Serenity West: Creating natural and sustainable apparel and home decor

Sandra McIntyre and Acacia Cresswell are a mother-daughter duo who have teamed up to create the linen-inspired design company Serenity West. Inspired by a West Coast calmness, they create apparel and home decor, using natural and sustainable products. With Serenity West, they want to show that being environmentally conscious does not mean having to compromise design, aesthetics, or serenity.

Tell us about yourself and your business. What’s your core mission and vision?

Serenity West is a Vancouver-based company inspired by a modern, West Coast calmness.

We aim to design and produce home décor and fashion that reflect our concerns and lifestyles. Serenity West has been concerned about our fast fashion attitudes and throwaway lifestyle; we want to create awareness and help change our attitudes.

How did you start your business? What inspired you to take the leap into entrepreneurship?

Immersed in an urban lifestyle, we were looking for an answer to some quiet and solitude – some serenity.  As an Interior Designer, Sandra has long wanted to create products that are both aesthetically pleasing, environmental and serve a function in her own home. We are constantly inspired by nature and the west coast in particular; we wanted to bring that feeling of serenity in nature into the home and to fit a modern lifestyle, balancing work and play.

In the process of thinking about using her favourite fabric (linen) in her home and wardrobe, Sandra approached Acacia to help with marketing and photography. Like any good partnership, each person has their strengths and complementary skills. Our combination of experiences and perspectives made it easy to develop Serenity West together.

Is this a side hustle or your full time job? If it's a side hustle, what is your "day" job?

Sandra has run her own businesses for many years now. In addition to Serenity West, she works as an interior designer in Vancouver, but her main focus is Serenity West.

Acacia was committed to getting Serenity West on its feet before recently getting a job with the Government of Canada. She maintains a full time job while managing SW’s social media and helping with pop-ups and markets, like Made in the 604, on the weekends.

What’s the best part of owning your business? How about the toughest?

The best part is the freedom to create, the freedom to imagine what you want to do and make it a reality! It’s so great to be able to produce what we imagine in Vancouver; everything we need is right here. One struggle we do have, is creating enough time and space for letting our creative thoughts flow and for creating new designs. The logistics of running a small business does take up more time than we would like.

How do you go about creating or designing your product line?

We work together to create designs that work for real people. We are constantly posing the question “what do I really want to wear” or “what do I really want in my home”? We ask these questions because many of us don’t often think creatively about what we want, we may simply settle on a decision based on a couple options put in front of us. We have asked friends and family these questions as well, we want to design pieces that will fill gaps in our wardrobe or in our home - pieces that are durable and beautiful.

We also take a lot of inspiration from nature; the colour, the feeling, the freshness. We spend time considering what we want to wear that is comfortable, stylish and will work in different environments. Natural materials are essential for us and we take this into consideration when creating our designs - the weight, the colour and the feel of the materials. 

What's your definition of success for this business?

Success for us in this business is creating products we are proud of. We want to advocate for slow, ethical and environmental production right here in Canada. If we can help spread the word about producing well-designed products without a huge environmental impact, that is success for us.

What’s next for you, your brand, or your business?

Our goal remains consistent; we wish to design and provide beautiful, sustainable products, whether for the home or to wear, that are easy to care for and feel good. We are currently working on designing with other natural materials like wool and cotton to further develop our clothing line. Stay tuned!

As we strive to combat fast fashion and transcend seasons with our home décor and apparel, we are continuing to talk to family and friends personally, about their concerns and wants concerning these realms. We are always developing accessible styles and looking for places to showcase our products.

How do you connect with the local business community?  

We love to work with other local talent in our community! We participate in pop-ups and markets with designers around the Vancouver area. One of our favourite things about this business is meeting other amazing creators and getting the chance to speak to them, learn about their passions, collaborate with them and even become friends. We are so lucky to be able to work with such talented people when we do photoshoots, pop-up shops and events! 

Any final remarks or anything else you want to share with our Made in the 604 readers? 

We would like to emphasize the quality, originality, and longevity in our products. Our fabrics are tested, washed, and tried to be sure we are providing quality items with the lowest possible environmental impact. We are very grateful for the amazing and abundant support and interest in “Made in Vancouver” designs, designers and makers.

Serenity West will be returning to the Made in the 604 Holiday Pop-up Market on November 30-December 1 at Heritage Hall.