Crafter pivots new business in the middle of a pandemic
First year in the bag
When Lori Lewis decided to take her passion for crafting to the next level in October 2019 and launch a shop on Etsy – a popular ecommerce website for entrepreneurial makers - no one could have predicted her first year in business would include a pandemic.
Lewis would have to pivot from creating fashion bags and pouches for makeup, coins and other collectibles, to churning out masks during COVID19.
Petal and Crow is the brainchild of Lewis, a professional designer with mad sewing skills. She’s gotten wide acclaim for the zippered bags and accessories she produces, including classic makeup bags, wristlets, tote bags, boxy pouches and crossbody bags. Lewis’ products are beautiful to look at, and marketed as functional, durable and fashion-smart.
Lewis searches for prints that are cheerful and bright, often celebrating flora (petals), colours, patterns, cats, dogs, horses, swans, butterflies and the list goes on. Sewn with impeccable seams and finishes, even the interiors are unmistakably Lewis.
A year ago, when she took the leap to sell her products online, Lewis says the business took off and was more than she had ever expected. By the end of 2019, products were “flying out the door” and Lewis was at full capacity.
“I had a very very, very prosperous [beginning], for being such a newbie. I was blown away by the reception and,” recalls Lewis. “Etsy gave me great traction.”
By February 2020, Lewis was making and selling products and actively seeking coveted opportunities to show at juried craft shows.
“As a businessperson, the next step was participating in local shows. I started to apply and got accepted by some really nice shows like the Dartmouth Handcrafters’ Guild and the Halifax Etsy show.”
PIVOT TIME
“And then COVID hit,” laments Lewis.
Sales fell and shows were cancelled. Lewis had to pivot and luckily, she says, the pivot was “natural.” She had the material, could sew and had time on her hands.
“I put everything on hold for mask making … that was where the world was at,” she says.
“All the masks were made with premium cotton, which was super important [for effectiveness]. If there was any other fibre content, I was not interested. … A really tightly woven cotton was recommended for masks.”
Even with those requirements, Lewis was able to design and deliver functional and fashion-friendly masks with two independent but complementary sides. As with all Lewis’ products, customers could choose from the inventory or request custom-made masks.The work was surely arduous. Lewis made and gave away 100 masks and sold 650 more. However, always the designer, it was not all sweat and tears.
“I had fun putting the backs and the fronts together, as a complement to each other,” adds Lewis.
Lewis duly bagged every mask and provided written Canada guidelines describing the limited protection they offered (pointing out they are not N95 masks) and how to wash and wear them.
“At one point, I could not keep up,” says Lewis.
To deal with demand she recruited help to cut interface and to deliver masks in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).
The largest order came from a customer in Halifax.
“She was so overwhelmed and in awe of the front-line workers at her mother’s care home in Ontario. She wanted me to make a mask for every single employee. The employees were wearing their N95 [masks] at the facility and [my customer] was thinking about them leaving the facility and going home to their families. She thought they should have masks. I just thought that was brilliant.”
Lewis made 78 masks for that one order.
Lewis notes that in the end, she’s glad she had the masks to make during those first months of COVID.
“The thing about it was, COVID was really scary at the beginning. I have a compromised immune system, so it was scary but sewing all those masks, I didn’t freak out about COVID, I didn’t have time. So, in that way the masks were a blessing.”
Today, Lewis says she could make a mask “in her sleep,” but with masks more readily available on the market, she decided in June to go back to her first love – her bags - full-time.
PETAL AND CROW
Asked why Petal and Crow is all about bags and not some other item, Lewis says she loves “practicality and sparking joy.”
“I could make anything I wanted to. I love to be practical. I love when you look at something and it sparks a little bit of joy.”
Bags fit the bill, she says. “Nobody actually really needs a make-up bag,” says Lewis. “It is a frivolous acquisition. But I think everyone [who wears makeup] wants one.”
Lewis says customers regularly request custom-made bags for gifts and that the time designing these items is time she really enjoys. Lewis takes pride in producing well-made bags that can be washed again and again and last a long time.
Lewis loves prints of all kinds, but her favourites are those with bits of shiny, metallic silver or gold woven into the fabric.
In fact, the “crow” part of Petal and Crow references a crow’s penchant for small, shiny things. In this way, Lewis feels a little akin to the crow. Success in business relies on many factors. Two key items for Lewis were completing the Entrepreneurial Education Program at CEED (Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development) in Halifax and second, the timing.
“There is a movement toward buying less and buying better. I think the maker movement is roaring along because of all the pop-ups and craft shows [that are usually] happening. … People want products that are environmentally-friendly and made local. Everyone is way more conscious now. It’s a really good time to be a maker.”
Overall, Lewis has no complaints about year one dedicated to her handcrafts.
“For having a COVID year [in business],” says Lewis, “I’m really happy about where things are going.”