Owner, Stitch & Spoke
| Topics: Art, Business, Entrepreneurship |
| Interview Date: July 2014 |
| Extraordinary Insights: Keep creative spirit in mind. Take a plunge, start small. |
Crafty and curious since the day she learned to wield a crayon, Linda Varekamp has long had a creative, entrepreneurial spirit.
Linda completed two years of the fashion design program at Ryerson University, but decided midway through the program to change directions, and finished with an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto. After four years of work experience in the non-profit sector (and keeping up a constant crafting hobby), her life changed directions again when she was faced with some serious medical challenges and took an extended leave of absence from my non-profit job. “The perfect opportunity to start a new crafty enterprise!” she thought to herself…and thus, in the summer of 2011 - stitch & spoke, a line of eco-friendly and “freshly stitched” finds, was born.
In addition to managing the design, production, marketing and retail of stitch & spoke, Linda continues to volunteer and work part-time in the environmental non-profit sector. (https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/stitchandspoke)