About Southeast Sparrow
Let me tell you how Southeast Sparrow started by introducing myself. Hi, I'm Savannah from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and it's lovely to have you here!
I make design and create all the pieces here at Southeast Sparrow. If you had told my teenage self that I would be doing this for a living, I wouldn't have believed you!
My family and I immigrated here in Canada when I was a teen. I was born in the Philippines and also lived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
I have always wanted to create. I felt lost that I wasn't talented in anything particular or couldn't even find that "craft" I could be passionate about.
One day after having moved to our then-family home with my husband as newlyweds in Toronto, I wandered into a bead shop nearby. There I fell in love with so many possibilities! I was able to teach myself how to create simple beaded jewellery (thanks to the internet). It was then I truly found a craft, I was passionate about.
Southeast Sparrow was born because during the pandemic, I challenged myself in my beadworking skills. Beading became my therapy. I was coping with the grief from my Dad passing away and had so much anxiety with the state of the world at that time.
In order to keep creating, I had to figure out a way to make money so I can buy more supplies! So I made that decision to sell my pieces. Being a hyper-focused type, I bit the bullet and open up my website.
Why the name Southeast Sparrow?
Southeast - geographical location where I immigrated from - The Philippines which is in Southeast Asia.
Sparrow - The sparrow reminds me of my value. Taken from the bible verse "Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows" (full verse in Luke 12:6-7 for context) I drew comfort in that, especially during the darkest times in my life.
The pieces I design reflect the glimmer of hope, the joy in the mundane, the beauty in simple things. The hopeful message is the goal that speaks through the design and especially through the colour story of the beads. So that when you wear it, you can feel inspired.
I now live in Ottawa with my family of 7 - hubby, 3 kids, and 2 cat babies. My husband supports me with anything display needs related and setting up at the markets. My teen daughter also assists with the market days and she's wonderful in helping you out with finding a great piece.
Since Southeast Sparrow came from a place of recovery & healing, my goal is to also support local Charities that helps those in mental health distress, homelessness, trauma, addiction and take them to a place of recovery. To learn more about our giving initiative, see https://southeastsparrow.com/pages/giving.
I'm hoping I can inspire you to pursue that act that can give you that moment of tranquility. For myself, it was beading and I am honoured to share that joy with you.
xoxo
https://www.facebook.com/SoutheastSparrowJewelry/.
