(The Ottawa Artisans logo designed by Stittsville Mom, Andréanne King, for her new on-line local marketplace set to go live on January 31, 2020.)
An online marketplace for local crafters and small businesses from all over the city and surrounding area will be coming your way. Stittsville Mom, Andréanne King, is bringing together over 400 products produced by 40 local vendors to a new on-line shopping source, similar to Etsy, on Friday, January 31, 2020. The goal of the platform is to promote local buying and selling as well as offering an accessible on-line presence for the crafters.
Andréanne is a military spouse and seamstress. When on maternity leave in 2018, she decided to try her hand at creating busy books for her young daughter. Her influence came from her Mom who had always made her clothes when she was young and Andréanne thought that “it was the coolest thing!”. She told Stittsville Central, “sewing and handmade crafts were a terrific creative outlet while I was home and that they are really making a come-back with a younger generation. There is a certain appeal in this world of fast fashion to make something yourself!”.
(The first baby rattles created by Andréanne King for her baby daughter. Photo: Andréanne King)
With free time to create her crafts while her husband is away serving our country, Andréanne discovered that “small handmade businesses are very popular as it allows us to create something from home and make a little profit when we arrive in a new community”.
Sensing that there is a local niche to be filled, Andréanne created a Facebook post on January 3 to determine if there was interest in a platform such as this. To her astonishment, the response was incredible. In three short weeks, she has heard from some 200 vendors and the interest just keeps growing.
(A screen shot of what the front page of new Ottawa Artisans website.)
Many small hobbyists wanting an online presence turn to larger platforms, but there are drawbacks to this. The competition is usually high and an international presence exists. To compete on these platforms, the crafters would have to lower their prices thereby compromising profits, factor in the high costs associated with shipping and more importantly — secure their payments safely.
Working on her own and realizing the outpouring of reaction received, Andréanne created a platform to meet the needs of our local talent. Vendors can share their ‘store’ to the website from which they can sell their wares. She tells us, “the vendors involved in the project are all very invested in the success of the site…I’m happy to incorporate as many of their ideas as I can”.
(A Screen Shot of how each crafter store will appear on the Ottawa Artisans website)
Local artisans are encouraged to sign-up for a free account with no monthly fee and no item posting fees. To participate in this enterprising marketplace, interested vendors can email ottawaartisans@gmail.com.
Andréanne left off with, “the platform is home to more than 40 artisans and 400 products and anticipates seeing high traffic for Valentine’s day shopping!”.