START SOMEWHERE

Here we are friends—Kan Kan is officially up and running! I’m excited to finally share with you a collection of curated goods as well as beautiful handmade pieces that can only be appreciated once they are in your hands. The process of opening an online shop supporting independent designers has been many months and late nights in the making.

However, the idea came to me back in 2011 when the exhibition design company I was working for had yet another massive layoff within their design department—and off I went packing. Having that time at home was when I thought to myself, “If I want to get a business running, now’s the time to start somewhere”. With heavy thoughts of apprehension mixed with a little bit of fire dancing in the back of my mind I finally made the push. I purchased the web address shopkankan.com, registered Kan Kan Mercantile LLC, began collecting hundreds of artists that I wanted to work with, and then my little game of risk came to a stall. From there, I played it safe again and took a job. I’m a firm believer of saying YES to everything that comes your way and at the time I was happy with my decision—even if it didn’t seem like anything would come of it. I worked for a wonderful family-owned, wholesale art company, and had the opportunity to design products alongside an amazing artist. There, I had the privilege to see first hand an artist saying YES to so many opportunities, taking risks, and most importantly, believing in the work and the company. I had learned so much from my time there and I felt like I was on a really great path to something bigger…

Fast forward to the beginning of 2014, I got pregnant and I had all these emotions (probably mostly to do with hormones) coming back to me about what I was going to do with my life. Would I have time for my baby if I was working for someone else? Would I feel fulfilled working with one creative outlet the rest of my life? Would I even have the time to finally start my business once the baby arrives? And most of all, would my daughter be proud of me if was putting my dreams aside? I felt like part of my life was at a standstill, yet, obviously, I had this massive and beautiful change coming my way. So, I did the most rational move that anyone would do. I quit my job and became fully invested in starting Kan Kan, while pregnant! It’s been an exhausting ride, but completely gratifying every step of the way. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of my family and friends during this exciting and sometimes scary chapter in my life. Before anything else, I would not be able to take credit for starting Kan Kan without mentioning my husband! Even before we began discussing this back in 2011, he has been my No. 1 believer of every idea I keep guarded in my heart. He has worked on the shop every step of the way and now I feel very fortunate to have this little family business of our own.

Over the past several months I have been working my socks off on our shop, and it’s ready to share with you at last! The entire process—from reaching out to the many amazing artisans, designing the website, media/branding to figuring out the best shipping costs for our customers has been incredibly fulfilling. I am constantly honored that any artist would want me to showcase their beautiful pieces that they’ve poured their hearts into. I feel very connected to each artist and the products I have selected for you all. I hope you enjoy them in your home and sharing them as gifts to your loved ones. This is only the beginning for Kan Kan. I have many more goals ahead for our business and I would love to share with everyone the details, the successes, the challenges, and everything in-between! I’m sure this blog will evolve over time and I’d love to hear your advice along the way! I didn’t even know I would write such a long introductory post, but I hope you  will all stick around and see what the future holds!

Rest assured, I will now end this post with a link to our shop so you lovely folks can finally have a look! Feel free to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to learn about any upcoming updates, discounts and giveaways! 

Thank you all so much for your support.

Shayda xx