"Creativity takes courage." - Henri Matisse

When our first child was born, I struggled with the decision to return to work or to stay at home with him. My parental leave ended after 6 months and I realized that I wasn't ready to give up my time with my son. I decided then to stay at home. This decision didn't come without challenges. I have been earning my keep since I was 16 so it felt strange not to be working. I was motivated to find a way to earn an income from home. I've been making items exclusively as gifts for years now but more than a few people said I should try and make a business of it. The idea of working a job that was outside of the traditional 9-5 was definitely appealing, as was the idea of being my own boss. I began to seriously consider opening a shop to turn my creative outlet into a profitable business

At first I was afraid to put myself out there. What if I failed? What if no one wanted to buy my products? I've always liked this quote from Wayne Gretzky, "100% of the shots you don't take don't go in." So I made a decision. Charm Sand began in 2016, as an Etsy shop that specialized in crocheted and knitted goods. I accepted only custom orders since I didn't have the space to hold RTS inventory. Over the next few years, custom orders began to consume my time to the point that I no longer enjoyed what I was doing. It became too stressful.

In 2019, I broke away from Etsy and opened my own website. Since this move would create a blank slate, I also decided to rebrand Charm Sand and focus on creating bags, totes, wallets, clutches, and similar products. I also decided to only accept custom orders from friends and family. The majority of the products I sell will now be ready-made inventory. The rebranding came with a lot of sweat and even some tears! I have poured my heart and soul into this. I wanted to build something that I could take pride in, something that I could truly call my own.