Elementary

Ariel's Creative Journey: From Pandemic Pastime to Studio Flora Creations' Success

• Jacqueline Watson

Share episode

Send us a text

Ever thought about adding a touch of whimsy and charm to your home with unique, handcrafted décor pieces? Look no further, as we sat down with Ariel from Studio Flora Creations to learn about her magical creations and the story behind them. Ariel's journey began during the pandemic, when she discovered her passion for punch needling and rug tufting, leading her to craft an array of enchanting designs that will certainly bring joy to your living space.

In this episode, we get a glimpse into Ariel's creative process and how she overcomes motivational roadblocks. From tiny mushrooms to large rugs, she shares her love for custom pieces and collaborating with clients to bring their ideas to life. Don't miss out on hearing about her recent projects and how they've brought joy to her customers. If you're looking to spruce up your home with a pop of colour and charm, you won't want to miss this conversation!

Do you have a topic you would like me to explore further, get in touch
Do you want to get interviewed? let's connect

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Elementary Monday evening at 6. I hope you had a fabulous Monday, wherever you're listening from, and I'm really delighted to introduce my guest today And I think it's gonna be a fabulous show. Of course, i think it's gonna be a fabulous show every week. But those interest rates. What's going on with the interest rates while I wait for my guest to appear? So we're supposed to have another interest rate hike on June 8th and, according to what we heard, it appeared like the interest rates would have gone up. However, it looks like possibly no rate change until sometime before September, whenever that is. But we'll see.

Speaker 1:

June 8th will come and we'll try to figure out. Is this going to, you know, cool down all the activity that we're seeing or will it go on? Will the show go on? I am still waiting for my guest to join and I'm gonna see if I can invite her. Yeah, so have you had a great Monday today? I was really busy. I was all over the place, but my guest is Joy. Hello, hi, thank you so much, so we'll get started. I know we both have a little time crunches today. It's been a crazy, crazy busy day, but thank you so much for coming on. So introduce yourself and your Instagram handle Of course.

Speaker 2:

So hello, i'm Ariel and I am the person behind Studio Flora creations. My Instagram handle is Studio Flora creations.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. So if you're not following Ariel, i would tell you to go follow her. I just started following her and she is. I mean you have to go see her page. I'm not gonna give it up, but it's it. You love it. So tell us what is Studio Flora creations?

Speaker 2:

Sure. So Studio Flora is my personal happy space. It is all the places and things where I post about what I'm making. I am usually going to markets and selling them at markets, but it's just the physical form of my mind where I like to think of and create funky home decor pieces.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. And so how did you get, how did you know the inspiration behind this? How did it come about?

Speaker 2:

So it's actually over the pandemic, as I'm finding a lot of creators and small businesses are. I was working as a student and during lockdown I was really, you know, bored at home. I wanted to get into painting and art and I found that when I was trying to find supplies online, like for Michaels or Amazon, everything was completely sold out. So I was kind of left with whatever I had at home and I started Pressing flowers from my garden and I used that to make different art pieces and From there it sort of grew into me trying to find inspiration online of seeing what kinds of different art forms I can get into. I had all this time on my hands, so I just really wanted to let my creative juices flow, which is something I never really had the time to do before.

Speaker 2:

So it's actually through a tick-tock that I found out about rug tufting. I saw a video of somebody with a gun like a rug tufting gun And they were threading yarn through it and they were using it to make rugs, and I was so mesmerized I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had to buy one of those tufting guns for myself immediately And I learned everything that I could possibly learn about it. At the time, there wasn't a lot of information online about it, so I started with punch needling, which is taking a needle and threading yarn through it, through a canvas, and manually creating small, like little rugs that way, and I waited I think it was six months before my tufting gun Actually came in the mail, and when it arrived, i just couldn't stop doing it. So here I am three years later, fully invested in this as a business, and I create things all the time. Every spare moment that I have, i'm making things, and then on weekends I go to different markets around downtown Toronto and I saw my items.

Speaker 1:

Wow, wow, such an amazing story. I mean, I've seen your stuff but it's pretty, it's just really nice, so much. And you know what I was told about it. I actually Didn't picture it right, what I really don't know what I pictured. But then when I found your page and went on it, i was like, oh my goodness, Like amazing. So how do you approach a creative process?

Speaker 2:

Honestly, that's a little bit of a difficult question. Sometimes creativity strikes out of the blue and I just think of something and I and I go with it, but other times I find that because it's like a job and I would constantly, always have to create new things. Sometimes it gets really difficult and I get really unmotivated and it's hard for me to always think of something new. So obviously I go on Pinterest and I look online, but most of the time when I find myself in a creative rut, i just let myself have a break, and I never would have guessed how much having a break from things helps me regenerate new ideas And get back into that creative flow, wow.

Speaker 1:

So you know, I know this is like really nice stuff and I want you to tell me perhaps is there a project that you recently did that you're most proud of? That's a hard question.

Speaker 2:

I'm honestly proud of all my projects just because they're so labor-intensive. Each of my little rugs takes anywhere from one to two weeks to make of constant work. So every time I finish an entire frame I'm just so happy and proud by the end of it. But I actually brought some things to show that I have been proud of most recently.

Speaker 2:

So I started making these little mushrooms, squiggly rugs as little decor items And these have been my pride and joy. Every time I make one of them, everyone always sees them and they're like, wow, love them. And I started making different plant accessories. So I made this larger piece and I usually like to put a plant on it And then all my plants have one of these little guys And it just adds a little bit of whimsical color, a little pop of joy to your home.

Speaker 2:

So anytime I make a larger piece or something that's more involved, like one of these little mushrooms, i'm really happy.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. Click on, joe Mushrooms Those are really cute. I saw a picture that you posted in the market. I was looking at your video and or a picture or something to that effect And I saw that mushroom thing posted and I was trying to figure out is that mushroom? Like what is that? I look so cute, but it always looks cuter. You know up front right.

Speaker 2:

Definitely.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I like those little pot things. Those are really cute. I can see how, yeah, I'm going to have to come out to a market that you're at very soon. Please do Yeah, so what all can you create? I want people to understand that you do like a lot of custom stuff too, so what all can you create for people?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, i make things that are super tiny, like the little mushrooms that you just saw, all the way to large pieces. I think the largest one I made was a three foot rug that someone ended up using for their living room. So, honestly, it's whatever you can think of, i can create it. And custom pieces are kind of my pride and joy, because I get to think of something new And I love working with people. Sometimes people have amazing ideas that I never would have thought of And we go back and forth on the design process and we keep making something until the person is super happy with it, and then when I actually get to create it and I get to see how happy they are on their faces when they come to pick it up, it just makes me so, so happy. So, yeah, it's really anything that you can think of, and that's my favorite part of tufting is that you can make something super tiny and you can make something super huge, and it's really just whenever you let your imagination take you. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

It's pretty nice when someone was telling me that you're working on a project for them And I was like so jazzed because I'm like, oh my god, post it when you get it, because I want to. You know, because she was telling me it's going to be very custom to her And I was like, wow, that's amazing, i want to, i want to be, i want to get one too.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love doing logos, also for different business. That's also my cream of the crop. Best part of doing things is that I whenever I go to stores or other markets and I see vendors displaying their logos with something that I made. it just makes me so happy, So I love that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's your stuff. That's very nice, i must say Very nice. I've just quite blown away with it. Very artistic, thank you. And like, do you have any plans? Like, what are the future plans for Studio Flora creations?

Speaker 2:

Honestly, right now I am doing it as something part-time, so I'm still a student. I'm actually working on my PhD in human-computer interaction at the University of Waterloo, so while I'm doing that, my other part-time thing is Studio Flora. So eventually I would love for it to be full-time. I think those are my future plans Once I graduate. Being able to spend all my time doing this would be lovely, but for now I'm just going to different markets around Toronto each weekend. One that I have coming up next weekend is Dundas West Fest, where they close down all of Dundas from, i believe it's Auzington to Lansdown And there's different art and food and music And it's supposed to be really fun. It's June 9th, 10th and 11th. So that's something that I have in the short term that I'm really looking forward to.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I wanted you to share that story because, you know, I mean it's pretty amazing that you're doing a PhD and you're doing this stuff And it takes a lot, It takes a lot of work, And so you know. I want you to be commended on that, because that's amazing.

Speaker 2:

Thank you.

Speaker 1:

You're committed to two very large pieces in your life, right? So good for you, good for you. Thank you so much. So thanks for sharing some of the stuff, but I want to showcase your small business in the best light And I want to make sure that I've captured everything. Is this something I may have missed?

Speaker 2:

Honestly, no. Markets, like I said, are my biggest venue where, if you want to see everything thatI have at one time, you can come to a market and take a look. Otherwise, i am selling some of my pieces at different stores in Toronto. The first one is Drew at Stack Market on Bathurston Front. They have all of my food related items which I have with me too. So this little egg, avocado, bacon, a toast It keeps going. There's a bunch And they have all of them. And then also at Easy Tiger Goods on Dundas Street, they have my eggs and toast as well. So selling through those stores has been so amazing And I'm so grateful that I get to work with those people. And I also have a few spots open for custom pieces in June. I think I have two spots available at the end of June And four spots in July. So I love working on customs too, and that's something that maybe we haven't mentioned that the way to get a custom would be to message me directly on Instagram.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. So what can people find you Like? how can they find you?

Speaker 2:

Through Instagram definitely.

Speaker 1:

Instagram? definitely, yes, all right. So if you're not following her, drop what you're doing. Go ahead and follow her. Thank you, buy some avocados, buy some eggs, buy some toast and bacon. Don't forget the bacon. So, for all of you watching, i want to thank you for spending time with us. My name is Jacqueline Watson. I'm a real Tillwood Sutton group. Today we had a little bit of a time crime so we tried to like wrap it up as soon as possible. But thank you so much for coming on. And, ariel, thank you for your time. I so appreciate you coming on the show and agreeing and sharing your fabulous story.

Speaker 2:

Thank, you It was a pleasure.

Speaker 1:

Yes, until next time.

Speaker 2:

See you Bye, bye.

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Elementary Artwork

Elementary

Jacqueline Watson