Small Business Stories: Nancy Mac of Freon Collective
Nancy Mac and her company, Freon Collective, have come a long way since getting started in 2019—from 3 sets of cotton rounds in her apartment, to selling products in local boutiques and even in some of Canada’s largest retailers. Read on to learn more about Nancy and Freon Collective, and how Spoonflower has supported their growth.
What is Freon Collective?
Freon Collective is a low-waste lifestyle brand that started in 2019. We make toiletry bags, reusable cotton rounds, hair accessories, and other lifestyle goods such as tote bags, tea towels, and more. Prior to opening Freon Collective I was working with a small business that made children’s clothing with Spoonflower fabric. It was a great introduction into the world of fabric printing and custom designs.How does Freon Collective support sustainability efforts?
All of our cotton rounds, face cloths, and scrunchies are made with 100% organic cotton. We produce minimal textile waste by using all materials to their fullest potential, and where we can't use materials, we make sure to repurpose by donating our scraps to local textile programs. We are conscious of the ecological footprint that shipping products causes, and that is why we use compostable shipping mailers and ensure all of our packaging is recyclable and/or reusable.What are your favorite Spoonflower fabrics for your products?
For our personal care-related products we love using something soft such as Organic Cotton Knit for our scrunchies and cotton rounds. For items that will be used more often such as totes and toiletry bags we used fabric with more durability like Cypress Cotton Canvas and Linen Cotton Canvas. In terms of designs, we like to have a mix of everything, from florals to basics, to ones that are more whimsical and fun!Why Spoonflower?
We are super lucky to be able to work with designers from all over the world to curate specific designs for our products! In addition to designing our own surface patterns, some of the designers we work with include Crystal Walen, Andrea Crawford, and Erin Kendal (and many more!). We love the print on demand service, and how Spoonflower has so many different and unique fabric options to choose from. Since using Spoonflower exclusively for our business, we have also been featured in Peppermint Magazine, tested new fabrics, and various other opportunities. Spoonflower has really championed small businesses like ours, and we couldn’t be happier using Spoonflower!What’s your advice for someone starting a small business?
If you’re thinking about starting a handmade business – do it! The hardest part of starting a business is actually starting, because everything else that comes with it will come anyways, and you’ll learn as you go. My main piece of advice is to never stop learning as you run your business though. When I first started Freon Collective we worked with so many of the talented Spoonflower artists to choose our patterns, but over the past 2-3 years I have been learning how to create our own surface design patterns, which has just elevated our brand even more. It’s given some new life and creativity in the brand which would have never happened if I didn’t continue to grow and learn not only as a small business owner but also as a creative artist! You can find Nancy online @freoncollective.
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