Meet Cassie & Sam, the husband and wife team behind the Wooden Elephant from St. Catherines, Ontario. Cassie and Sam started the Wooden Elephant just over a year ago after their daughter was born. Sam always had a love for wood working and Cassie always loved crafting & design. Every aspect of their work is done by them, from the design process to completion. So every piece is truly handmade with love. Sam cuts every individual piece using a scroll saw and Cassie is responsible for the designs, sanding, painting and sewing of their felt mobiles.
Do you have kids? If so how many & age? We have a daughter, Ella and she is 17 months old. Are you a stay at home mom? No- neither of us stay at home. We both have full time jobs. Sam works at Cambria, Quartz Co. installing counter tops and I am the Special Events Manager at the Prince of Wales Hotel. What is your favourite thing to do for yourself? Vacation! That is the only time we can truly relax. We love cruising, going to Disney or even just time away at the cottage! What is your favourite date night activity? We love going out for dinner. Any night we don't have to cook is a good night! What's one thing you couldn't live without? Sam- beer, Cassie- cake Who's your IG inspiration? Lizzy from The House of Timber. She is a scroll saw queen and an amazing mama! How did you choose the name for your business? Our daughters name is Ella so we originally decorated her nursery with an elephant theme. We originally had the idea for this business after we had made some of the decor for her nursery so it only seemed fitting to incorporate an elephant into our name. How do you balance having kids & running a business? This is the most difficult part for us. We only like to work when Ella is asleep because we don’t want to take away from family time, but because we both work full time jobs and do this on this side that doesn't leave us much work time or free time. We recently made the difficult decision to start closing our custom orders when needed. We are hoping this will help us to keep on track and not feel totally overwhelmed. This business is supposed to be fun and we want to ensure we keep it that way! Where can people find your products? People can find our products at the Local Life or at Mike and Jojo Baby Boutique. But most of our work is custom, ordered online through Instagram, Facebook or email. What advice can you give someone looking to start up their own business? Find something that you are passionate about and go for it! Make sure there is heart and passion behind everything you do and don’t get caught up in the stress and outside influence that comes with it. Be true to who you are and always make sure you are producing a high quality product that you are truly proud of. We always say if we wouldn't put it in our own house, it doesn't go out the door! What sets your business apart from others alike? When we started this business our number 1 goal was to ensure our products were different. We do this in a few different ways. Firstly, we love using mixed media. Fabric, felt, mirrors, paper, are a few of our favourites. We love incorporating different patterns, colours and textures to make a unique piece. The process behind our work is also unique. We use a scroll saw and hand cut each individual piece for every sign. There are still a lot of makers who scroll, but also a lot who use CNC machines which is always amazing! We believe we put a little extra love in our work by using a scroll saw and it makes it a little more impressive that is cut by hand. Lastly, we ensure that we are using high quality materials! We do not want to compromise on quality. What is the most challenging part of running your business? Work life balance. There are just not enough hours in a day! What does a typical day look like for you? We typically wake up around 7am at which time Sam leaves for work. Cassie gets Ella off to daycare around 8am and then goes straight to work. We are usually home around 5pm, when we make dinner and spend some time as a family. Ella goes to bed around 7pm and then we go downstairs and get to work on orders. We usually try and wrap up around 9:30-10 so we can still spend a bit of time together relaxing. Favourite song: Make you feel my love (our wedding song!) Dream Vacation: Anywhere with warm weather and a beach! Dream Job: I also wanted to own my own business, so this is the dream! Favourite Smell: Any kind of baked good, cake, brownies Dream meal: Crepes Favourite item of clothing: Pjs
Instagram @the.wooden.elephant
@Camara.Crew Stamp of Approval:
I first came across The Wooden Elephant's products at the Local Life on Locke Street here in Hamilton. Their display in the store immediately caught my eye. The workmanship was beautiful and I loved the uniqueness of their designs.
I was so excited when Sam & Cassie reached out to me about sending me a mini round for Violet's room. They work both great to work with on the design process and I immediately knew I could trust them in creating something beautiful for our baby girl. Their craftsmanship is seamless and you can tell through talking to them and seeing their work in person how passionate they are about making their customers visions come to life. I love how beautiful the mini round looks on Violet's shelf in her room it is the perfect size! I am so excited to use it to take photos with at the hospital and during our newborn photo shoot. It makes for a great photo prop as well! I highly recommend if you are looking for some custom work done whether it is for your child's nursery, bedroom or throughout your home contacting Sam and Cassie to discuss your vision! I have no doubts that not only will you enjoy working with them but they will make your vision come true.
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