“Every night I lie in bed / The brightest colors fill my head / A million dreams are keeping me awake.” – A Million Dreams

“Design inspiration comes to me in dreams,” Amanda Tuck shared. “But, I don’t sleep well at night, so I will lay there thinking of ideas. I also like to research different clothing eras online.” Tuck is the creative designer behind North Carolina-based La Boutique Noel, which features vintage-inspired handmade children’s clothing. “I love using vintage materials. I think I was born in the wrong decade,” she joked. “Anytime I can make something with repurposed materials like vintage sheets, it is my favorite design. I look for unique fabrics and I am always changing up the pattern design. I just like working outside the box.” Tuck has an eye for unique patterns and color combinations and I appreciate all the little ruffles, buttons and bows. “I spend a lot of time on planning my design and I am very OCD about details,” she shared. “I like to change things up and pair colors together that most people would not normally do. 95% of my fabrics are vintage and I also love hunting for fabrics that others don’t use.” “We can live in a world that we design.”

Tuck started La Boutique Noel in March this year with support from friends and family. “My friend encouraged me to start selling hair accessories, but I loved making dresses more, so that is my main focus now.” The small shop – pronounced like the Christmas season – is named after Tuck’s husband. “His middle name is Noel, but it is pronounced as ‘Knoll.’ I included ‘La Boutique’ because I wanted it to sound fancy,” she laughed. “I am a stay at home mom and I wanted to contribute to our family’s income. I needed a job that I could do from home, but I also wanted it to be something I enjoyed doing. This is the only job where I don’t mind spending all day doing – if my 3 year old lets me.” Over the past six months, Tuck has also sharpened her design and seamstress skills. “My sewing has come a long way,” she said. “I had not sewn in years and my focus wasn’t previously on clothing, so I am very proud of myself for accomplishing what I have in such a short time.”

Like so many makers, Tuck cherishes all of the reactions from her little customers. “My favorite part is watching the excitement in their faces when the kids see their outfits for the first time,” she exclaimed. “Just knowing that I made them happy makes me happy. I am a people pleaser, so if they didn’t like it, I think I would cry. I truly do put a piece of my heart in everything I make.” “However big, however small / Let me be part of it all / Share your dreams with me.”

La Boutique Noel is about to release a new line of dresses for the holidays (“Be on the look out for plaids and Christmas”) and you can place your custom order through the shop’s Facebook page here.

“Designing and making stuffed animals is almost like warm glass of milk and homemade cookies for my spirit,” Stormy Stricklin professed. “These days, we need more cute, more cuddly, just more positivity in general. So now, I make these creatures to not only bring joy to kids and plushie lovers, but also to heal myself.”

Stricklin is the chief Dumpling designer behind Little Sugar Dumpling Shop. The small shop has become known for its guinea pig-like stuffed animals. “I created cute, fuzzy creatures that have chubby little faces and furry paws that shyly cover their faces a bit. My inspiration comes mostly from things I find cute, like Pomeranian dogs, cupcakes, freckles and chubby cheeks,” she laughed. Stricklin’s sugary sweet plush pals come in a variety of colorful minky fabrics and feature hand embroidered faces. “By some awesome turn of events, I love embroidering. My favorites are details and facial expressions; I love to see the personalities come to life,” she shared. We were recently the highest bidder in a charity auction for a pumpkin-themed orange Sugar Dumpling with adorable candy corn freckles and it was a big hit with my boys. “My favorite design is a lightly stuffed Sugar Dumpling. I love the feel of the springy stuffing but also some looseness for extra squish.” For Stricklin, the squeals (of delight) for the squish motivate her creatively. “My hands-down most favorite part of the process is when a child’s face lights up seeing something I have made. I’m like, ‘wow! I sparked imagination!’ It is incredible and humbling.”

Before Little Sugar Dumplings, Stricklin operated as Dream Big Ponies sewing fleece baby ponies. “I love horses and think people should follow their dreams, but I didn’t want to be confined to ponies only. After a few months in business, I was brainstorming about what my new shop name would be. My oldest son, Noah, age 14, walked in the room and I said, ‘hey sugar dumpling!’ That’s when it hit me!” she recalled. “I have called all three of my boys sugar dumplings since they were born. I don’t even know where I got it from, but it stuck and I thought it would be the perfect new name for my shop.” Speaking of family, Stricklin’s sister, Jessica Johnson of small shop Button Jar Monsters, also provides her with support and encouragement. “My shop started out of admiration for my sister. She is an amazing monster maker, businesswoman, mom, and friend. Seeing her passion and enjoyment made me want to bring smiles to kids’ faces too.”  

Little Sugar Dumplings is poised to breakout this holiday season. “Little Sugar Dumplings has evolved into a whole world. I have plans for a lot of new colors and surprises, like Fairy Dumplings, Dragon Dumplings and more fun. Every month, I am going to introduce Dumpling animals. This month, I focused on Dumpling koalas, and next month will be brown, black and golden bear Dumplings,” she teased. “I do plan on bring a limited number of ponies and donkeys back for drops in January, but the Dumplings are the direction I am heading. They bring me so much joy.”

Bring some guinea pig-shaped joy home for your own kiddos and don’t miss the new drop from Little Sugar Dumplings today, September 27^th at 5pm Central on its website. Plus, follow the shop on Instagram for sneak peaks and new releases.

It is an ongoing joke in my house that I am a plant killer. Houseplants live (for a brief time) in fear of my black thumb. I have over-watered, under-watered, sun scorched and also underexposed plants of all different varieties, but they all eventually meet the same untimely fate: my garbage can. 

Jamie Leigh Griffiths has met many reformed plant killers over the years. The artist behind Shop Little Pricks hand crochets succulent plants – no watering or direct sunshine required! “When I see a gorgeous succulent, I accept the challenge of recreating it with acrylic yarn,” she said. “I personally crochet every piece and they generally consist of over 600 individual knots each. I particularly enjoy looking for their ‘pots’ or ‘vessels,’ which is a really meditative experience for me.” The shop specializes in soft, potted succulent sculptures, like the “Muscle Man Sheila,” “Bearded Ladies,” and the floral “Fat Bottom Girl,” which range in size from 2-5 inches tall. “All of my Little Pricks emanate a different aspect of the fierce femme personality. Regardless of who you are and what you experience, we all deserve love and we especially deserve self-love,” shared Griffiths. “My soft sculptures are my representation of positive body image and encourage every woman to be unapologetically herself. Something that took me a long time to do myself.”

Originally from Philadelphia, Griffiths launched Shop Little Pricks in 2015 after moving to South Florida. “My Mommom taught me to crochet when I was very young and, after 30 odd years of crocheting, I finally landed on succulents,” she recalled. “It came out of necessity when all my plants died in my poorly lit apartment and I have been passionate about creating them ever since.” Griffiths explained her design process as a “spiritual experience:” “My favorite part is how serendipitously all the plants and pots come together, as if they were meant to marry all along. Sometimes, I just gaze at my inventory space and behold the beautiful handmade garden I have created and think about how grateful I am for this gift that I have and the ability to share it with other people.” 

Griffiths is also a self-described “home design addict.” “I save so many gorgeous home-porn pictures from Instagram and Pinterest. Especially if the picture has a beautiful plant in it, I’m all over it,” she laughed. “Also, my house is basically a giant garden. Curating a beautiful space that I feel that I can calm down and grow in is really important to me.” Griffiths regularly showcases her crocheted plants at local craft fairs and events, but often restocks her online shop. “Transferring my brand personality to a website has been one of the most challenging aspects of having a handmade business, but just the fact that I have items on Etsy is a feat in itself!” 

Do you love the look of succulent plants but hate the maintenance of keeping one more thing alive in your own home? “Each Little Prick is joyfully designed with love and respect for all the plants we have involuntarily put out of their misery. May they always grow in our hearts.” Check out all the Little Pricks popping up in Griffiths’ Etsy shop and Instagram account here. 

Naked Mangoes is unapologetically authentic and that is how shop owner Jessica Markovich wants it. “Most of my designs center around feminism and female empowerment because I practice these principles every day of my life, whether at work with a 75% male staff or trying to set an example for other women and young girls,” she shared. “I also have a dark sense of humor – I am the house of Slytherin after all – and love designing items that have a shock value, like my ‘Be Nice or I’ll Poison You’ or ‘Free the Belly’ designs. Most of the time I will not get the ‘Awww, that’s so cute’ reaction from my customers and I am 100% okay with that.”

Naked Mangoes screen-prints apparel designs for kiddos through adult sizes. “Most of my designs are handmade by me. The screens are coated and prepped by my husband, and then I hand print each item with a squeegee and ink and cure the ink with a heat gun,” Markovich explained. “But, it doesn’t end there. Most people will request their tee cut with fringe or a front knot. Most people don’t know how much work goes into each item.” Her favorite t-shirt design is the “Sour Girl” design (inspired by the Stone Temple Pilots song). “It was my first acid washed design I ever did. It set me down the path of bringing in retro 90’s and grunge designs when I was simply doing what I loved and making things for my daughters.” Small shoppers love the Naked Mangoes rainbow ombré designs, so much so that Markovich does not regularly list them for sale on her website, but only during her ready to ship sales. “It requires me to take the six colors of the rainbow and carefully flood the screen with these colors and print them perfectly on the garment. The error rate is high for rainbow prints, but they always sell quick!” While the design process has become a creative outlet for Markovich, she most enjoys when the kiddos love wearing her apparel. “I love when parents comment about how much their kid loves something I made because I hope it is giving them the same confidence and joy that I see when my girls wear something they love.”

Markovich ventured into t-shirt printing in 2016 while pregnant with her oldest daughter, Shiloh. “When I found out I was pregnant with a girl, I wasted no time in creating designs that were more empowering to females. I spent months in my garage teaching myself how to screen-print the old school way – coating screens with emulsion, burning the image into screens using exposure by sunlight and hand pressing items with real ink,” she recalled. “The amount of patience it took to perfect the craft most likely made me a more patient mother when Shiloh finally came!” She initially named the shop “Naked Mangoes” back in 2016, but later switched to “That Oregon Girl” before finally reverting back to the original name. “When I was younger, I had a journal that had quotes scattered all around it and one asked the question, ‘Have you ever ate mangoes naked?’ and that had always stuck out to me,” said Markovich. “I liked the idea of living a carefree life, but being weird and quirky at the same time. It also represents idealism. How would you act or be if you were taken out of your shell? Mangoes are one of the tricky fruits to peel, but the reward when you peel a mango and enjoy the delicious fruit inside is worth all of the work.” Two daughters later, Markovich is still dedicated to promoting women’s rights and gender quality. “When I first started, I felt like most people viewed ‘feminism’ as a bad word and for that reason, I held back more than I do today. My shop started when Obama was president and now it is Trump. I think many people have become more vocal under the current circumstances and they have put their passion into their craft – myself included,” she exclaimed. “Mostly, Naked Mangoes has evolved in a way that has enabled personal growth within myself. Sometimes, you have to tell people ‘no’ and that is okay. You can’t please everyone and stretching yourself too thin isn’t worth the possibility of my shop becoming something that doesn’t bring me joy.”

Check out all the snarky designs in the Naked Mangoes online shop here and join the VIP Facebook group for sneak peaks, especially while Halloween is creeping close (“Expect some awesome new Halloween designs, but also some in-your-face designs since the 2020 election is around the corner.”). Plus, use the code “smallshopdrop” to save on your next purchase. Thanks Jessica!

Stephie’s Beauties are indeed beautiful. The Florida-based (like me!) small shop handcrafts ring and trinket dishes from colorful swirls of polymer clay and then stamps or paints the finished pieces with intricate designs. “I want my shop to spread positivity and beauty throughout the world. I try to make beautiful designs on my dishes that speak for themselves and share some light,” said Stephanie Newton. “I like to think that every time I send out a dish, I am spreading love to that person or whoever they are gifting it to.”

Stephie’s Beauties opened about two years ago, but this is not Newton’s first foray into the small shop business. “In 2013, my original shop was called Nana’s Hidden Treasure. My mom, sister, aunt and I loved crafting and began the shop together. However, my aunt passed away in 2016 and the shop became something of the past. In 2017, I began working with polymer clay and loved it so much, I decided to start Stephie’s Beauties,” she recalled. “When I first decided to open my shop, I was making duct tape hair bows and I was all over the place. Now, I am more focused with what I place in my shop. My designs have also become more complicated than when I began.” These days, the shop focuses exclusively on tiny dishes personalized for every occasion, like weddings and even tooth fairy holders. Each dish is roughly 3 ½ – 4 ½ inches in size and they are perfect for holding jewelry, loose change and keys. “I have quite a few dish designs that I have always loved. One of my absolute favorite dishes is also one of my best sellers.  That is the dish that says ‘you are fearfully and wonderfully made.’ I love the color combination and I love what it stands for,” Newton shared. “I also love the gold scalloped edged dishes. I feel like it gives them something extra.”

Newton starts her design process with various clumps of polymer clay and a general concept in mind. “It may be a positive quote, or maybe something that will be used in a wedding ceremony. I will see which colors look beautiful together and, once my clay is marbled and my shape is formed, I add my design,” she explained. “A lot of my designs come from how I am feeling at the moment. I love bright and vibrant colors and seeing how the colors interact with each other. Plus, I love sparkle and spreading a positive message. All I really want is for my dishes to bring joy and inspiration to others and I try to make dishes that would do just that.” Newton usually gets plenty of feedback and design input from her supportive family. “I have a lot of helpers, especially my twin sister and my niece and nephews. They will tell me what they like about the dish I am designing and what they think I should change. I have had some interesting suggestions from the kids,” she laughed.

Most of the dishes range in price from $21-$24 (including shipping!) and make perfect gifts <think bridesmaids presents>. And, while we are still a few months away, Newton is already gearing up for the holiday season. “I have started planning ahead for Christmas and the fall season and have some new design concepts in the work,” she said. Check out all the designs currently available in the Stephie’s Beauties Etsy shop and Facebook page here. 

“My favorite part of designing is the process. When all of the unique beads and metals come together to create one of kind and really unique modern pieces for people to enjoy wearing,” shared Rebecca Dorise of Dorise Irene Jewelry. “I am often inspired by nature, as well as companies like Tiffany, and from the stones I work with.”

The Illinois-based jewelry designer started Dorise Irene Jewelry in the fall of 2016, focused on crafting jewelry for sensitive skin. “My interest came from wanting to make jewelry for myself that was affordable, made from natural stones, quality metals, and modern but classic in design.” The shop designs expanded over the last three years – for example, Dorise recently created a sterling silver wirewrapped labradorite necklace with virtually no tools (other than for cutting the wire). The small shop has become known for its 14-karat rose gold bead necklace on a simple sterling silver chain. “It is an incredibly versatile piece and my most popular design. The rose gold adds elegance, timeless color and luster,” said Dorise. “My most favorite design is creating the simple pieces with metal and beads with unique cuts and types of stones. My favorite stone is probably blue moonstone,” she added.

I love how the shop’s jewelry designs are feminine and delicate-looking, but sturdy enough for normal wear (and withstanding pulls from little hands). “My jewelry is backed with quality in the materials and design and I offer affordable repairs when necessary because life happens. If you wear a piece often, it will need some upkeep and I am more than happy to work with clients to help them enjoy that ‘everyday’ piece,” Dorise explained. “I hand solder all my metal work, so nothing will slip or fall apart with normal use. I also hand select each stone and all the materials that go into making a piece, I look for the best quality. I have a great eye for stone authenticity and quality.”

You can regularly find Dorise Irene Jewelry in Refine309, a local boutique in Bloomington, Illinois. “Custom orders have also been a huge part of my growth as a business. I wasn’t so sure about doing custom orders – it is a lot of pressure – but it is some of the most rewarding work I do.” These days, Dorise is busy designing new pieces for the end of summer and fall. “I am working with lots of new metal necklaces, interchangeable pendants, and other summer colors in beaded necklaces, earrings and bracelets…always something new to check out!” Browse her latest pieces on the Dorise Irene Jewelry Facebook page and Instagram account here.

Wugga Monsters was born serendipitously from the ashes of Jen Nicholson’s former Etsy shop. “Wugga Monsters was created completely on a whim. I have been selling on Etsy since 2016 as a side hobby and it wasn’t until spring of 2019 that I quit my full time job to become a full time small business owner,” she recalled. “I created my first ‘Wugga’ as a silly project for myself with fabric I had laying around from another failed Etsy shop I ran. When I posted a photo of it on Facebook, I was surprised by how many people showed interest. I created a couple more and they sold!”

“Wugga” is Nicholson’s coined name for her plush creations, inspired by her husband and three year old son, Sylas. “My husband liked to call my monsters ‘Wubbas,’ and a nickname we have for our son is Bug (Bugga-bear, bugga-boo, etc.).” Her favorite monster in the current collection is named “Nimbus:” “It is a panda with purple limbs and galaxy print eyes and ears. I like to fill my studio with pandas and purple is my favorite color.” Small shoppers have made frequent requests for Nicholson’s “Gordy” monster, named for its pumpkin shape and coloring. “Gordy is a green monster with a pumpkin face and is my largest Wugga to date,” she shared. “An Instagram follower asked if I would be making any seasonal monsters, which got me thinking. So, I whipped up my first Gordy and he sold very quickly. People started asking for more and I recreated him, but now I can’t seem to keep him in stock!”

Each Wugga Monsters plush is handmade by Nicholson and stitched with an embroidered face. “I am against using small plastic pieces, like safety eyes and buttons, because I am an anxious mom, so I embroider all of the facial features and characteristics on an embroidery machine,” she explained. “I don’t want to create anything meant for a child that could be potentially harmful. The beneficial part about this is it gives me peace of mind and design consistency because each one will be the same every time it stitches out on my machine.” Before steaming ahead with Wugga Monsters, Nicholson surveyed the small shop landscape to find her own niche. “A lot of my inspiration comes from my Instagram followers and from other designers. Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Other designers?!,’ but it’s not like that,” she laughed. “I love seeing all of the other plushies that other creators make because everyone has their own style. I look at them and think, ‘how can I stand out? What is something that no one else is doing?’ This pushes me to look within myself and find something unique to offer. And lucky for me, if I have a creative block, my followers are not shy to tell me what they would like to see in future Wuggas.”

Focusing on the Wuggas full-time allows Nicholson to design the minky creatures she imagined during childhood. “I liked dolls that were eccentric or funny looking, so I love that I can create derpy little plushies for other kids that like plushies the way I do.” But, running a small shop has its own small challenges. “As a small shop owner and a mom, I struggle with time management. I find that I need to spend a lot more time on social media to engage with my followers, post new products, give updates, and so much more,” said Nicholson. “I am a very introverted person and spending so much time on social media can be exhausting and scary because now all of these folks can see me and comment on my work. However, I have met some amazing makers and fellow moms and it is great to have people I can relate to.”

Nicholson already has her sights set on the holiday season this year. “Often, when you hear winter you think of Christmas, but Christmas is not very inclusive for folks who celebrate Chanukah, Kwanza, or Yule. Rather than create a Santa or reindeer plush, I am shooting for a winter theme, perhaps a snowman or gnome, something that represents the season and not the holidays. This way everyone can find something appropriate.” Get a jump on your holiday shopping through the Wugga Monsters Etsy shop and join the Wugga Monsters VIP Facebook group here for discounts and sneak peaks.

Fall smells like apple cider and pumpkin spice to me. “I have a pumpkin spice cake fragrance I’m kind of obsessed with that I am excited to add to the shop this fall,” teased soap maker Mary-Christina Sprouse of Second Street Soaps, a small shop focused exclusively on handmade artisan soaps. “I tend to make more ‘fun’ scented soap than the typical bars you would find in big box stores,” she said. “I really enjoy all the different fragrances and color combinations. I like that I can use the same oils and adjust the quantities to achieve a different feel to my bars or swap in different oils and butters so that my bars have different properties, like more moisturizing or bubbly.”

While she personally prefers “food type fragrances,” Sprouse identified the shop’s two most popular scents as jellybean and sandalwood rose. “I get a scent that I want to use or a request for a scent and I try to think of a fun look that connects the fragrance to the look of the bar. Sometimes it comes out the way I wanted it to and sometimes the soap has a mind of its own and it ends up working out well anyway,” she explained. “I think that is one of the things I like most about making it. You never know the look you will get for sure when you pour the soap into the mold.” I was drawn to the Second Chances collection, made from scraps of previous batches of soap and scented with a new fragrance, like apple berry. “The profits from each Second Chance bar sold benefit the Oswego Animal Shelter,” said Sprouse.

Second Street Soaps officially launched this year, but Sprouse has been lathering up for much longer. “I often found myself watching soap making videos on YouTube. I thought it looked like fun and it was just really fascinating to me,” she recalled. “My dad bought me my first loaf mold and mica colorants. I started making soap right away and immediately fell in love with the process. I talked about making soap so often that my husband said that I should try selling it and we decided to come up with a business plan for it.” The shop name originates from the Sprouse family home, which also serves as soap central. “The name comes from the street we live on. It is where all the soap is made so we thought it worked really well.” While working from home, Sprouse also receives the benefit of lots of design input from her family. “My husband helps me come up with names for the soap and descriptions for my website and has even designed a bar or two. My four year old helped me make the ‘gummy bears’ for my gummy bear scented soap. He also designed his own Fruity Pebbles scented soap (named ‘Professor P,’ after Professor Poopypants, the evil scientist in Captain Underpants) and helped mix the colors for that,” she shared proudly. “My mother-in-law attends every vendor event with me and helps take care of my boys so that I can focus on customers. My grandmother-in-law tells everyone she talks to that I make soap and has even sold a few bars for me.” All (clean) hands on deck at Second Street Soaps!

As the new shop grows, Sprouse has found different ways to streamline her creation process to increase productivity. “The more soap I can produce, the more options people will have. My main goal is to give people a lot of fun soaps that they can enjoy themselves or together with their family.” Right now, she is working on expanding her different product lines. “I am researching how to make liquid soap and I would like to add that to my shop lineup soon. I’m also going to have soaps that align with the upcoming holidays.” Pick your favorite scented creation on the Second Street Soaps website and Facebook page here.

Kayla Ann Coleman’s grandmother Barbara taught her how to use an embroidery machine when Coleman was twelve years old. “My grandmother has embroidered since I was a child. I remember hitting the start button for her and picking out colors when I was little,” she recalled. “I am currently a college student and a mom. When my grandmother approached me to learn this skill, I could not pass it up. Her knowledge that she has passed onto me and seeing her light up every time I come up with a new design makes me that much more driven.”

Coleman is applying those skills in her new small shop, Little Shop of Mayhem. “I started Little Shop of Mayhem at the beginning of May 2019,” she shared. “When I had my first baby in May 2018, I realized how hard it is to find cute boy clothes. My family has had embroidery machines all of my life, so I started just making my son Atlas things. After hearing reviews from others, I decided to put my ideas out for business.” The shop name is play on Coleman’s soon-to-be-married name, Mahan. “It gets mispronounced often and one of the funniest ways is when people say ‘Mayhem,’” Coleman laughed. “When I was thinking of a name, I wanted something cute but chaotic because that also explains our life with an adventurous one year old.”

Little Shop of Mayhem offers kid-sized custom t-shirts, shorts, tanks, rompers, bathing suits and dresses. “My favorite design I have done so far is my Toy Story design because, let’s be real, I was extremely excited to watch the new movie,” said Coleman. “But, my most popular style is probably my monogrammed swimsuits.” I think the colorful embroidered and applique designs really elevate the apparel sold by the shop. “I am extremely passionate about embroidery and designing. I do not want to be an assembly line shop where everything looks the same because our children are not the same,” she explained. “I want to make your children a piece that brings that spark of excitement in their eyes because the piece is made for specially for them with their favorite characters or their names. I don’t want to be generic.” Many of the shop’s designs are inspired by Coleman’s son Atlas and his preferences. “Also, I often hear moms talk about the struggle of finding cute clothes for their children. I like to make affordable options that fit their wants.”

With fall just on the horizon now, Coleman is getting excited for a release of new designs. “If you are from the south like me, football is a huge deal,” she exclaimed. “Plus, this is my first holiday season selling. I have a family Christmas onesie pre-order already open and I am hoping to see them in many of my customer’s family pictures.” Order your own custom design through the Little Shop of Mayhem’s VIP Facebook group here and follow the shop on Instagram to see examples of past custom designs.

Steampunk fashion refers to a combination of Victorian Gothic style and futuristic features with some steam-inspired reinvention and science fiction elements. A pair of lace gloves is a quintessential steampunk accessory. “We specialize in gloves in all sizes from babies to adults,” said Tracey Williams Salbacka of Steampunk Wolf. “Black lace is the most popular type of gloves sold in the past eight years and literally 75% of what we sell year round is black. It really adds a touch of class to any outfit when you wear gloves. Jeans and a t-shirt or fancy dresses look more spectacular with gloves.”

Based in Monterey, California, Salbacka found her start in the summer of 2011 while on leave from work from an injury. “I started an Etsy shop with my daughter Audrey, age 14 at the time. We originally were creating clothing for teens and called the shop ‘Seamstress by the Sea,’ but in the photos, she was wearing gloves that I had made her and suddenly we had requests for gloves,” she recalled. “It was kind of crazy how it became our thing very quickly. I got all of my daughter’s friends to help model. We jumped right in and signed up for Artist Alley tables at several Cosplay Conventions.” Initially, her glove offerings were sparse and limited to black and white lace or eco-friendly sock gloves for kids.  “But now, we have so many more options and a wider size selection. We continually add more styles and colors to fit kids.” Shortly thereafter, Salbacka changed the name to “Steampunk Wolf,” which helped raise her profile with cosplayers (i.e., costumed players who use fashion accessories to represent a specific character). “Later, we also added some jewelry that fit out steampunk theme,” she said. “By the time we left Etsy and opened our website in 2014, we had been lucky enough to create gloves for Madonna, Carrie Underwood and other celebrities.” These days, the small shop focuses almost exclusively on its distinctive custom glove designs. “We hand make each order and will always custom size. So, if you are plus size or have a special need, like a scar to cover or medical issue like needing a hole for a tube, we are very willing to work with you,” explained Salbacka. “Many of our regular customers have a custom pattern created for them on file so they always get a good fit.” Like a glove!

Salbacka draws design inspiration from movies, books and other pop culture references. “Recently, some of the boys wanted ‘biker boy’ gloves, so we created a new kid-friendly style that is compliant. Our Harry Potter-inspired gloves became a shop favorite almost instantly. I love anything that is inspired by reading books and making something that brings out their imagination,” she shared. “We create gloves that are functional and last past a single use. Many of our kid reps have tested out gloves that held up to some pretty hard play and get outgrown, but not worn out. Our upcycled sock gloves sold out in our Etsy shop every time we listed a batch.”

Steampunk Wolf is gearing up now for Howl-ween! “This is one of my favorite times of year,” Salbacka exclaimed. “Last year, we did our first kids costumes officially and created 22 unique costumes. I personally reach out to everyone that orders and provide pictures, sketches and fabric swatch ideas to help them imagine what I can make a reality. I already have several in the works for this month, including Jasmine and Jessie from Toy Story. I don’t ‘copy’ Disney or other licensed characters but find a way to represent it that is original.”

Want to join the wolf pack? Shop for your own steampunk-inspired gloves and accessories on the shop’s website and join the Steampunk Wolf VIP group here for discounts and to secure a custom design spot.