Colourful tote bags, book sleeves and handmade accessories have become a familiar sight at the Slave Lake Farmers’ Market, where Sandy Robinson showcases the creations from her business, Shady Acres Stitchery.

“I’ve sewn for close to 15 years,” Robinson says.
Her first market was Moonlight Madness last December.
Less than a year later, her handmade creations have become familiar to many shoppers in Slave Lake, with custom orders beginning to arrive from local customers looking for something unique.

Robinson says the idea behind the business was simple.
She wanted to build something she could do from home while staying close to her family.

“I like being home with my teens and my animals,” she says. “Eventually, I’d like to have something that I can work on from home and still make money. If I can make it work with my business, that’s what I’d love to do.”

Every item she makes is sewn by hand, but the process begins long before the sewing machine starts.

Robinson says she sketches, cuts fabric using homemade stencils and carefully plans how each piece will come together.
While many people assume sewing takes the most time, Robinson says preparation is often the longest part of the job.

“The sewing might only take about 15 minutes,” she says. “It’s everything else that takes the time.”
One of the things that sets Shady Acres Stitchery apart is its commitment to unique designs.

Rather than buying large quantities of the same fabric, Robinson purchases limited amounts of each print. Once it’s gone, she rarely buys it again.

“I try to keep it one of a kind,” she says. “You have something that you don’t see everybody else using every day.”

She also creates custom pieces, working closely with customers to match their style and ideas.
Her fabrics come from another Alberta small business based in Canmore, a choice Robinson says is intentional. This business is the Custom Fabric Slayer Group.

“If I can support the locals, I absolutely will,” she says. “We need to have each other’s backs.”
The name Shady Acres Stitchery also has a story behind it.
Robinson and her family live on a small acreage just outside Slave Lake.
When they first moved there, the property had almost no trees.

“As kind of a joke to ourselves, we called it Shady Acres because there was no shade,” she says.
Over the years, the family planted trees and watched them grow, but the name stuck, Robinson says.

When it came time to launch the business, her husband suggested adding “Stitchery.”
It was also her husband who first introduced her to sewing.

After receiving a sewing machine for Christmas, Robinson learned the basics from him before teaching herself the rest through practice, trial and plenty of online tutorials.

“If something doesn’t work, I’ll look it up for hours until I figure it out,” she says.
Although Shady Acres Stitchery is still in its first year, Robinson already has big dreams.

She hopes to attend more markets across Alberta, launch an online store and eventually see her products stocked in retail shops.

“My goal is to also make enough that I can stay home,” she says. “Or even better, that both of us can be home and run a family business together.”

For now, Robinson is happy to keep doing what she loves: turning colourful fabric into something beautiful.

Shady Acres Stitchery can be found on Facebook and Instagram, with an online store planned for the future.

Julia Magsombol
Lakeside Leader