It’s small business week, a national celebration of Canadian entrepreneurs.
myFM and the Small Business Enterprise Centre have partnered once again this year to share the stories of our small business owners.
Today we salute Jancat Art.
What started out as a successful Etsy Shop selling kawaii chubby cat-themed goodies- from stickers and mugs to apparel and tote bags, has quickly grown with their first physical location now open in St. Thomas.
That was Owner Ellen Yin, who runs Jancat Art along side her partner Kirill Erokin. Yin, who hand designs all of Jancat’s products, explains how her passion for art has launched her into the business world.
And for those curious about the business name, Erokin shares how that same sticker sheet that started it all, also brought them their moniker.
Now fast forward to today, where Jancat Art held the soft opening of their store just yesterday at 548 Talbot Street. Yin explains why they chose now to make the jump to a storefront.
And now that they are directly in the community, it’s given Jancat Art the opportunity to offer custom orders to local businesses. They’ve already completed orders of custom t-shirts and hats, but Erokin notes that anything should be doable with the equipment they’ve acquired.
And while they haven’t even had their official grand opening, which is slated to take place in a couple weeks, Jancat already has plans for expanding.
You can stay up to date with Jancat Art through their Youtube and Instagram pages, and be sure to visit www.jancat.art/links to check out their products as artwork is updated every 2 weeks!
Written by: K. Freeman
