Producer Profile: Poppy & Mae Co.

By Kailynne Koster

Ever since a young age I have been creative and expressed myself through various forms of art. When I was 10, my grandma taught me how to sew. I remember the exact day… one morning she taught me the basics of the sewing machine and how to sew patchwork squares together. She had to run into town for a few hours, so she told me to keep practicing sewing together squares. Later that afternoon when she came home, I had sewn together enough lines of squares for an entire front panel of a patchwork blanket. That afternoon she helped me make a backing for the blanket. My love for sewing grew from that moment forward. As a teenager I started refashioning and up-cycling clothing for myself as a hobby, which eventually combined with another hobby of mine… 4-H.

I started 4-H when I was 9, doing every creative skill they offered. When I was 16, I decided to do “create your own skill” and titled it: Starting a Business. For that 4-H year I started a business creating refashioned clothing and accessories and started attending a local farmers market every Saturday to sell my creations. I LOVED every part of it! The business, the creativity, being part of the community, and the lovely customer interactions. After high school this business was put on hold as life changed and I explored new adventures. Little did I know I would end up coming back to it a few short years later.

Inspiration for my current business: Poppy & Mae Co. came about five years ago when my daughter was one year old. I was having a hard time finding country themed clothing for her, so I began sewing her some clothing using refashioned fabrics. When we went out in public, I kept getting comments on her clothing and accessories - people kept asking where I bought them. After telling a few people that I made them I realized there was a demand for country kid’s clothing, and I thought to myself… I could make this into a business, so I did! Since then, Poppy & Mae Co. has grown to include all of my creative hobbies. I do online sales as well as in person farmers’ markets and craft sales throughout Manitoba (but mostly here in the southeast prairies, the place I’ve called home my whole life). My shop focuses on creating quality apparel and products for everyday country style and living! My company slogan is - “one stop country shop” because I make a variety of products including: sewn and refashioned country clothing for children and women, crocheted & sewn farm toys, garden & egg aprons, unique country/farm houseware, hand-painted country home decor, and yummy goodies for your pantry including canning and sourdough baking!

All of my current available products can be viewed in the photo albums on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/poppymaeco/ I also post daily on my Instagram page: instagram.com/poppyandmaeco. If you don’t have social media, come visit me at one of my upcoming market locations, or view my products this summer at the Mennonite Heritage Village (Steinbach) in the General Store. I offer Canada wide shipping, but if you are local to the southeast area, I often drop off orders, or have them available for free pickup at my homestead in Tolstoi.

If you see me around the community, feel free to say hello, I would love to meet you!

Brought to you by the Stuartburn Emerson-Franklin Local Food Initiative initiativelocalfood@gmail.com Find us on Facebook