This week we have the pleasure of featuring Potter & Pehar, a business that creates products that are functional while still allowing moms and dads to feel a special closeness with their little ones. Here is Shelley Potter and Tina Pehar talk about their labour of love, Potter & Pehar.
What is Potter and Pehar?
We’re a small, Toronto-based business, designing simple products for moms and babies. We started with a linen baby carrier and now offer linen and bamboo sleep sacks. We love working with natural and breathable fabrics, only the best for baby! We come from Environmental Management and Social Impact backgrounds so ensuring our brand is both eco-friendly and sustainable is important to us.
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What does a typical day look like for you as part-time entrepreneurs?
We know people have mixed feelings about this, but we both have full-time jobs and run Potter & Pehar with the dream of making it our full-time gigs one day! A typical day for us means tackling that 9-5 world and then home to juggle family, fulfill orders, post on social media and do as much planning as possible until about 1am or until we can’t keep our eyes open – whichever comes first! For us, having the support of our families is essential and taking focused time together (with wine in hand) on weekends has helped us progress and strategize. All that to say, there’s never enough time! We would love this to be our 9-5…one day!
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Image provided by @jamiemackphotography
What has been your biggest challenge in running a baby clothing and accessory business thus far?
We’re definitely learning “on the job”! From researching and understanding product related legislation, wholesale models, social media and ever-changing algorithms, sourcing materials and working with manufacturers, they’ve all had their unique challenges but we’re so grateful for the support we’ve received from other small Canadian shops to help us navigate!
Image provided by @britthavens
Are there any tips you would like to share with other ambitious entrepreneurs?
Lean on your network! We’ve received so many useful tips from other small businesses on everything from manufacturing woes, supplier questions and navigating the social media world. It may all be new to you, but someone’s been through it, so don’t be afraid to ask.
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Where can people find your baby apparel business?
Find us online at: www.potterandpehar.com
Instagram: @potterandpehar
Facebook: Potter & Pehar
Every Friday, we feature a Canadian business that was founded with Ownr. If you started your business with us and would like to be featured here, let us know in an email to [email protected].
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