Velvet Crane recently turned a year old! Looking back at the last 12 months of this new venture, we can’t help but feel incredibly proud and grateful. We are elated with the impression Velvet Crane has made in Edmonton, across Canada and all the way into Europe. As well, thrilled by the adventures and learnings we have gained from working with other local businesses in Edmonton’s flourishing business community.
For those of you fairly new to the Velvet Crane family, we started selling our lip line in November 2018. It all started with the lip scrub and lip balm, which are still our top products today. We have received nothing but positive and heartwarming feedback about our brand and lip line. Just recently, we launched our new overnight lip conditioner!
With that, one of the first points we would like to make as part of our one year celebration is an expression of love and gratitude for our customers and community. To the early adopters, who believed in Velvet Crane right from the beginning and everyone along the way, without you we wouldn’t be here today. Thank you for sharing your experience and for supporting our small but mighty business. Our customers have been amazing at spreading the word about Velvet Crane. We surpassed 1,000 followers on Instagram, and continue to enjoy the stories and posts that our customers share over social media.
In a time of growth, we still made it a priority to give back to our local community. Velvet Crane supported and provided donations to a variety of events and organizations that share our vision of self-love and building healthy communities. We sponsored events such as Ladies Who Brunch hosted by Dr. Kara, The Eating Disorder Support Network of Alberta Fashion Show, Life Without Limits Challenge hosted by Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta, Zoe Animal Rescue fundraiser and the Masterclasses hosted by Inspire.yeg.
We’ve collaborated with a variety of organizations and brands to help share our story. Velvet Crane was featured in British Vogue in March 2019, which was a massive highlight for us this year. Being part of Vogue has always been a dream for us. When the opportunity came our way, we didn’t hesitate for a second to take it! Locally, Velvet Crane was featured in the 2019/2020 version of Edmonton Made GIfted. We also made appearances in YEGbox, BeautyMakers, wlhomes and The Project Of Now podcast. In October 2019, we were a vendor at the Etsy Made in Canada event hosted by On the Spot Pop Ups. It was our first pop-up shop event. Being face-to-face with our customers was such a treat and a wonderful way to meet people who have tried our products. We will be sure to attend more events in the upcoming year.
Over the last year, Velvet Crane has come together with a group of creatives, who have helped us bring our brand to life. We can't thank enough to Studio Antheia, Plaid Collar Films, Behind the Blush, Nicole Ashley, Here and Now Creative, and bSocial Communications for helping us bring our vision to life! We also want to thank all of our collaborators for the amazing giveaways!
Velvet Crane had a busy and successful first year filled with excitement, learnings and collaborations. We have so much to be grateful for and to celebrate. It completely surpassed our expectations and will continue to do so as we work towards building and expanding our business and product offerings. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this journey.