Benincasa Design/Handmade by Mandi

HOW IT STARTED...
My name is Amanda (but you can call me Mandi), and I am a Senior Graphic + Web Designer by trade, and a self-taught Sewist.

2010: My business was originally established when I first began my training program at Durham College for Graphic Design. I started freelancing from the start. I was able to grow my clientele over the next few years specifically in the Wedding & Event Stationery industry which I absolutely loved!

2016: I began designing stationery and gifts to sell on Etsy. I've always loved Stationery and prefer the physical act of writing as opposed to taking digital notes; this paired with my training as a Graphic Designer, it only seemed natural to create these very specific items for our special events while continuing to freelance.

2018: I started working as a Part Time Graphic Designer for a local company; the stability of the schedule and the wonderful work environment is just what I needed after freelancing for so long. I still kept my online stationery shop open, which all all allowed me to continue my full time volunteer work as well.

Then came along 2020.

HOW IT'S GOING...
2020 – 2022: Since my part time "day job" had fully transitioned to working completely from home and doing my volunteer work virtually as well, I found myself at home every day - which to be honest, I don't mind! I'm But the sudden change of circumstances led my creative brain to need to find something new to work on. That's when the Handmade by Mandi division was born, without really realizing what it would grow into at the time.

I decided in April 2020 to buy myself a basic sewing machine. I watched hours upon hours of YouTube tutorials, called my nonna (grandma) for tips & tricks, and finally started making myself and my family some cute handmade face masks.

I remember thinking: I wonder what would happen if I added one of my handmade masks to my online shop... it doesn't hurt to try! So I did, and it blew up - now here I am a few years later with my own fully customized website, retail stockists where customers shop my products in-store, multiple vendor markets under my belt, and dedicated workspaces in our home.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to learn about me! You can view all of my available products at www.BenincasaDesign.com, and currently you can also find a small selection of my items at The Little Pink Brick House retail shop (651 The Queensway, Toronto).

xo -Mandi