“MOMpreneurs® is thrilled to be partnered with some incredible organizations to bring you an EXCLUSIVE contest that will officially crown Canada’s ONE & ONLY MOMpreneur of the Year with the MOMpreneur Award of Excellence!”

Voting closes on January 31st!  The Top 10 voted mompreneurs will then be reviewed by our amazing panel of judges, where one woman will be crowned Canada’s Mompreneur of the Year at this year’s Conference & Awards Gala on March 2!

www.mompreneuraward.ca

Just go to the website and click on the big, pink “VOTE” tab. Find the ‘Go to’ drop-down menu and find Humblepie! Your vote is very appreciated!

My Bio:
My name is Susan Edwards. I began my career in the creative sector during the summer of 1989, working as a picture-framer for a small art gallery in Lakefield, ON.

Discovering my love for vintage folk art in the early nineties, while employed at a neighbouring antique shop, I worked away in the back studio, restoring and refinishing pieces while listening to crackly, old jazz music.

In ’91 I moved to the UK and spent five years in Sheffield, England, where my career continued as an exhibit designer & picture framer at a contemporary art gallery in Hillsborough.
Soon after, I began working as a freelance decorative artist and designer in cafes, pubs & shops and pre-Victorian homes. Trompe l’oeil, small murals and hand painted details were the designs of choice by innovative clientele steeped in tradition.
Returning to Canada in 1996, I continued my whimsical, decorative artistry in private homes and collections. In 1997 & 2002, I became a full-time mother to two beautiful children.

Becoming a mother definitely made me more environmentally aware and concerned about sustainability.  I have always been eco-minded because I grew up in financial hardship, in a household with frugality and a ‘waste-not, want-not’ mentality. My parents would save piles of newspapers for the local animal shelters, they would re-use bread bags for our lunches and with six children, we were thrift store regulars long before it was a trendy thing to do. I upcycled my first light bulb as a child, creating this crazy looking doll with a shiny, grey face and a mop of orange yarn hair.

I opened Humblepie in June 2011. I wanted to combine the elements of my love of vintage & my creative inner life with sustainability in mind. I decided to name the shop Humblepie to reflect the idea that we really need to be taking a good, long look at our consumer habits and re-think ideas about what it is we really want and need to make ourselves happy. The idea that we must use ‘new’ materials is slowing destroying our environment and demoralizing our world. So, I think we all ought to take a step back and accept that using  post-consumer materials is the humble way to go. Hence the name- Humblepie!

To the rescue: Upcycling!

The thing I love most about upcycling is that the whole concept is inherently creative and it  is becoming increasingly popular among groups and individuals concerned about climate change.  Recycling is great but it requires energy and resources to collect, sort and process unwanted items and waste.

Upcycling is an even greener way of recycling – you find a new purpose for your unwanted items before you chuck them away.  It’s all about taking disposable things and creating something useful  from them. I love people and I love workshops. They are held on Thursday and Friday evenings at 7 pm. Please check my Creative Workshop pages for details. If you have an idea for a workshop that you’d like to be considered, please contact me.

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