214 | The Power of a Mission-Driven Business with Lois and Joy of Boostani Crafts
In this episode, Lois and Joy of Boostani Crafts share their inspiring journey of building a mission-driven business. From Kenya to Canada, they've leveraged their heritage to create eco-friendly products while empowering rural artisans.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:
In this episode, Lois and Joy of Boostani Crafts share their inspiring journey of building a mission-driven business. From Kenya to Canada, they've leveraged their heritage to create eco-friendly products while empowering rural artisans.
1. Building a Legacy:
Lois draws inspiration from her grandmother's entrepreneurial spirit, aiming to replicate her success by supporting artisans in Kenya. Their mission is to preserve traditional crafts while promoting sustainability.
2. Overcoming Challenges:
Starting a business isn't easy, but Lois and Joy persevered. Initially, visibility was a hurdle, but by participating in local events and leveraging online platforms, they gained traction, especially during challenging times like 2020.
3. Family Dynamics in Business:
The mother-daughter duo leverages their diverse skill sets to propel Boostani Crafts forward. While Lois brings experience and networking skills, Joy adds a fresh perspective and organizational prowess.
4. Purpose-Driven Growth:
Their commitment to empowering women artisans and preserving cultural heritage fuels their growth. As they expand their network and product offerings, they aim to make Boostani Crafts a global brand while staying true to their mission.
5. The Power of Grit:
Despite setbacks, Lois and Joy's resilience and determination have been instrumental in their journey. They emphasize the importance of grit and perseverance for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Boostani Crafts exemplifies the transformative power of entrepreneurship when fueled by purpose and determination. Their story inspires us to pursue our dreams while making a positive impact on communities worldwide.
[00:00:00] Danielle: Hello, and welcome back to the business babes collected podcast. I'm your host, Danielle Wiebe. And today we have a very special episode. We brought on Lois and Joy, who are a mother daughter team behind the gorgeous brand Bustani, which is a brand of handmade handbags, baskets, and other products that are made Buy artisans from the village that they're from in kenya.
[00:00:26] Danielle: So joy and lois were actually vendors They popped up at our conference in the summer time And I had a conversation with them and I absolutely loved their story. I loved their brand. I loved their products And I love that they were a mother daughter team And so I wanted to bring them on the podcast so that you could hear And be inspired by their story as well and hear the passion behind their business and what they do So I hope you enjoy this episode just as much as I did Let's just go ahead and dive right in.
[00:00:59] Lois: [00:01:00] My name is Loi Sokello, and I am the mother of four children, and one of them is sitting next to me here, Joy. She's my firstborn. We moved to Canada in 2008. And at that time we had three children, but then we got blessed with another one in 2017. Before moving to Canada, we lived in Saudi Arabia for five years.
[00:01:25] Lois: That's something that not many people have had the privilege of doing. And we hail from Kenya. We came from Kenya and adventure brought us here because we wanted to taste another part of the world and see what it had to offer. Without going too much into my own details, I want Joy to also introduce herself because she works with me.
[00:01:46] Joy: Hi,
[00:01:47] Lois: I'm Joy. I am currently a student
[00:01:49] Joy: at Trinity Western University and I'm studying business. My specialization is in marketing and I joined Bustani full time two years ago. So I do a little bit of everything from [00:02:00] managing our social media page to popping up and showing up at events that we attend throughout the year, and then also some modeling with the baskets and pictures we take there.
[00:02:10] Danielle: Amazing. And I would love for you to share a little bit more about your business. So we originally met at one of our events that we hosted the conference that we did in the summer and you showed up with your beautiful products and it was amazing just to get to meet Both of you and hear more about your story and your background.
[00:02:33] Danielle: So can you tell us a little bit more about the business and also the mission behind it? Yeah.
[00:02:39] Lois: So Bustani was born in 2018 in May. At that time, The main reason that I was starting the business and things keep evolving as we go along. The main reason was after 12 years, I had three children. And then after 12 years, I got our last one.
[00:02:59] Lois: And I [00:03:00] wanted to have more freedom, more independence to be able to attend to my family. Same time I wanted to subsidize our family income. And so I looked back at where I come from. So I come from Kenya. I was born in a small rural setting in Kitui and my grandma, who is a big inspiration for me, she was a single mom and she supported her family with a small business.
[00:03:27] Lois: So that was a big inspiration for me. And so I thought, okay, what do mothers do where I come from? Most of them have little businesses that they just grow around them and they have their children around them, working with them. So I thought I could do the same, but what will I be selling? And so I realized there was a lot of talent where I came from.
[00:03:51] Lois: At that time, I did not appreciate it because it's familiar, but then being removed, I realized. Such beauty, such beautiful [00:04:00] things that they are making natural out of natural resources. It's sustainable. They're eco friendly. So why not work with them and give them a different platform from what they always have?
[00:04:12] Lois: Because I realized nobody around me was really doing that. So I'm doing it the same way that I'm doing and so the motivation, the inspiration, the mission is to support artisan from a rural setting who might not have the same kind of exposure and who want to keep their art alive. So the baskets that you see behind me are what we sell, and we also sell olive wood spoons, and the baskets are eco friendly, they are biodegradable.
[00:04:45] Lois: So eventually after serving you for many years, some people have them for 45 years, if you keep it outside, it will decompose. So you will not have harmed your environment. And so that's a big [00:05:00] thing for us as well, because we are realizing how the environment has changed because of what we've done as humans.
[00:05:07] Lois: And so we are trying to give back to the environment. Let's talk about. Try and do that. And that's the mission behind it. It keeps changing because we'll get different challenges that you want to overcome. Yeah.
[00:05:22] Danielle: I love that so much. And I love the story. And even you being inspired by seeing people within your family or even back home starting businesses and being inspired by that, and then also coming to Canada and then wanting to bring.
[00:05:40] Danielle: that here is just amazing. So if you are listening to this and you don't see the video, definitely go on Instagram and check out their products because they're absolutely stunning. Can you tell people actually where they can find you on Instagram in case they're listening and they just want to look you up?
[00:05:58] Joy: Our Instagram is at [00:06:00] bustani crafts. So bustani spelled b o s t a n i and then crafts.
[00:06:04] Danielle: I love it. So tell us a little bit about the beginning stages of starting the business because I think a lot of people, when they're first starting, when they're first building their brand and then they're wanting to get their products or services out there, it can be really overwhelming.
[00:06:21] Danielle: 'cause there's a lot of things that you need to do to establish a business. So I would love to know what did those. First stages look like those first few years of getting your business established. What kind of challenges did you face as you were getting started?
[00:06:39] Lois: Yeah, so one of the biggest things is visibility, yeah?
[00:06:44] Lois: So when we started, I knew what I wanted to sell, but how was I going to do it? So I'm looking through the newspaper and I see that the Cloverdale market days was going to happen. And so I [00:07:00] said, okay, let me go see it and then I'll gather momentum and represent myself eventually. But then my husband told me, no, don't go see it.
[00:07:10] Lois: Get yourself a tent, go set yourself up and get moving. Because one of the things that inhibits a preneur is that feeling of, will I be good enough? I stand out or people think I should be here. But then if you just go do it. So that's what really helped me just go do it. So I set up that one market and I'm almost standing in the shadows.
[00:07:37] Lois: I'm so scared what we'll be paying, but then people are interesting and encouraging. So they come around and what do you have here? Yeah, and I even had a basket that one of my grandmas had given me. And so I had it there to show people that it's something that I hold very dearly. And then I realized [00:08:00] that, okay, good.
[00:08:01] Lois: I've done one event, it went well, and I've sold some items, there's interest and people are interested in supporting women renewers, and they know that the women, the people behind me, the artisans, a lot of them are women as well, so good. Then that was 2018, few events, and then 2020 rolled along. And this is the end of my business.
[00:08:27] Lois: Yeah. I'm not going out there anymore. And my Instagram page was just something that was not moving. I wasn't really active on my social media and I had a website. And in that website, there was no, it was just this telling the story. There was no online store. So I. Plugged in an online store and then I thought, okay, I need people to know that my online store exists.
[00:08:58] Lois: Nobody knew [00:09:00] anything about it. Yeah. And I think Joy would like to tell a bit more about how the online store was found. Oh,
[00:09:09] Joy: okay. I was just going to mention that one thing that really helped us during that time was unfortunately with George Floyd's death, it was a very sad situation. But then during that time, a lot of people wanted to look for Black businesses, um, companies to support.
[00:09:25] Joy: And I remember working at Chipotle and my phone buzzing all the time because so many people were following us during that time. And one, I need to show their support and I appreciate it and we gained like hundreds of followers during that time
[00:09:39] Lois: and And that's when we got our first sales on our online store.
[00:09:44] Lois: And so out of that, which was a dark time, something good happened. So then the challenge became keeping up with the demand at that point. It was like, Oh my, all of a sudden people know about [00:10:00] us. We also had a little Etsy store, which I have since realized I need to just Concentrate on my online store and going to event.
[00:10:08] Lois: And yeah, that's our backstory. Now we're finding that we are networking more given that we have found you and we found other forums where they're supporting small businesses, women, businesses. Businesses, we're finding that the ceiling is, the sky is becoming more of the ceiling. Limitations are getting lifted with the networking that you're providing.
[00:10:35] Danielle: Oh, amazing. Thank you so much for sharing that. And I definitely know, of course, with 2020, that was a really, just Really hard time for a lot of businesses, but then also with everything that happened, there was just, like you said, a lot of darkness. So thank you for sharing that. I think one thing that is really powerful is looking for the light in the darkness and [00:11:00] looking for opportunities because we need each other.
[00:11:02] Danielle: Like we need. community, we need to support one another. And I think that it, that's why I'm so passionate about working and supporting women entrepreneurs is because we can't do it alone. I think it's so beautiful that you are a mother daughter team and you support each other. So I would love to hear a little bit more about that.
[00:11:23] Danielle: That about how you work together. And, you know, I, I know we spoke earlier and I was talking about how I used to work for my mom as well. And so I have that experience and it was such a cool opportunity because you have different skill sets and you can learn so much from one another. So I would love to hear maybe how do you support one another in the business and how do you use your different skill sets to, to grow the business that, that you have?
[00:11:51] Joy: It's very, like my mom and I are very opposite in certain ways. Like even now, for those who can't, we'll see the video, I'm just in black and neutral colors, and [00:12:00] my mom's just an orange, your favorite color. And she loves color. Um, so we incorporate our differences in a way that, uh, works. So I'm very, I prefer the neutrals and the display behind me is all like the neutral baskets.
[00:12:14] Joy: And. Women from my mom's tribe love color. So initially when we were, we started bringing in products, they'd want to send a lot of color and we had a lot of color and we still do have color, but then we had to adjust, um, our palette according to what people hear and people in BC prefer like the neutrals, the naturals, the grays.
[00:12:33] Joy: The blues, but then we have, obviously have clients or customers or wholesalers who love color. So like now we are starting to continue to incorporate more color, which mom loves. And I've actually started growing a lot towards color and like having a greater appreciation for it. And then another thing too, is I'm so much of a planner and organizing and I can take time, like writing things down and figuring out, whereas my mom has shown the, always [00:13:00] taught me how to.
[00:13:01] Joy: Execute more because she's more of an executioner, whereas I would take forever like wanting the website to look a certain way and then I would want to keep it not live and not publish it and she'll be like, no one is seeing us like we're losing an opportunity there was taking forever. So learning to like work on our Strengths and weaknesses together.
[00:13:19] Joy: Another thing I thought of is even like generational, like differences. And she has, she's worked in business for over 20 years and has a lot of experience with interacting with customers and gaining research and interacting with people. And I'd say she's a lot of a people person and is really good at.
[00:13:36] Joy: Going up to anyone and everyone and speaking to them. And that has helped us a lot with gaining visibility through her openness. Whereas for myself, I tend to, I can be more like reserved and shy or quiet. And I'll like read a person a bit more before feeling confident enough to speak to them. So I've learned to gain more confidence to watching her reach out to people.
[00:13:59] Joy: And then [00:14:00] even the way, even though social media and. Technology has changed so much from her time to my time. There's still a lot of core things that remain the same. And now I'm learning about showing my face more. Like we are trying to do that more on our Instagram page. We haven't done that a lot. It's just been more pushing the products and not sharing who we are.
[00:14:19] Joy: But then at events, we obviously share our story. And I think from my mom's generation, they like talking to people more. Whereas nowadays our generation are more comfortable behind a screen. Incorporating the two. Like I mentioned before, strengths and weaknesses in our approaches and in our personalities is what has helped us a lot through our journey
[00:14:39] Danielle: together
[00:14:40] Joy: and helped us understand each other better.
[00:14:43] Joy: Yeah.
[00:14:44] Danielle: That is amazing. That is amazing. Do you have anything to add to that?
[00:14:49] Lois: No, not really. I'm just glad that we took the push. My husband would tell, uh, Joy a lot, that Joy, you should work with your mom. And Joy wanted to be out there [00:15:00] working in Chipotle, and she wanted to be out there doing things. And her joining the company in 2021 when she did was just the right time because we were, uh, Growing a lot and it was becoming hard for me to manage the family and manage the business all by myself.
[00:15:18] Lois: So now I have more time to think even more strategically before it was just go give that basket out and package and send, because we have a supply chain. Work with them. It was, I didn't have enough time to just. Walk on one thing it will, but now I have somebody else who's helping. So she just, right. Oh,
[00:15:41] Danielle: that's amazing.
[00:15:43] Danielle: I think it's so cool to see the timing of things and when things come to fruition, it's beautiful to see perfect timing. And because maybe joy, you learn different things before you started working for your mom that maybe has supported the business as well and vice [00:16:00] and I love to hear, and I think it's really.
[00:16:03] Danielle: Valuable joy that you recognize like the strengths and leaning on each other for the differences and not being frustrated at each other because you have these differences, but actually realizing that those differences make you stronger together. So I think that's really amazing. And even. People tuning in and different businesses.
[00:16:23] Danielle: And as you start to either build your team or hire or even collaborate or work with other people, I think it's so valuable to work with other people who do have different skill sets, because often we almost look to work with other people that are exactly like us. But then we don't have the opportunity to learn from each other as much because if our brains work the same way, that can be great to talk through things.
[00:16:48] Danielle: But if your brains work differently, then there's so much learning that comes from that, which is why I'm so passionate about bringing people together because everyone has a different perspective. Everyone comes from a different [00:17:00] upbringing background. And so we can learn so much when we come together. I would love to know what are some Goals and things that you'd like to accomplish with the brand.
[00:17:09] Danielle: What do you see for the future? You have been able to accomplish a lot and even just setting up an online store and having that when you're used to selling things in person. So what's next for you? What's next for the brand? I would love to hear, what are some goals that you want to achieve?
[00:17:26] Joy: I think it's evolving.
[00:17:27] Joy: And as we continue to network and grow our community, both we have, we found a nation in knitters and knitters love our products. And so that is a huge community that we have there and that we love and appreciate, and then attending your conference allowed us to interact and meet with women who I would see their Instagrams and I'd see their products.
[00:17:48] Joy: And they have. 70, 000 followers and I knew about them, but then hearing their story and hearing their struggles and hearing how they overcame helped me also feel like, Oh, I can reach out to them [00:18:00] and also get their contact and gain another side of a community. I originally, I wouldn't have been had access to.
[00:18:07] Joy: And so that both of them have helped us realize that the sky is the limit. Like my mom mentioned before, whereas our dreams or our vision may have been smaller. It's starting to grow as we go along. Like I have a long term dream to have Pustani and like West Elm and bigger chain stores and companies that their products and their vision align with our products and visions and their clientele or their customer base would be able to afford, or even appreciate the fact that the products are handmade, are supporting women from, and gentlemen as well, from our Tribeca home in Kenya.
[00:18:43] Joy: They're not just strangers we, we met, but my great aunt also works at this as well. So there's a lot of community and family and legacy that Pustani holds, which I would like to see people, whether it's just North Americans or worldwide, appreciate it and support it. That's [00:19:00] probably like a long term goal I have in just seeing Pustani grow.
[00:19:03] Joy: I don't want to limit myself and I also don't. As we go along, we figure out what we can do, because currently it's my mom and I who are trying to do everything, and it's a lot for two people, and being a student, and my mom also being a wife and a mother, and a friend, and a human, she has a lot of other things going on, so it makes it a bit challenging to try Chase all your dreams, but it doesn't limit us from dreaming.
[00:19:26] Joy: At least it doesn't limit me from dreaming. Mm-Hmm. . How about you, mom? That's
[00:19:28] Lois: amazing. Yeah. Um, exactly as Joy has said, we can see ourselves growing in ways that support us and our suppliers because when we started out, it was, uh, gaining products just from a pool in Kenya where they have handmade items sold.
[00:19:50] Lois: We now have our own five groups of women that we work with, and as Joy has mentioned, my auntie, my dad's [00:20:00] sister, younger sister, is also supplying for us. It helps us a lot because we are able to get in our own ideas of What we want the brand to look like. So I have a finishing that I'm thinking of incorporating.
[00:20:16] Lois: So she's taken it on board and she's going to try and do it. And then watching how their community is also benefiting, how they're thinking of digging a well, and we are thinking of how we're going to be able to support them because it's a very dry and arid area where the sysol grows. So the baskets.
[00:20:37] Lois: The, if you touch this one, it's coarse and it's out of sysol. So sysol is a succulent plant. It looks like aloe vera and it grows in a very arid and dry area. So that can be challenging to grow subsistence crops as well. And so they're thinking of digging a well. And so we're [00:21:00] thinking of how we're going to help them with that.
[00:21:01] Lois: So we are watching how, what we are doing is. Supporting a community. It's not just making money. We're supporting them. My auntie is us is an elementary school teacher. And so she started to build herself a very good house because she's making money from selling baskets. So we're feeling it's a community is growing and supported.
[00:21:25] Lois: We are happy. Yeah.
[00:21:27] Danielle: I love that. I'd love to ask you, Because I think, you know, you have such a purpose and I obviously our conference that we hosted and that you attended is power purpose. And so I'm very passionate about the fact that to build a business, because building a business, as you both know, and as we've talked about, it's not easy.
[00:21:48] Danielle: There's challenges that come with it. There's struggles. There's, there's also mindset, like. fears and things that come up as you're growing and as you're scaling your business. And so I think having that purpose behind it [00:22:00] is so important. Why do you think, what encouragement would you give to either business owners or people that are wanting to grow businesses?
[00:22:08] Danielle: If they don't necessarily have, because for you, the products that you create, they have purpose in and of themselves because of where they come from. And because of the people that you're supporting, what encouragement would you give for other business owners to maybe Whether it be partner with either organizations or other businesses are supporting to make their businesses more impactful and purposeful, just in kind of the day to day.
[00:22:38] Danielle: I would love to hear just like your perspective on that. Why do you think having a purpose other than just making money? Why do you think that is important?
[00:22:48] Joy: I have something small to add and then I could please observing at first I was from the outside looking in watching my mom grow up with Stiney and it was her thing and then I became a part of it and it's become my thing as well.
[00:22:59] Joy: And then even as I [00:23:00] think about my future where I saved myself in five and 10 years, it's continued to grow with Stiney and it's because I've come to appreciate and understand the need that the women have back home in Kenya. And we're so blessed here in North America, and they're blessed too, in Africa and in Kenya in so many different ways.
[00:23:17] Joy: But I think the biggest issue is the fact that they don't have enough water. And so they can't supply and they can't support their family through a very dry area. And so supplementing their income through selling baskets and having a way to continue to send their children to school and put food on the table has become something that I, empathize with a lot.
[00:23:39] Joy: And then I also love that we're helping them help themselves too. And then they're also talented with everything that they hand weave. Like I know the basics of how to weave a basket, but I won't be able to weave them as beautifully as they do. So it's also providing a platform and it's empowering artisans, empowering women and Like [00:24:00] we mentioned earlier about like people's strengths and weaknesses and working with what you have.
[00:24:04] Joy: I think they're very talented and their strength is what they can do with no actual, like it's not like they read a book on how to weave the basket. We tell them what like it to this and sometimes we also give them creative liberty on how to weave the basket and then they turn out so beautifully and so unique.
[00:24:23] Joy: So I think I've just grown to appreciate Everything that Bisani stands for and like where it comes from. And I, a lot of it too, is my great, I've been privileged to have my great grandparents alive for the most of my life. They passed away. One of them passed away last year and then the other one this year.
[00:24:39] Joy: But my mom mentioned my great grandmother, who's also named Lois. I got to see her throughout the years, whenever I'd go visit her in Kenya. And I last saw her in 2021 and just. the fact that she was a single mom and she did what these women are also doing in some cases where even though she wasn't I'm not sure if she directly sold some baskets herself [00:25:00] but she wove baskets but she would sell produce so a lot of the Bastani is It's connected and it's a legacy and it's family and it's, I would advise someone to look inward.
[00:25:10] Joy: Sometimes you find that the community you come from, whether you're an immigrant or even here, there's a lot of people who have family history that they'd like to continue and appreciate. That could be where you find the strength or the motivation to continue doing something even when it's not.
[00:25:27] Joy: monetary based. I've watched my mom say, oh, even though we're not selling as much baskets now, and they still want to send baskets because they need the money. She doesn't look at that as, oh, we can't afford to, or like a negative thing. But instead she's, I, she's going connected to each of the women individually.
[00:25:43] Joy: And so it's become I don't know what to call it. Really. It's
[00:25:47] Lois: more than a business. Yeah. So one of the things I would like to add to what Joey has said for, I think the why behind your business is really going to be your [00:26:00] motivation. Why? Why? We're doing this and giving the women a feeling of this hope you're giving.
[00:26:09] Lois: I'm thinking in anything we do, when we give, we get gratified, then we receive. When you give, you're going to also receive, yeah? Giving, and in that way, at times I'm wondering, what's going to happen? They have, we have all these baskets. And then, because we're so willing to give, somebody reaches out and says, I would like to get 50 baskets.
[00:26:35] Lois: And it just seems to, I think it's a law that you give, you're going to receive. So have your mind aligned. Yeah. So good. Yeah. And then have some great as well, because there are low days when you have business, you're going to experience some days when nothing is happening, but don't give up. Yeah. You're so good.
[00:26:58] Lois: Some great. Yeah,
[00:26:59] Danielle: that's so [00:27:00] good. And I love that you said that like the why behind what you're doing and the purpose behind what you're doing. And I find to like, just as an encouragement for anyone listening, if they're thinking, I don't know what the why is behind what I do. Sometimes you find it along the way.
[00:27:14] Danielle: So an example of that is. That for our business, I think there's been so many evolutions of what we've created with what we're doing. And I find a lot of purpose and value in, in the community that we're creating. But then also I think along the way, I've found different communities to be a part of different organizations that we want to partner with and give back to and be able to support.
[00:27:41] Danielle: And so sometimes the reason why you start or the why of why you start isn't necessarily going to be the why going forward. So allow it to evolve and allow it to change as you grow. And as you start to build a [00:28:00] community and build your business and build your brand. Yeah. I think that's encouragement for anyone who maybe is sitting there and being like, I don't know what my why is yet.
[00:28:07] Danielle: When I loved what you said, Lois, about having grit, because that is. So important in growing your business, because I think it's easy to look at other businesses. And because we don't really know what goes on behind the scenes of other people's businesses, we just assume that other people are thriving and that everything is easy for them.
[00:28:31] Danielle: And then as you probably saw at all of our events, we really try to take people. And obviously on our podcast as well, we really try to. Take people behind the scenes and actually see like the struggles and the challenges that people have had. And everyone, no matter what size of business or size of social media account or anything like that, they've all had challenges and things that have been hard or even Maybe wanting to give up [00:29:00] their business or give up their dreams or their goals.
[00:29:03] Danielle: And so I love that you said that about grit. I think that is one of the most important qualities as an entrepreneur that we can develop is grit and perseverance in building our business. So thank you for sharing that. I would love to know, what are you most proud of, of your entrepreneurial journey so far?
[00:29:25] Danielle: You can both answer if you'd like.
[00:29:27] Lois: Yeah, as I mentioned initially, it was a few items that were just sourced publicly. And at that point there was no, I didn't feel that connection with the product. Yeah. And then with time, we got our own individual suppliers. So the five groups of women, I'm so happy that I know these women and I know the struggles they are going through.
[00:29:58] Lois: They know some of the struggles [00:30:00] I'm going through. And so we are not random sects of business. We are community supporting each other. So when we receive our 600 bags, Then they don't just send the bags, they send prayers as well. May you, may these baskets go, may you find wholesale accounts. They're trying to step into my shoes of trying to market the baskets.
[00:30:27] Lois: So now I'm proud that it's not just Bustani,
[00:30:32] Danielle: it
[00:30:32] Lois: is a group of women. And then we also, Joy has The vision she has on how she wants the brand to look like. So I gave her the liberty to develop our logo. So if you've noticed how a logo has changed, that is something that she is very proud about, and I'm very proud about, and when we started it, it was.
[00:30:58] Lois: As unique as you, [00:31:00] because we realize that our product will never find one exactly like the other. For instance, this basket, if I tell my, my one of the suppliers, it's Jennifer who does this. I tell Jennifer, can we have 10 like this? Because they're not reading a pattern. Every woman is going to come up with what.
[00:31:24] Lois: She thinks looks like that. Yeah. So that makes them all unique. Yeah. One of a kind. That's awesome. One of a kind. As unique as you, because I'll never find another Danielle, even if you had that, there's going to be, that will look different. Ah, it's amazing.
[00:31:41] Joy: I just like to clarify that we, the logo, I was just very determined to get a new logo, but we worked with someone who did the designing of the logo.
[00:31:49] Joy: So credit goes to her for her work.
[00:31:51] Danielle: And
[00:31:51] Joy: I was just grateful. My mom has been. So open to me being particular about certain things and then her understanding where I'm coming from and being [00:32:00] like, okay, let's do it then. Like you can talk about it, but then we need to actually bring action to the word.
[00:32:05] Danielle: Yeah.
[00:32:06] Danielle: So good. So good. It has been such a joy. Joy to have you on the podcast. Can you share with everyone where they can find you, where they can connect with you, your website, obviously your Instagram. And I know you have something special that you want to share with our listeners. If you can share that as well, that'd be amazing.
[00:32:26] Joy: So I'll start with something special. We want to thank everyone listening to this podcast and who supports us and supports Danielle as well by giving you all a promotion code, which is biz babes. So B I C babes, and then if you use that upon checkout and you spend over 70, you'll receive 15 percent off.
[00:32:46] Joy: So we're not putting a limit on how long the promo code will be there. It's just as people come along and listen to the podcast and they'll find the end. So thank you. And then where you can. Find us is on our website [00:33:00] is www. bastani. ca and then our Instagram mentioned earlier, but I'll mention it again is at Bastani Crafts.
[00:33:09] Joy: So Bastani spelled B A S T A N I. And then if you want to email us, you can use our personal, our names, joyorlois at bastani. ca. Yeah. And then we can.
[00:33:22] Lois: We got to you that way. Yeah. And I'll just mention that there's free shipping.
[00:33:26] Joy: Yes. So
[00:33:27] Lois: spend the 70 you get a discount and you get free shipping within North America.
[00:33:32] Lois: That's Canada and U. S. And just a very quick note that Bustani stands for garden in Kiswahili. So if anybody is wondering, what is this busani, it means in Swahili and the crops that grow in a garden are all unique.