Today we are going to meet the sister duo of Laura and Lindsay from Hamilton, Ontario. They are the owners of Heart Strings Personalized Gifts who provide various custom products. Some of which include; custom shirts, birthday outfits, cake toppers, cards, birthday or event decor, seasonal personalized gifts and their new line of doggie products! Laura and Lindsay offer their clients a one on one experience with designing and crafting your own special gift for the people you love most! The questions below are answered by Laura. Make sure to scroll all the way through to see the amazing products that Laura made for my sons 1st birthday party and what a great experience we had working with her.
Do you have kids? If so how many & age?
Yes – two – My son is 4 years old and My daughter is 15 months old
Are you a stay at home mom? Currently, I am on maternity leave. My sister (Lindsay) and I started this business about 4 years ago when she was selling crochet items. It was a fun thing for us to do together. We did a few crafts shows and had a lot of fun. I was not the talent at that time as she is the one who crochets. I was just managing our Facebook and setting up the craft shows. I always loved crafting and recently decided I wanted to get involved. In October of 2018, I was on maternity leave and trying to find something I could do with my time (naps etc). I wanted to find something I could do for fun as well as make a few extra dollars for the kids. I had a few friends who were making crafts while on maternity leave and selling them on marketplace so I thought I would give it a try. On October 31, I started to post my crafts and personalized items on Heart Strings (which was formally only crochet). I had an immediate response. Our followers loved my products! It was exciting. I posted some on Facebook marketplace and was getting a ton of messages. That is when I knew I had something special. I started by selling customized elves. I had seen ladies in the US selling these elves and thought I would give them a try. They were a huge hit! I sold a total of 225 elves this past Christmas. It was amazing! Then I starting branching out into the personalized gifts and birthday decor. My sister saw that I was having a ton of fun making and selling items so she decided to also help. Lindsay focuses mostly on apparel and bridal personalized items. I focus on birthday/event decorations (e.g. cake toppers, banners, high chair banners, birthday outfits (tutus/oneises), and the odd seasonal item for kids. I absolutely love seeing the client happy with their personalized items. It makes me feel amazing! I have had the retail bug for a long time. Ever since I was a kid, I was always helping my Grandma out at her store. My grandmother owns a story in Port Dover called Laura Linds Ladies Accessories (named after me and my sister)
and Peggy’s Cove Gift Shop. At one time these were two stores but she has recently combined them. I have always helped my grandma in her store and have learned a lot from my grandma about retail. She is so proud of my sister and I for starting this business! She calls me everyday asking about our sales and giving me tips. She is 85 years old and still works almost 3-4 times a week! She is a huge role model to me and I am glad she is proud of me. She told me she started by selling crafts and then it turned into the store she has now! When I am not crafting or on maternity leave, I am a teacher. I teach grade 1 and love it! Now that I have started this business and have learned so much, I am so excited to use some of my new skills in the classroom. I am sure I will be fixing my classroom up really nice in 2019/2020 when I return. It will also be fun to make my students personalized items as well. They will love that I am sure!
What is your favourite thing to do for yourself? I really love to be creative. That is the best thing about this business, I am able to think outside the box and design something the customer truly loves that they can not buy in the store.
What is your favourite date night activity? Date night! Oh my goodness, my husband and I haven’t been out in a while but if we did go out it would be to sushi!! We love all you can eat sushi.
What is one thing you couldn't live without? I could not live without my children. I love them so much! They are the light of my life. I know that sounds lame but they are seriously the best! Every day I am so grateful to have them. I also could not do it without my husband and partner in crime! He is the best and always so supportive of everything I do.
Who's your IG inspiration? I am not sure. There are a ton of crafters that I follow. I am new to IG, I am more of a Facebooker but I do love @thefoiledplan
What advice would you give your younger self? That is a hard one ... maybe trust in yourself – you will make it! Never give up!
Where is business located out of? Our homes in Ancaster and Hamilton Central Mountain
How did you choose the name for your business? When Lindsay and I first started Heart Strings, we had just been through something traumatic in our family. Our dad had a massive heart attack in 2012. It was a very difficult time. He was in a coma for a few days and did not recognize many people for about 7-10 days. My mom was very shaken by the entire experience as she was home with my father when it happened.When we were thinking of a name, we thought about Heart Strings to remind us that life is too short and we need to live our dreams! Every February, my sister and I donate some of our profits to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. An amazing organization that provides technology to many hospitals. Without the technology provided by the Heart and Stroke Foundation to the General hospital, we may not have our father today. I am grateful to them every day and happy to donate to such a great cause.
How do you balance having kids & running a business? Now that my youngest is getting older, it has become more difficult. She is now on the move, however, she is a great napper so I craft while she naps. I also work a lot at night when my kids are sleeping. My son also loves to craft with me. He has helped with a few orders! He loves watching my machine cut out the pieces!
Where can people find your products? You can find our products on both our Instagram and Facebook page.
What advice can you give someone looking to start up their own business?
Take your time. Put a lot of effort into your social media. Hashtag everything! Provide giveaways to get more followers to your page. But mainly, just enjoy what you are doing! Also, provide good customer service because word of mouth is your best form of advertisement.
What sets your business apart from others alike?
We pride our self on our customer service. We keep the buyer informed during the entire process. We send screen shocks of our designs, colour options, product options, etc. We do not stop unless you are 100 percent happy.
What is the most challenging part of running your business? It is difficult at time to run a business and spend time with your family. It is important to set timelines for when you are working and when you are with your family.
Coffee or tea? Decaf coffee
Neutral or colourful? colourful
Morning or night? night
Wine or beer? wine
Starbucks or tims? tims
Online shopping or in store? In store – I am a shopaholic – they know me by name at Michaels lol
Instagram or Facebook? Facebook still learning Instagram
Text or phone call? Text but I phone my mom/grandma everyday!
Instagram: @heartstringspersonalizedgifts
Facebook: Heart String Personalized Gifts
@Camara.Crew Stamp of Approval:
I cannot begin to say enough amazing things about my experience working with Laura! When you are a parent and you have a vision for your child's party it can get extreme. Pinterest is overwhelming and sometimes you have no idea how to articulate the vision into words and a physical product. I knew the theme I wanted for Mason's party early on but I wanted it to be different than the typical Wild One theme I wanted his to be unique and stand out from the rest. As any parent I want the best for my kiddo. And Laura was the person to work with to make that happen. We've had endless conversations and she's been so patient and understanding with me. I sent her some inspiration, told her my visions and let her take the reigns. Laura combined my ideas with her creativity and came up EXACTLY what I was hoping for. How she did it? I have no idea! But she did! I am so excited to use these items in Mason's party on Saturday and showcase her amazing work.
Every last details was focused on and nailed to perfection. I love that on the milestone banner she put paper clips on the back to make hanging photos easy and it was already strung for me so I didn't have to worry about putting it together. Everything was safely and beautifully packaged for me to tuck away until party day. The quality and time that Laura and her sister put into their business truly makes them stand out. They are genuinely passionate about making your dreams come true and are a pleasure to work with.
I am happy to say that I consider Laura a friend. We've come to chat about many other topics of life and she has even recommended other amazing small shops I am looking forward to collaborating with in the near future. I love finding amazing people to work with and have apart of my tribe. People and businesses like Laura are one in a million.
Make sure to tune in tomorrow on their page as they will be doing an amazing giveaway you won't want to miss out on!
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