OUR STORY
Peaks & Valleys Baby was created in 2017 shortly after I had my 3rd son Brantley. I was always sewing swaddle or “receiving blankets” whenever there was a new little one added to my friend group, or when someone needed some help executing their perfect nursery theme, because they just couldn’t find modern cute prints to suit their taste. I found myself piping up in conversations "I can make that for you!”, better yet my friends and family started to refer people to me to make them blankets and crib sheets. I really started to grow my business when my third son was born. I made a new set of blankets and a new crib sheet, I posted the photo on my Instagram and Facebook page and to my surprise I received an outpour of “where did you get that!” “You need to start selling these because I want these!” To my shock there were so many other parents looking for what I was looking for, the Modern and stylish prints that were soft, safe (free of harsh chemicals) for their little ones and yet still durable for all the childhood endures, and beautiful keepsakes to cherish for a lifetime, not to mention a local Canadian company.
So I started to sew as much as I can! This was tough as you can imagine as I had just had my third son, and my husband is a geologist so he’s gone about 6 weeks at a time so you can imagine how much free time I had. Then another wave was about to hit us, my approaching ‘return to work date’ of my corporate job was coming up, and with my husband barely home because his mining company required him to be up north more and more, this meant less family time, Unless we moved… I soon realized I just couldn’t go back to my corporate job, and I needed to push my business to really see its potential and where I could take it.
So I started to sew morning, naptime, after bedtime pretty much whenever I could squeeze it in, I was a baby wearing machine, I worked early hours and late nights to pump out orders, I even recruited some of my best friends to come sew and help out with stuffing elastics, hemming you name it! I attended some local markets and made some amazing connections with other makers and before i knew it my business name started to get around and it really started to take off.
Cue another big wave.. We then make the super quick decision to buy a house and move 12 hours to Smithers, a small town in Northern, BC, I was super excited but also scared at the same time. Being a city girl my whole life up to this point, and having my family/friend support system back in the city and not knowing anyone in a small town was hard for me. Not to mention this huge uncertainty of moving my business from the city to a small town, "will my business suffer?" "who will want to buy my stuff up north?" I was super nervous to say the least.
Cue wave #3… Not even 2 weeks before we moved, I found out I was pregnant with our FOURTH baby! We were in utter shock as we weren't expecting to be EXPECTING! I had no idea what this meant for our family especially moving so soon. Once the initial shock had worn off I realized this 4th little BOY (yup boymom for life!), was going to be the best surprise that has come to our family yet!
Fast forward now to being settled in Smithers, and our newest litltle boy is here! I knew moving up north would be a great decision for our family, but I had no idea how things could have turned out! In the short time we have lived up here, I have been able to open my own home based shop, been able to expand and grow my business more than I ever thought. I have met some AMAZING makers, business owners and mamas here that have helped me with this huge transition, which has in turn flourished Peaks & Valleys Baby to where it is now in the short time we’ve been here.
All of my items are still 100% handmade with love by.. you guessed it just ME! I'm still just a little team of one right now. I know these days are limited as the more I’m growing the more I will need to hire a local seamstress. Each item is thoroughly looked over and goes through a rigorous safe test before it leaves my hands to your little ones. I make everything right here in the beautiful mountains in Smithers.
All of this is because of all of YOU!! SO THANK YOU!! I am so grateful to anyone that orders from me your not just supporting me but my entire family, our dream is coming to life!
-XO Shaele
