I moved to Guelph in August of 2017 to start my animal biology degree at the University of Guelph. My first year was spent making friends, learning lots, and splitting my time between the UofG campus and downtown Guelph for nights out. What I didn’t know yet was what an amazing community Guelph is outside of the university campus and what incredible people live within it.
I began starting to better understand Guelph’s sense of community when I started my own small business venture towards the later months of my second year of university. I had started a zero-waste club at the beginning of that year as I was trying to change my lifestyle to be more sustainable. I started taking note of how much waste I was producing and in the process, I also started to notice hair elastics on the ground everywhere I went! I got the idea to sew scrunchies from those hair elastics (once I cleaned and sanitized them) so I grabbed some materials from the local thrift store and I began sewing away in my dorm room. Friends and family began reaching out and showing interest in my products so in the summer of that year, I decided to sign up for a Handmade Market (Guelph Handmade Group).
I showed up to the market with 19 scrunchies, 3 cutlery pouches, 6 napkins, and a table. I began interacting with locals and I could see they had a real interest in the person behind the products. I sold out of everything that day and I felt encouraged to keep making more. I signed up for more markets and every time the patrons of the market didn’t fail to surprise me with their words of encouragement and support
Now having just finished my third year of university, my business, Izzy’s Imperfect Items, is over a year old and I continue to be extremely grateful for all the support Guelph has shown me. I’ve been able to introduce new products such as pocket squares, headbands, face masks, and lots of custom orders!
When I first heard about the Guelph Box, I was so happy to hear the mission behind it and I was even happier to see what amazing people are running it. Genevieve and Josh allowed so many local businesses and artists the opportunity to continue sharing their work with Guelph during difficult times. Thank you so much to both Guelph and the Guelph Box! ♥
Izzy Savransky
Facebook: Izzy’s Imperfect Items
Instagram: @izzysimperfectitems
izzysimperfectitems@gmail.com
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