This was never supposed to happen. And by that I mean, I did not try hard at all—if ever—to make this hobby come to life. This was a fun, friendly and loving thing I did for those around me.
If you have ever been to Tofino, you would be able to understand that yarn—like most supplies—are a luxury item we don’t have the pleasure to gain easy access to. This made CarSea a whole other beast to tackle as my yarn inventory became a strategy that owned me more than I owned it. Either way, this was a fun and surprisingly successful side hustle that brought me more joy than profit. There are still some for sale, and I hope you feel the warmth of my loving embrace cradle your noggin’ when you slip one on.
THE ORIGIN STORY
Made by CarSea was a spontaneous passion project turned business that I created back in 2022!
It all started by me making a toque for my friend’s new born baby. He loved it so much that he ordered 10 baby hats to sell at the cafe he managed and I worked at, The General Store. This is a small cafe located at the Mackenzie Beach Resort.
The rest was history.
THE DEMAND
At first, I was just making hats as birthday gifts to close friends. In time, sales started to multiply as word got out. After a while, I had friends-of-friends requesting for hats which turned into random people who worked close-by and would see them wearing my hand-made toques.
Eventually, sales started to pool in so fast that I had to change the way I was doing things. Being out in Tofino, Yarn was NOT an easy supply to come across. I would typically make trips into Port Alberni or Nanaimo to purchase large hauls of Yarn every 3 weeks. This was just to keep up with demand AND trends.
After a few months, my same friend and manager of The General Store reached out and asked if I would be interested in selling hats to their store. It did begin as baby hats but soon turned into a range of adult hats and sizes. Plenty of trial and error took place and I had to come up with the usual things like my logo, wholesale costs and profit margins to make myself an official business ‘baddie’.
THE BRAND
The name CarSea was not actually one I came up with or gave to myself. Another good friend of mine had a 2 year old who struggled to pronounce my full name, Carsyn. He would just call me Carsee. It was adorable and it quickly became my nickname out in Tofino. So, like the love I put into my hats, I decided on a name that came with some love that I received.
I’m happy to say it remains that way.
