Morning Coffee With A Side Of Memories

Imagine your photos or children’s artwork displayed to remind you of the joy for years to come. This is the idea behind Wendy Vujacic’s Mississauga-based business. The ever-creative graphic designer specializes in creating keepsakes that are as functional as they are beautiful.

“I'm a graphic designer by trade and I am always looking for creative outlets. I found this new love of creating customized natural stone coasters.”

After working as a graphic designer in the toy industry for 15 years, Wendy shifted her career course just 6 months ago. Wanting to put her creativity and skills to good use, she embarked on a journey to explore her knack for creating memorable keepsakes. The process is simple but imparts a great deal of sentimental value when in the right hands.

Wendy sources the handcrafted travertine and marble stones from Turkey and Italy and completes the design and production herself in Canada. Although she offers ready-made coasters, the real fun lies with the commissioned ones. Here the client can simply upload their design whether it be a graphic or photo, and for more advanced options they can contact Wendy directly to create something truly special.

These custom coaster creations are the perfect melding of form and function. Once Wendy had gone through the initial creative process and business idea, she knew she needed some guidance to take it to the next level. With a great start on the design and production side, Wendy also needed a new way to reach her clients, and a platform that would facilitate the easy customization, for which her product calls.

Never one to disappoint, the ShopHERE Program entered the scene and a perfect match was made with a Coordinator eager to help the businesses succeed online. “Rich is an enthusiastic and positive person to work with…I’m so happy that we were matched.” The eCommerce guidance she received was able to bring her business online within a matter of weeks.

“The ShopHERE Program came along at the perfect time for me. I've been working on a new business venture for about six months and was ready to launch. I'm not tech-savvy so having someone guide me through the creation of a new website has been amazing.”

With the help of the ShopHERE Program, Wendy was able to get set up and running in no time. Her website is well-positioned to showcase past projects while offering a clear path to anyone ready to set in stone fond memories and photos, which do not see the light of day nearly enough. Wendy herself has also become an advocate of ShopHERE and happily states, “I think this program is fantastic and I'm so happy that I found it!” Recommending others to take the program for “the resources, opportunities, and sponsored programs offered…not to mention the great website build and 3 months free [Shopify] trial.” While Wendy is looking forward to growing her business well into the future.