Meet Emma Trapp

It’s February and that means we have a new featured entrepreneur, meet Emma Trapp. Emma lives in Ottawa and started a small shop as a pandemic project. The shop allowed her to showcase her creative side and make unique creations for people. She shared with us a few secrets about what it’s like to work for yourself (even if it is only part-time), the good and the bad! Emma also gave some advice for other women who might be interested in heading down a similar path. Thank you so much for sharing with us Emma and without further ado, meet Emma Trapp.

Name or nickname if you have one:

Emma Trapp

Zodiac sign:

Pisces

What is your relationship with P&S Co.?

Co-founder Brooklyn’s husband Marcus was my husband’s best man at our wedding.

Where do you live and what do you do?

I live in Ottawa with my husband, Matthew, and our two pugs, Otis and Max.

I work for the Federal Government, and I am the founder of EMBRA Creations, a side business I run selling various things I make with my Cricut cutting machine.

What makes you feel pretty and smart? What does it mean to you?

I feel pretty and smart when I achieve success in both my career and personal life or when someone tells me how much they love a custom item I created for them.

Tell us about your shop, what it’s called and how it came to be?

EMBRA Creations

In November 2020, I made a few Christmas ornaments for fun and posted them on Facebook Marketplace to see if anyone would be interested in them. The response I received was overwhelming. From November to December 2020, I made over 600 ornaments. My husband then convinced me to start an Instagram page to showcase all my creative projects that I had previously never shared publicly.

From there, my store began to blow up, with people most gravitating towards custom items featuring something personal they can’t find in traditional retail. Having two pugs that I am obsessed with, it naturally made sense I would end up creating products for animal lovers featuring images of their cats, dogs, horses, and even lizards.

What’s next for you? New projects?

My next big project is updating my digital presence and organizing my pages to make them more user-friendly for people shopping from me. I don’t currently have plans for expansion; I’m just enjoying the size of my business, and the freedom and creativity it gives me.

How do you like being an entrepreneur?

I love that I can control my work and make my own hours.

Can you give us the good and the bad of it? The single best and the worst thing?

Best – seeing the joy when people receive their sweaters.

Worst – the time demand, especially when I’d rather be doing something else.

What would you tell younger women looking to become entrepreneurs, that you might not have followed yourself?

Do what you enjoy doing and what you are interested in. Don’t do what you think people will pay for; you won’t be happy if you end up stuck selling something you don’t even like. Your happiness and enjoyment in it is what is most important.

What is the best word to describe you and why?

Cheerful – I always try to have a positive outlook on life.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Crawling into bed and binge-watching Netflix.

Number one thing on your bucket list right now?

Fitting in some more travel before we decide to settle down and start a family.

What is your favourite thing in your inventory right now?

My custom pet sweaters. Most people never thought they could get the face of the pet they love on a shirt or sweater. Getting to see their reaction and excitement brings me the most enjoyment.

The pet sweaters also lead to a lot of word-of-mouth sales with friends and family wanting to get their pets on clothing. As a result, I’ve seen my sweaters end up all across the country.

What is one thing we didn’t ask but you want people to know about you?

You are allowed to take breaks. Especially if your business is a side gig like mine, it is okay to allow yourself time to breathe to enjoy life outside of your business.