I came up with my own recipe right from the start that was free of any harmful chemicals, phosphate free & eco-friendly, being gentle on your hands while exfoliating or getting dirt off after an afternoon in the garden."

"The wooden buttons are sourced from trees right here on my property & the wood was harvested with the trees health in mind (properly pruned branches that posed harm to the tree, had been broken in a storm or fell off on their own). I originally wasn't going to sell them & made them to replace the plastic buttons on my winter coat but with the responses I received & people asking where I got them I decided to put them up for sale as well. These are my favourite item!"

"The up-cycled plaid shirt aprons & smocks are all locally sourced shirts from thrift stores & were a project that I started out making just for my nieces & nephews so their moms would have relatively clean kids at the end of doing some afternoon crafts. I then ventured into adult sizes & they quickly became a hit. They are a lot of fun to make and have really pushed me to learn a lot more about my serger! Please see the current selections or contact me with your size & colour preference!"

"Lastly the vintage baby bottle terrariums are the newest arrival to the shop. The vintage bottles were found here in Winnipeg & too good of a deal to pass up. I was originally going to just use the bottles as rentals & decorations for baby showers that I plan & set up with my business but with having more than I would ever need for one shower I started planting in them. My favourites have to be the tiny cactus or air plant versions (available by special request)."

We asked Robyn “Why Etsy?”

"My Etsy shop came to be because of my event planning business, Peachy Green Events, with having clients interested in my bird seed favours for different events they were having & has expanded from there."

Want to see more? Be sure to check out Peachy Green Eco on social media:

Twitter I Facebook

WESTie Wednesday : ft Little Big Ideas

WESTie Wednesday with Wayne Reimer and Eliza Pescador of Little Big Ideas!

Welcome to WESTie Wednesday, where each week we get to know a proud WEST member and their Etsy shop! Learn about Wayne and Eliza and their shop Little Big Ideas.

"We are a father daughter duo from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Little Big Ideas uses reclaimed wood and other salvaged materials to create stylish, functional and unique home decor and jewelry organization items. We work together to create designs, find materials and come up with finished products!" 

"Right now our Etsy shop displays most of our smaller home decor and jewelry/makeup organizers, which are easier to ship than some of our larger jewelry display units. Most of our materials are either given to us by friends and family or people who need to get rid of old wood and furniture, or purchased at the Habitat Restore. We create these items in our family garage!"

"We sell home decor items including wall decor and shelving, makeup and makeup accessory caddies, jewelry boxes and display units, technology stands and several other unique items! We are always searching for new ideas so our products can diversify. Our demographic is generally women in the age rage of 20-35, however we have found some of our home decor and technology stands to be quite popular for men too!"

We asked Wayne and Eliza “Why Etsy?”"About a year ago we started selling at local craft markets and really enjoyed this! We were already familiar with Etsy and decided it would be a great idea so we could share Little Big Ideas with people who didn't live in Winnipeg!"

Want to see more? Be sure to check out Little Big Ideas on social media:

Instagram I Twitter I Facebook

WESTie Wednesday with Daisy Thirteen

Welcome to WESTie Wednesday, where each week we get to know a proud WEST member and their Etsy shop! Learn about Ang and her shop

Daisy Thirteen!

"I’m Ang, a yoga-loving, meditating, free spirited Mama who loves music, and reading and is constantly learning. I love to travel, I’m fluent in Dutch, and in a former life I was a drafting technician." 

"As for the origin of Daisy Thirteen, I have always loved the simple beauty of a Daisy. And Thirteen has been my lucky number for as long as I can remember. I love recycling or re-purposing something old into something new, or in the case of my wooden blocks, rescuing them from a trip to the landfill and infusing them with some TLC. My bead obsession began while traveling, and while in Australia I sold my hemp jewellery on the street and in markets. I love the whole process of taking a bunch of 'stuff', and transforming it into something beautiful and useful. The transformation is magical, and it is this creative process which I find myself surrendering to… time and time again. I love to create things that make me smile, and I hope that in doing so, I may make someone else smile."

"Currently I only have quote blocks listed in my Etsy shop, and they are the perfect gift for anyone! I have all kinds of quotes available, from guffaw-inducing to tear-jerking (and everything in between). Custom orders are always welcome, and I can also transfer photos or a handwritten note to a block. The fact that my blocks are free-standing means that you can just plunk them down anywhere. No need to put holes in your wall, or try to find a frame... just set it down and instantly transform your space."

We asked Ang “Why Etsy?”

"I love the freedom it provides. The freedom to stay home with our son, homeschool, earn some money, and be creative!"

 "Come see me at the Etsy Made in Canada sale on September 26, 2015!"

Want to see more? Be sure to check out Daisy Thirteen on social media!

  Facebook | Instagram