Interview with Major Artery Collective
Biography
Sinthu and Leah met while preparing for medical school interviews and were coincidentally accepted to the same school, campus, and academy at UofT. They both grew up crafting and making DIY projects in their spare time and often turned to it during stressful times of the school year. Once the pandemic hit, they found themselves creating more, which sparked the idea to start an online shop. Lots of research, practise, and experimenting later, Major Artery Collective was born.
Q: How did Major Artery Collective start?
Sinthu: We were just winging it to be honest. Leah and I have always been very crafty; once COVID started and we weren’t spending time commuting, and with all of the other stressors going on, we turned to crafting in our free time. We started joking about it –like, “We should just start an Etsy shop together!” But the joke just kept returning, so one day we decided to give the business a try. We spent a couple of months trying to perfect what we were trying to sell before starting it up.
Leah: We started the business with crafts such as polymer clay earrings, embroidery, and patches. Now it’s slowly morphing into new things, such as beaded earrings and embroidered earrings. We’re also looking at what people are interested in, and what we’re inspired by, as the shop continues to grow.
S: I think we also just ran out of space to hold onto our own crafts, so we thought we should just start giving it to people.
Q: What was the inspiration behind the business name?
S: From day one, we wanted to come up with a pun. Medical school takes up your entire life in a way; sometimes it feels like we’re only medical students outside of this art business. So we thought, it would be ideal if we had a medical pun. But it was a struggle. We were literally googling art puns, anatomy puns, medicine puns...
L: And cross-checking what was available on Instagram and Etsy. It felt like every name we had was taken.
S: We had just finished the cardiology unit, and we started joking about it: minor ARTery... MAJOR artery? Then we added on “collective” because it turns out there was an account made just two weeks prior for Major Artery!
L: We hope that people get the “Art” in the pun. It’s a little cheesy but it’s loved by us now.
Q: How do you navigate your relationship as business partners/co-founders along with your friendship?
S: [To L] Is this our ideal interview question, to talk about how we’re friends?
L: It might be [laughs]. There’s a funny story about how we met. When I was living in Halifax and Sinthu was in Hamilton, we found each other on Reddit and did medical school interview prep together. Imagine our surprise when we got into the same school, campus, and academy! I feel like we’re friends first before business partners because it’s more important for us to maintain our friendship. What’s really good is that we both understand the other person’s stressors because we’re in the same program too. We understand that the neurology unit right now is a focus and we know when to put crafting and business stuff on the back burner. It helps that we’re both open and empathetic with each other and our mindsets. It’s good practice too, to make sure that you’re growing as a friend, because if you’re a respectful friend, you can be a helpful business partner at the same time.
S: From early on, we were very realistic. [We knew that] there might be a time when the stressors of the business could impact our relationship. We talked about an exit strategy for the business, since we don’t know what’s going to happen once clerkship or residency starts. Although our friendship comes first, these are the sort of things that can impact our relationship if we’re not on the same page. We’re also lucky because we don’t depend on this as our primary source of income.
L: Something helpful too is that when we talk about our to-do lists, we know each other’s strengths and what we both enjoy. We’re respectful of each other’s skills and do not take things personally. We can be super blunt and honest with each other.
S: I love you, girl.
L: I love you too!
Q: Can you tell us more about your design process in terms of brainstorming ideas, acquiring materials, and production?
L: We both have our subset of crafts. I work more on embroidery and wood-work and Sinthu focuses more on clay and beaded earrings. Regarding materials, I like to avoid Mr. Bezos’ website as much as I can. Ideally, I’ll buy local. Production-wise, my inspiration comes from the materials themselves. For example, when I do woodwork, I really like to show the natural wood and the stain. And with embroidery, I like to embroider what I love. So when summer was ending, I embroidered an iced coffee because I was sad that summer was gone.
S: Similar process for me, I get inspiration from everywhere. I have an ongoing note on my phone because I’ll wake up at 3am and I’m like, “oh my gosh, I can make earrings out of this,” and blurry-eyed I’ll just type it into my notes, because otherwise I’ll forget it. Now I have easily over 200 ideas. I’m thinking about doing a collection inspired by my ethnic background. I am Sri Lankan Tamil ... so I started thinking about the clothes that I wear and how a Sari can inspire earrings. Likewise, our personal priorities also shine in our business, like recycling fabrics and buying my beads from local Indigenous beaders.
Q: Do you have any favourite products? Are your favourite products in line with what is bestselling?
L: We had a giveaway with six items and both of us thought that these two [items] would go first, since we were both in love with these two in particular. But they were the last to go. It’s so interesting to see what people pick. I really like these earrings that someone called my “sexy bacon earrings” on their Instagram – they’re wooden, wavy, rectangular earrings. Also, Sinthu made me [the earrings I am wearing now] for my birthday that I love – they’re a transparent tear-drop shape.
S: Early on we realized that less is more in terms of selling. For clay and beaded earrings, the things that sell the quickest are the simplest to make – one solid colour, a basic shape. Usually for launches, I’ll try to split it in half: things that I like to make, a complicated technique for example, and much more simple designs that will sell.
Q: Did either of you have any background in business? What was the process of starting a small business?
S: Neither of us have a background. I think we just started and then kind of winged it. When we first started, we [knew] we needed to get a website and domain and do product photography, etc. There’s always a gazillion things to do. But at one point, you just have to start. Leah and I officially registered our business just two weeks ago. In terms of what we had to get ready to run the business, social media [was one of them].
L: Yeah, I like what Sinthu said about just starting. I was really dragging my feet, and I remember Sinthu just saying that we are never going to be completely ready. Even if you have a handful of products, just drop them and see where it goes. And it’s also nice to know that if something goes haywire, it is not the end of the world.
S: And Youtube is your best friend! Truly, anything you want to get started, there are Youtube videos for... The other day we spent two hours trying to figure out how to make a TikTok. Apparently we are not Gen Z. Small businesses tend to do best when there is a bit of your personality shown on social media. But we don’t necessarily want to talk about or rely on how we’re medical students because there are a lot more aspects to what makes us who we are. We’re trying to build a brand that represents us while not focusing on all of the things outside of the art.
Q: Do you have a favourite memory or highlight so far since starting the business?
L: This may not be my very favourite memory, but it was fun. Before we even validated that we were going to start a business, we went to Michaels together, and we spent like 300 dollars and 5 hours in Michaels!
S: We lost track of time. At one point, we looked at the clock and we realized we were four hours in. And neither of us suggested leaving!
L: We closed down the club at Michaels! [laughs]
S: I think one of my favourite memories, based on the influx of serotonin we had that day, is this one day when we both got our first sales from strangers, very very early on. I just remember both of us were so excited because we were both like, “oh my gosh, there are strangers who actually like our work!”
L: That was a good day! I remember when we first started, both of us felt like every piece that we made wasn’t good enough and that we had to give free stuff away with every order that we sold. Something I learned was knowing the value that we have. Our products, and the time and material we’re putting in, has value. Our creative input has value. We still really like to give out freebies to our supporters though. For example, [someone] in our class bought a pair of earrings and the next week she bought another pair of the same earrings but just in a bigger size. So I made her these custom fork and spoon earrings, and we posted them on Instagram. She was the only one who commented, saying, “These are so cute.” [And I was thinking], “Little does she know these are for her!”
S: Also, once in the same week, both Leah and I saw our classmates wearing our earrings and we were like, “Our things are out in the wild!”
Q: Where do you see Major Artery Collective going in the future?
S: This is something we discussed from the very beginning: having our business represent us. Both of us are into social justice. Once we break even, we will start donating 10% each month to a different cause that we care about. We’re actually starting that this week! For the launch later today, we have one collection where all of the profits will be going towards the Mi’kmaw fisherman in Nova Scotia. Although we haven’t had a sit down “where do we see ourselves in 10 years-type talk,” we have joked that if we end up in specialities with wacky hours, we can do Major Artery on the side!
L: [Working on Major Artery] is one of those things that’s nice to do because it forces us to do the things that we really like. Knowing that we have a shop drop coming up forces me to do things that I enjoy.
S: Going back to the point about how we want the business to grow with us, who we are as people influences our business decisions. One day we are going to be doing interviews for residency. We are already thinking of doing collections for professional earrings and doing a discounted rate for medical students who are interviewing for residency. And maybe for every pair of earrings we sell, giving free pairs to agencies that work with women to help them find employment.
L: We were also talking about making custom jewelry that matches with an occasion or outfit.
S: Which Amazon can’t give you, y’all!
L: Jeff Bezos doesn’t know much about clay, let me tell you that for a fact!
Q: Any words of advice for students wanting to set up a small crafts-based business?
S: First off, just do it. Once you get the basics down, once you’ve done your basic experimentation with the products you’re selling, I promise you there is someone out there who wants your project. Second piece of advice is: it might seem like common sense, but do not copy other people. Not only is it unethical, but it is also limiting your own creativity. If you’re so used to piggy-backing off of other people’s ideas, the second that influx stops coming in, you’re stuck. Also, enjoy the stuff you are making, and that comes with enjoying the ideas you come up with.
L: Something that’s tricky for beginners, something I’m still struggling with, is: don’t underprice your products. A lot of people that are starting out will have a product they’ve spent 20 hours on and will charge $25...but that is not appropriate. It goes hand in hand with understanding your value and making sure that you are treating yourself with the same kindness that you are treating another local artist. Something we learned too – maybe Sinthu wants to talk about in terms of cultural appreciation vs cultural appropriation, and giving respect where respect is due....
S: Over the summer, one of the things I learned to create was beaded earrings. There’s two main types: one is flat-beading, and the other is fringe, which is more universal. Flat beading involves sewing beads onto a thick material to create a design, whereas fringe beading involves hanging strings of beads onto a beaded base and is usually stitched together. I noticed that many fringe-based earrings were made by Indigenous folks, and it made me wonder if this was Indigenous-based work or if it was common to the broader community as well. So I did a deep dive over the course of many weeks, researching the topic in an effort to do my due diligence. I remember being stressed at first, calling up Leah every 3 days....
L: But then she reached out to people more involved in these communities in an effort to learn from them, to ensure that we weren’t overstepping into traditional cultural practises and being disrespectful. PSA: neither Sinthu nor I are Indigenous.
S: I reached out on discussion forums online, read papers on beading in North America, its roots and history, which helped me come to the conclusion that you have to be careful; some designs are Indigenous and very specific to certain tribes (certain colours, patterns, materials) but some are much more broad and have universal origins. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what that boundary is; when am I crossing over into territory that isn’t mine versus what basics can I learn from other beaders and apply my own twist to?
L: It’s nice to know that we can appreciate the art and learn from each other while also making sure that we’re still respectful.
Q: Any other words of advice?
S: Join other creative groups – collaboration, not competition. I’ve gained so much information and support from other people who just “get it.”
L: Imposter syndrome exists in the small business world too! If you start to create something, it [and you] have worth and you deserve to be a part of the community.
