Site Information

What : Ottawa Artisans is an online marketplace where local makers showcase their products for local buyers. The emphasis is on promoting what our awesome artisans do in Ottawa and linking them with interested buyers in the region.

Why: As I was part of multiple ‘’Handmade’’ groups on Facebook, I noticed a few problems:

  • Sellers had to be online 24/7 to respond first to request for items.

  • Unless Sellers wanted to put money into making their own website, they mostly operated through a FB page with an outside payment portal (which made inventory display difficult.)

  • Sellers sometimes had issues with securing payments from the buyers and would make custom items just to have them cancelled at the last minute, losing their time and their material.

  • Buyers had no way of looking for items in one place and comparing the different artisans to see who they wanted to work with. It was often who was first to reply to their post who received the job.

  • The buyers request post were repetitive as items were often requested multiple times instead of having a coherent search engine.

  • Buyers didn’t have a centralized place to leave feedback on their purchases.

How: Here is where I come in!

Ottawa Artisans:

  • Allows sellers to create a store with as many items as they want for free.

  • Processes payments through Shopify (credit card, paypal,etc.).

  • Drives traffic to the site through social media for its makers: Facebook, Instagram– featuring artisan’s products multiple times a month in posts on different platforms.

  • Manages the sellers inventory, invoices, and all other shop admin.

In exchange, we take a 15% commission (*Please note, starting on January 1st 2021, the commission will be 15% + HST) on the items as they are sold, which allows us to host the site and do all the marketing, SEO, etc.


We do not manage product shipping. Instead, we encourage our users to write a clear pick-up or drop-off policy on their page and continue operating as they have for delivery. Sellers can also offer a flat shipping rate through a variant (see how to add products) which will be added to the buyers' cart. (Please note that the shipping included in that fashion is also under the 15% commission)

We do not require exclusivity. You are welcome to create a small store with some popular items and keep your existing channels to see how it all performs.

Who am I?

Hi! I’m Andréanne King, mother of a 2 years old little girl with a baby boy born in May 2020! I am in Ottawa for my husband’s work with the military, but I have grown-up in Gatineau so I know the area really well! I started crafting as I was on my maternity leave and really enjoyed discovering how to sew and make things with my own hands. After selling a few items through a consignment store (at a 50% commission!!!!), I wanted to find a better way to share my hard work. I’m also the Founder of Blended Play (www.blendedplay.com) – a successful online gaming platform for the classroom which has more than 7500 registered members.