Today we’d like to introduce you to Renee Blankenship.
Renee, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a stay at home mom with my two boys and I run a small business making handmade wooden signs, canvas banners, and journals. I grew up in Mexico on a ranch where I would spend my days outside with our dogs and horses reading books. When I turned 16, my family decided to move to San Antonio, TX where I finished high school and went on to college to pursue an Architectural degree.
Growing up, my mom always made every decoration for the events in our lives. Whether it was clothes for a baptism or thank you cards, she made them by hand. It taught me a lot and gave me a desire to make as many things by hand as I could. When my son turned two years old, I decided to make most of the cowboy-themed decorations. These included “Little Buckaroo” and “Stable” signs, as well as multiple stick horses for the kids to keep. After the party, I decided to make more signs as gifts for friends on their special occasions. They seemed to love them and encouraged me to open up a shop online to get my products out there. This marked the beginning of my company, I started making as many signs as I could allowing me to finally have “enough” inventory to open up an online shop. I took pictures of everything I had made and uploaded them to Etsy. After a few months of selling on Etsy, I decided to look for any markets I could participate in. I contacted some people and they led me to attend several markets around town which I am still regularly a part of.
Has it been a smooth road?
Of course not, I am a mom of two young boys. My work life is constantly intertwined with taking care of my family and getting work done. The boys can demand a lot of my attention and it creates some difficult circumstances when I have orders to finish, but now my older son really enjoys helping me with the sign making process and watching his younger brother. He loves to help paint the background of the signs and has developed a love for the arts. It is still challenging at times, finding the extra time in the day to get things done and coordinating who can help me with setting up at markets while watching the kids. There is definitely a lot to learn when it comes to running your own business, managing your time and maintaining a happy balance to your day to day.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Not so Mexican Canary specializes in wooden signs, slowly we have been incorporating more items that you can personalize with your own saying/ quote. I like to believe we are known for having motivational and inspiring sayings. The sayings on every item are words I have found inspiring, some are words people have wanted to see, and others are verses from the bible.
There is something for everyone to read in our booth if you see us at a market. I’m always proud to see people stop and take time to read everything in our booth. I am able to meet new people as they share with me some of their life story, and why something I wrote means so much to them. It makes me happy knowing I can bring a smile to someone’s face with my work.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
San Antonio has been a great place to start my business off. The city is constantly growing, adding more things for people to do outside their homes creating more opportunity. San Antonio is full of history, culture, and pride, which leads to several festivals, farmers markets, and expos throughout the year where we can participate if given the opportunity with our schedule.
Pricing:
- Signs $8.00 – $65.00
- Banners $12.00 – $20.00
- Journals $10.00 – $25.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.notsomexicancanary.etsy.com
- Email: notsomexicancanary@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instragram.com/notsomexicancanary
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/notsomexicancanary
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