Back in the early 1990s, when Deneen and I were dating and studying at the University of Winnipeg, an unexpected connection at a family wedding in Edmonton helped shape our future. At the wedding, I met Brad, a distant relative of Deneen's who owned a Winnipeg gift shop called Splinters. The store specialized in beautiful wooden gifts and had locations at Portage Place Mall, The Forks, and seasonal kiosks at Polo Park and St. Vital Centre during Christmas. 

Brad offered Deneen a job, and she worked there for a couple of years. Early into her role, she injured her back and needed someone to cover a few shifts. With no other options, she got permission to ask me to step in. Naturally, I said “yes,” and before long, I became an official Splinters employee too. 

We both loved the unique wooden items Brad carried—pens, jewelry boxes, carved ducks, trinket boxes, and the ever-popular wooden puzzle boxes. During the holiday rush, those puzzle boxes were a huge hit, and we spent countless shifts demonstrating how to open and close them. One day, Brad took me to his home to restock inventory for the kiosks. Seeing rows of shelves packed with wooden treasures in his basement left me amazed. I remember thinking, I could see myself doing something like this someday. 

Eventually, Brad closed Splinters when the opportunity arose to take over a larger gift shop at The Forks, but the experience stayed with me. 

Fast forward to 2006—now married for nine years with three kids, Deneen and I had moved to the Lower Mainland. The entrepreneurial spark reignited, and I decided to start a side business. I remembered the wooden products we had sold at Splinters and began searching for artisans to collaborate with. I wanted to offer unique, high-quality, handcrafted gifts. 

Being proud Canadians, we prioritized Canadian-made items but also drew inspiration from our travels, seeking out fair-trade and eco-friendly products from around the world. The first product we brought in? Those same wooden puzzle boxes from Splinters. 

Initially, we didn’t have a website, so we started small, selling at local craft shows. To our delight, the puzzle boxes received the same enthusiastic reactions here as they had back in Winnipeg. That excitement, from both us and our customers, sealed the deal—I was officially hooked.