Page 2 - The Community Press, Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Flagstaff CraftedFlagstaff Crafted was born of our region’s pride in

high-quality local handmade goods. Flagstaff County’s Economic Development team

had sought a way to leverage that pride to enhancethe exposure of local makers, artisans, and retailers.And so they designed the Flagstaff Crafted programto not only bring opportunities to these local entrepre-neurs, but also form and foster relationships along theway.

Flagstaff Crafted makers will benefit from market-ing initiatives that showcase their amazing talentwhile also sparking collaborative ventures with otherlikeminded entrepreneurs.

The Flagstaff Crafted makers movement is alreadyafoot.

The following three Flagstaff Crafted makers sharetheir stories.

Andrea DeSain, Rebel Ridge SoapsAndrea DeSain was looking for a unique Christmas

gift idea, when she decided to make her own soap forfamily members.

“I found a video online of somebody doing it and Igot really excited about seeing how they did it and thedifferent options,” she recalls.

DeSain immersed herself in learning the soap-mak-ing process and soon had more soap than she knewwhat to do with – so she started giving it away tofriends.

And then they started asking for more, offering tobuy it from her.

So the Hardisty resident launched an online storeand eventually designed her own website for what be-came a thriving home-based business.

“People just started buying stuff,” she explains.From there, DeSain never looked back.She recently earned her basic soapmaker certifica-

tion – after acing the exam – and is now working onher advanced certification.

These days, her biggest challenge is finding enoughtime to meet the demand for her products.

“This year I've been devoting a lot more time than Idid in previous years to my business,” she explains.“I do work full-time… but I try to do it most eveningsand on the weekends. I spend a lot of my time eithermaking soap, packaging soap, or making labels. Imake all of my own labels, I update my website and Igo to markets, so I find that I do spend quite a decentamount of my spare time doing it.”

Rebel Ridge Soaps offers a line of bath products thatincludes seasonal scents: floral in the spring, fruity inthe summer, spicy in the fall and wintery scents in thecold months.

“I also like doing just random ones that I think smellgood or that other people request. I do get a lot of re-quests, which is awesome,” she adds. “I watch a lot ofsoap videos, and I follow a lot of other soapmakers onInstagram, and they inspire me to do different things.”Joining the Flagstaff Crafted makers movement has“broadened the horizons of my customer base,” De-Sain says. She currently retails her products at StatusHair Salon in Killam, and is looking forward to col-laborating with fellow Flagstaff Crafted makers in thenear future.

Mandy Spiller, The Rusty Daisy Gift Co.One fateful day about seven years ago, Mandy

Spiller drove by a flower shop on Daysland’s mainstreet that was for sale and she couldn’t help but imag-ine the possibilities.

“It just caught my eye and I thought it was the mostbeautiful little store ever,” Spiller recalls. “I poppedmy head in, and I couldn't believe that they were sell-ing it. They had decided to move to Penticton, andlucky for me, I bought this beautiful little flower shopof 500 square feet of awesomeness. I just love my storeso much.”

She christened the shop The Rusty Daisy Gift Co.,and set to work instilling her own personal charm. De-scribed as a “rural treasure,” the store offers a uniqueselection of products – including giftware and homedécor – along with floral arrangements.

“I'm known for my purses,” Spiller says. “Mypurses are pretty much my bread and butter. Duringthe summertime, I feel like everyone deserves a newspring purse.”

And at Christmastime, the Rusty Daisy is the go-tospot for Grinch trees.

Spiller is also fast becoming known for her humor-ous one-of-a-kind greeting cards.

“It was just random,” she admits. “I had to fill mycard rack, and I said to myself, ‘Why can't I put mycheekiness into cards?’ I literally find stuff that makesme laugh, I write it in my phone, and I save it for card-making day.”

Spiller opted to join Flagstaff Crafted because “ithonestly was too good of an opportunity not to.” Itwas at the Flagstaff Crafted market as part of theFlagstaff Celebrates Success event in Killam last fallwhere she met Candace Patten of Sweet Three De-signs. The two have since struck a successful collabo-ration and retail each other’s products.

“I feel that the more you can get your business nameout there and on the minds of people, the more theywill stop in to Daysland, and be like, ‘Oh yeah, thereis a cute store in Daysland. We should stop there andhave a tour,’” she explains.

“I don't expect everyone to buy something, butcome see what I have and see what I carry. I'm alwaysgetting new things in, always, always. I only have somany customers, so I change it up as much as I can,and I have so much fun doing that.”

Candace Patten, Sweet Three DesignsA love of jewelry, coupled with the desire to express

herself creatively, compelled Candace Patten to launchSweet Three Designs in her Sedgewick home.

The mother of three young girls says she draws in-spiration for her unique creations from fashion trendsand everyday life in general.

“My daughters are my main sources of inspirationfor Sweet Three. They have a huge say in which de-signs we go with, colour combinations and the look ofour company,” Patten explains. “Currently, the major-ity of their involvement is just simply watching andlearning the aspects of building a business and beingan entrepreneur. They've all naturally shown their de-sire to be little business women and I'm just helpingthem understand what it takes to bring a business tolife.”

And while growing a business can be time-consum-ing, Patten strives to strike the right balance.

“Time and balance are definitely my biggest chal-lenge,” she admits.

“Balancing school, sports, business and quality timewith family is constantly on my mind. I do my best tomake sure everyone is getting what they need whiletrying to also nurture this fun little venture.”

Sweet Three products can be found at Laurie's Vin-tage Creations in Viking and the Rusty Daisy inDaysland.

“I truly appreciate the support and encouragementthat's been shown to my girls and I,” she says. “In re-turn, we try to give back to the community and helpout with causes and organizations as much as we areable to in order to pay it forward.”

For more information, watch the FlagstaffCrafted video on The Community Press

website thecommunitypress.com and visit flagstaffcrafted.ca.

“ ““Flagstaff Crafted was born of ourregion’s pride in high-quality localhandmade goods. ”