Though it doesn’t promote the rampant consumerism of Christmas or feature the expensive costume parties of Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day nonetheless provides Canadian small business owners the opportunity to boost sales by tailoring their products for the annual celebration of Irish Heritage.
Here are just some of the ways innovative small businesses across Canada, ranging from boutique bakeries to independent artisans, are working their way towards their own pot of gold.
Tied in Knots Crochet
During this past Christmas season, Moncton, N.B. resident Michelle Johnson was working seven days a week to fill orders for her Etsy storefront, Tied in Knots Crochet. While business tends to slow down following the winter holiday period, Ms. Johnson says it was only a few days into January before she started receiving orders for leprechaun and clover-themed crochet hats and accessories.
“I’m kind of surprised by how popular it’s been,” she said. “This year, already, I’m sure I’ll have five times the sales on St. Patrick’s themed stuff.”
Ms. Johnson taught herself how to crochet after her daughter, Hannah, was born approximately two and a half years ago. When friends and family saw her creations and asked for their very own hand-made crochet accessories, Ms. Johnson began selling them online, opening a digital storefront in August of 2013.
“After my third child I decided not to return to work, and the income I can generate from this is enough to allow me to make the decision to stay home,” she said, adding that she previously worked as an account manager for a bank.
Her St. Patrick’s themed crochet accessories include a leprechaun hat and bow tie set for $33.66 and a hat with detachable furry red beard for $25.66, all of which can be found adorably modelled by her eight-month old son Simon.
The Pink Ribbon Bakery
Though some may brush off the minor holiday, St. Patrick’s Day is serious business for Sheila Comer, the owner of Pink Ribbon Bakery in New Westminster, BC.
“We’re dressing up for St. Patrick’s Day; we’re wearing the big stupid glasses, we’re wearing the necklaces, we’re wearing the hats, we look like leprechauns, we take it very seriously,” she said.
While the bakery does provide a wide variety of “kid-friendly” desserts, Ms. Comer says that customers line up around the block on St. Patrick’s Day for her alcohol-infused baked goods, ranging from maple bourbon bacon cupcakes to Irish Cream cake.
“We take advantage of the fact that, on St. Patrick’s Day, people like to drink, so we have quite a few alcoholic specialty flavours that we introduce only for St. Patrick’s Day,” she said. “My most popular flavour for sure during St. Patrick’s Day is my chocolate Guinness cake, which is essentially chocolate Guinness-based cake, and then we do a chocolate stout buttercream on top.”
Ms. Comer adds that her alcoholic selection allows her to sell approximately five to six times more on St. Patrick’s Day than the average business day.
Oya Costumes
Though Halloween is peak season for the costume industry, events like St. Patrick’s Day keep Montreal-based online costume store Oya Costumes busy year-round. The St. Patrick’s themed costumes they offer range from sexy to strange, while accessories like dog costumes, hats and green lipstick are in high demand.
“For us, it’s a special kind of holiday,” said Faten Hodroge, president of the Canadian owned and operated ecommerce business. “We see about a 10 per cent increase in sales volume linked to this particular holiday. We’re quite happy with that increase in business.”
Ms. Hodroge says that Oya Costumes sells St. Patrick themed costumes and accessories across Canada and around the world, adding that they are especially popular among restaurant and bar staff as well as parade participants.
“In our business, because of the winter slump, we love that these celebrations give a kick to our sales,” she said.
Huggable Hound
When Carole Allman adopted a retired racing greyhound, she wasn’t impressed by the 'worn' and 'funky' collar that was strapped to its neck. Unable to find an affordable yet stylish replacement online, the Iroquois, Ontario resident took out her sewing kit, and made one herself.
“Within a couple of months I thought ’I could do this,’ and I did, and it’s been almost five years that I’ve been in business,” she said. “Business is booming, I’m successful, I left my full-time nine-to-five job three years ago, and haven’t looked back since.”
In that time her Etsy online storefront, Huggable Hound, has shipped hand made dog collars around the world, including orders to Australia, France, Spain, Japan and Bulgaria. This time of year Ms. Allman says that her line of St. Patrick’s Day themed dog collars are in high demand, comprising nearly 30 per cent of her overall sales for the months of February and March.
“It’s a big sales time for me, because people like to change their collars on a regular basis and have something different on their dog, even if it’s just for one day like St. Patrick’s Day,” said Ms. Allman.
Huggable Hound offers six different St. Patrick’s themed designs, ranging from about $25 to $28, and Ms. Allman predicts that she’ll hand stitch between 150 and 250 in the weeks leading up to March 17th.
“Two of my biggest sellers right now are an argyle design with shamrocks for the boys,” she said. “My other one is a glittery, sparkly lime green and dark green shamrock, and that’s done very well for me as well.”
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