First ever boutique Queensborough Pop-Up Shop is still on for one more day and today we introduce a few more of our May 14 vendors!
LEVEL V – Monica
Who are the brains behind the business? Tell us a bit about yourself.
Level V is my creation! I have been vegan since January 2015, and I love to create vegan baked goods for my friends and family.
What first inspired you to start baking professionally? How did you get started?
I work as the Quality Assurance Specialist in a Gluten-Free Flour manufacturing company in Burnaby, and bake on the side. I started at the Baker’s Market a few years ago just for fun. I have started pursuing this passion more professionally only at the beginning of this year.
What is your favourite part about your job?
I love wowing people that my product is vegan, and getting great feedback. I also like that it allows me to experiment and be creative.
What’s your favourite part about living in the lower mainland?
I love being surrounded by the mountains and trees when the sun sets during summer. My favourite place to spend time in the summer is definitely Stanley Park.
THE SHEPHERD’S PILLOW – Michele
Who are the brains behind the business? Tell us a bit about yourself.
I started my business after my husband died in a car accident in 2004. When my husband was alive it was just a hobby and then after his death I took some time off of work to heal. Working with my hands helped me to cope. Now I can proudly say that I have my products all over the world!
My home is my sanctuary. This is where I create. In the storm of Winters’s snow fall I huddle up to the fire place with my cats and dog and spin wool. In the Summer time I sit on my deck over looking the Mighty Fraser River and watch the Eagles fly as I work. My dog Zeus, my cats Luna, and Bentley a polydactyl (6 toes on all 4 paws)and 4 angora rabbits. All rescues are the supervisors of all my work. Nothing goes out without being inspected by them.
What first inspired you to start making wool pillows and blankets? How did you get started?
I had a friend stay at my house looking after my animals and when I came back she asked what kind of pillows and duvet I had so I told her and made her a couple of pillows. She came back a week later and said her husband raved about them and that he never ever could find a pillow that he liked and now is in love with my pillow I gave him. She said I should be selling them. So that is how it started The Shepherd’s Pillow in March 2016.
What is your favourite part about your job?
Talking to all the wonderful people about the benefits of wool pillows and duvets. Seeing all the reviews from people that I have sold pillows to and how much they love them and how much it has changed their lives.
Do you have any tips for people thinking of starting their own small business? Or attending a market for the first time? What do you wish you knew for your first market?
Find your passion. If you do not love what you are doing people will sense it. Guarantee your product. If they don’t love it exchange it or refund their money. People are visual and your display is what people see first, make that first impression count and engage people.
What’s your favourite part about living in the lower mainland?
The country in the city. It is all connected to everything; 20 min in any direction and you are in the country or the city. I am a country girl at heart and my love for what I do is reflected in that.
Catch these and many more local makers at the pop-up shop this Mother’s Day weekend!