Indie Craft Sampler – Monthly Subscription Box – Punky Moms Featured Shop

Small Business Feature

Can I just say I am in love with this idea? I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t think of it first! How would you like to receive a box of goodies every month from talented handmade companies? That is what this monthly subscription box is hoping to do. I found out about Indie Craft Sampler on Instagram after they started following us and just loved the concept. I am sure you have seen similar things done a la Birchbox

Indie Craft Sampler is still so humble & grassroots that I have been super keen to support them. I recently purchased a box for a friend of mine back home in the States who has been letting me *ahem* borrow her Netflix and Hulu Plus since I moved. Figured it was better than sending flowers! My friend loved it!

We had a chance to chat this month with owner and founder Tenika about her company.

Punky Moms: When was your company founded?

I have had the desire to start a “sampler box” for about 3 years but it only presented itself as a perfect time to go for it this past June. So it is still very young…

PM: Where are you based out of?

The infamous rainy & grey Pacific Northwest- Western Washington.

PM: How many are involved in the company?

Just me! Except my 10 year old daughter does a great job at putting our mailer boxes together, folding papers & making the “promo packs” of business cards for all the samplers. I’ll take all the help I can get & she doesn’t ask for any money either. That’s always win-win for a start up.

PM: What inspired you to start the company?

My children are in two different schools this year, neither with bus service, so I am having to swing the whole “school commute” schedule which takes about 2+ hours in total of my day. My old job couldn’t give me that flexibility to do that so I knew that I needed to come up with something I could do from home. I had participated in a similar sample box about 8 years ago & it was so fun much fun to participate in. There are so many sampler boxes out there now but none that really honed in on handmade items so I thought I’d bring the idea back to life. And people need happy mail :)

PM: Did you have a background in crafting prior to starting the company?

I had started out in mixed media collage back in the early 90’s, then a scrapbooker but now I mostly just do digital & project life, designed & sold t-shirts for a few years, designed & sold transparencies for crafting, designed some more mixed media collage & other paper goods for a few more years, sold travel photography, a little bit of everything you could say…

PM: Did you run into any problems or resistance while launching your company?

It’s going to sound completely odd but I didn’t. I was completely prepared to have to really fight to get people to see what my vision was for this project, to understand what it was & what it was all about. Instead I was floored by shops that not only “got it” but contributed whole-heartedly and were “in” from day one. They were so awesome. I was blessed.

PM: What is the most exciting part of running your own business?

Not having to sit at a desk and answer phones (my old job). I probably work more than I did with my previous employment but I love seeing this venture flourish & grow every day. I love hearing the feedback from customers. But I really love when a review comes out that gives great shout out’s to my contributor’s shops…I get so happy when I see them getting exposure. It’s all about them as much as it is about me.

PM: What do you see in the future for Indie Craft Sampler?

Just to keep growing and evolving. Keep hammering away at getting the word out. I might take the Sampler to some of the big craft shows. Skies the limit :)

Every month Punky Moms will showcase a small business that we feel our Punky Mom community will love and want to support. To see last month’s feature of MamaSan’s Maternity Wear visit here.

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We are not just Punkers anymore, we are now parents, with the same passions that we always had to make living on this earth a better place. When it comes down to it, we are just open-minded moms, who love raising children…it’s simple, back to the basics parenting…without judgement. Everyone is welcome