We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth Chaanine recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I grew up in Eastern North Carolina (Morehead City), which many people refer to as ENC. Ironically, my initials are ENC. When I was trying to come up with a name for my business, I found that ENC Designs was very fitting, especially since I still live on the coast. I went back and forth between a multitude of names, but this one stuck with me.

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.

My name is Elizabeth Chaanine and I am the owner of ENC Designs. I make custom t-shirts, hoodies, tumblers (to include wine tumblers, kids tumblers, and glass tumblers), koozies, decals, and hats. I have been in law enforcement for the last 5 years, and it wasn’t until 2020 when I decided to start crafting as a hobby. A few of the dispatchers who I worked closely with actually got me started on crafting. They had been making t-shirts and tumblers for years before and I thought it was the coolest thing. I had inquired with them about supplies and machines I would need and I purchased them. I started with a Cricut vinyl cutting machine, a heat press, and very minimal materials so I could learn the basics of t-shirt making. I then got into tumblers, where I purchased all the equipment to try out. I learned very quickly that epoxy is not easy to work with! Over time, after a lot of yelling and cursing, things got easier and I was able to work out a lot of issues I would encounter. Within a couple of years, I was able to upgrade all my equipment, to include a full color dtf printer I bought last year for Christmas! What started as a hobby, quickly became a business.

I am very fortunate because my business has been very busy since the start of it. I am very thankful for all my customers who have shown me support over the years!

What sets me apart from others is that I am very particular about the things I make. If I am not satisfied with the way it looks, I will remake it in a heart beat. I am super proud of the business I’ve built. I honestly didn’t expect it to grow like it did. My next steps are to grow my online business, since right now I mostly sell to local customers.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

When I first started my business, it was funded by my full time job as a law enforcement officer. During the summer, I was also a waitress at The Crab Shack restaurant in Salter Path, NC. Between both jobs, I was able to continuously fund my business and buy all the materials I needed to be successful.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

As of last year, I began participating in multiple vendor events and festivals throughout the year. It has been a blessing to be able to meet new people and pass out business cards. It’s also been great to meet other local vendors in the area. Facebook has also been another great source for new clients. I am in a lot of local group pages on there and often times friends tag my business on posts inquiring about custom t-shirts/etc. I am currently working on growing my other social media platforms!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.encdesigns.store
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xencdesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/encdesigns1