It brings me joy to find airplane-inspired home goods, and after DIY-ing some of my own designs, I decided to create Debby's Hangar! Creating a new small business is a new venture for me, and has taken many more hours of research and planning than I initially thought it would be. I thought this would be a fun weekend project - boy was I ever wrong!
The total set up for my online store took all of my free time for a few consecutive months. Some of the tasks I had to figure out were:
- Finding reputable suppliers for products
- Creating/designing products
- Ordering samples
- Deciding on a website platform
- Building the website
- Business name registration
- Legal requirements
- Creating a company logo
I aim to source as many products as I can from Canada, but this is difficult because the United States is the main hub for most manufacturers. So some of my products are labelled that they ship from the United States.
Having a business that is also environmentally conscious is important to me. In a world of fast-fashion and changing trends, I want to do my part in not contributing unnecessary waste into our landfills. This is why I choose to create products on-demand vs in bulk, meaning a product is made specifically for the customer when an order is made. This may result in slightly longer delivery times, but it reduces over production. I also try to select recyclable packaging whenever possible - such as cardboard boxes and paper/recycled plastic mailers.
Anyways, that's a bit of what's been happening behind the scenes. I hope to create products for fellow aviators that bring a smile to your face, and a touch of aviation into your home!