Hello, I’m Tonya and welcome to the Olivia & Queen blog!
My goal for 2026 is to build a profitable handmade shop by reconnecting with my love for fabric, sewing, painting, and other ways of making things. I want to explore a variety of items I can make and sell that align with my own sense of style. I want to launch a new handmade brand and create an online store.
This was sparked by several things. A desire to get outside and participate in some spring markets. I haven’t done a market since before the pandemic and I kinda miss interacting with the public and my handmade friends like Marokel Jewelry.
Another reason is that I have waaaay too much crafty stuff just sitting around and I want to use it. Over my lifetime of making, I’ve collected a lot of fabrics, beads, notions, hat frames, flowers, trimmings, patterns, jars, tins, labels, and more crafty items that I need to put to good use. I also have way too many sewing projects that I purchased the materials to make and never started, or projects I started but never finished. I’ll probably use these to build back a habit of sewing almost everyday.
There are potential health benefits also. My studio is in the attic which means climbing stairs which counts as exercise for me. I’m on a weightloss journey and one of the contributing factors is stress and high cortisol. A study from the National Institute of Health has found that making art can reduce cortisol levels which is really helpful when you’re trying to lose weight. (Source)
Right now, all I have is a name – Olivia & Queen, named after both of my creative grandmothers. I’ll share more about them in a future post.
Part of this journey is about discovering what I can make that will add value to the lives of others. I do want to use up the jars and tins I have so I plan to formulate some new body care products. Plus I really enjoy the research that goes into making those.
Thank you for stopping by. You can also follow along with me on YouTube and TikTok @OliviaQueenHandmade.
