We were lucky to catch up with Eric Brose recently and have shared our conversation below.

Eric, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

How did you get your first client? I love this question as its part of the story I tell clients when selling at events! I was actually my own first client, well my dog “Brew” was.. Brew is an 80lb Newfoundland mix. Let’s just say, he has a unique body size & shape and I struggled to find a rain jacket for him. After a few days of online searches, i finally found a company that made a really cool looking waxed canvas and buffalo wool plaid jacket design. Unfortunately, they never had his size in stock! It was at that point, i decided to make him one in a similar design. I went and purchased a Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine, some Olive Green waxed canvas and a similar buffalo plaid wool. A couple YouTube sewing tutorials later, i had my basic design cut and laid out.. A couple of broken needles later, his jacket was complete! That was a little over 4 years ago and while my seams my not have been straight, nor the most ecstatically pleasing, He still wears it in the winter rainy months!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Urbana Canvas “officially” started as a business December 2020. I wrote up my mission statement and opened an Etsy shop. The core values of the company is to strive to provide sustainable, durable, affordable, waxed canvas garments and goods. Another key value is to support other local businesses with our product components. I purchase my beeswax from local apiaries and hand wax my canvas. I try and support other artists/makers where I can. I recently worked with a local artist who hand painted panels that i incorporated into market totes. One of the key things that i believe makes my business unique, is making custom made to order items. That is the core business on Etsy, One of the biggest online sellers is a custom made to order waxed canvas tool roll. You send me photos and sizes of the tools you want incorporated into the roll and i work with you along the way to ensure the design is pleasing and functional to what you are looking for!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I would call my business, still a relatively small one! My instagram recently hit 1000 users, which was a cool milestone for me! My advice for social media growth is to be persistent and engage with other business either in the same sort of market as you, or ones that you truly admire. Look to other local artists and makers and introduce yourself. Ask for and provide honest feedback. While its sometimes difficult having the time for social media, when you are also the sole owner/employee of your business, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! Post photos, tell stories, even if they aren’t professional quality. Be proud of your self and work!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think for me, building a reputation within my market, was by providing a unique experience with making my items customizable to your specific needs. Whether, its my waxed canvas apron with customized pockets, logos, sized or tool rolls that fit your exact set of tools. It is also my 100% satisfaction guarantee. There have been times where I’ve actually lost money on unique designs because it is sometimes very difficult to translate products based on just a set of photos you want included. There have been times, when i have sent return labels, thrown away to first product and worked again from scratch to fix some of the issues. This mindset has also garnered me all 5 star reviews online!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Etsy..com/shops/UrbanaCanvas
• Instagram: @urbanacanvascompany
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urbanacanvascompany

Image Credits
Eric Brose