Kirsten Hill and Kiera Charette founded Cut & Stitch Co a few months ago after discovering sewing as an outlet for mental health. Their products are now available online through their Instagram page and at local stores throughout the city (submitted photo/Cut&Stitchco)

By Tiffany Goodwein

From best friends to entrepreneurs: Two local women turn creative outlet into business

Dec 14, 2020 | 6:00 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- 22-year-old Kirsten Hill and Kiera Charette boldy remember the very first day they met.

“We met on the very first day of grade 6. My first impression of her was I walked into the room and she goes, ‘oh she’s so pretty,” laughed Hill.

Since then, the two have become an inseparable pair, spending almost every day together as best friends.

Cut & Stitch co founders Kirsten Hill and Kiera Charette have been best friends since the 6th grade (submitted photo/Cut&Stitchco)

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat's Mustard Seed adding new shelter spaces at Alberta government's request

2h ago

HOLIDAYS

Medicine Hat Kiwanis hosting Christmas dinner, applications due Friday

8h ago

IN THE COMMUNITY

'Compassionate Friends' offer peer support for bereaved in Medicine Hat

Dec 11, 2024

(submitted photo/Cut&Stitchco)

“I would say it’s more than a friendship, it’s more like we are sisters like I’ve never had such a close bond with someone ever in my life,” said Charette.

Their close bond was made even stronger, after the pair endured an unimaginable tragedy after Kirsten lost her brother Nick in May to suicide.

“It’s been really, really, hard obviously, every single day is tough. Me and my family miss him more than anything,” said Hill.

Distraught and in mourning the two best friends took up sewing to take their minds off the pain of losing their brother and friend.

“We started just as an outlet for mental health. Things were just pretty tough after Nick passed away and we were just trying to find things to do that made us smile rather than sit and be sad all the time,” said Charette.

The two had never sewn before. They spent their spare time in front of the machine with fabric and learning step-by-step on how to sew on YouTube.

“Once we started sewing honestly we just had so much fun doing it together. We would just turn a movie on and watch it together while we sewed and it honestly just took our mind off everything and we would just have so much fun doing it,” Hill said.

Little did they know, their little hobby would turn into a business. Just three months after learning how to sew, Cut & Stitch Co was born.

(submitted photo/cut&stitchco)

“We launched in October. We didn’t actually say our names or who we were until about a month in, we just wanted to see what would happen without our faces being shown, then it kind of blew up,” said Hill.

Their business sells fashionable scrunchies online through Instagram and local shops like Top Notch Custom Kreations and at Salta Gymnastics. For the two best friends their first few sales were ones to remember.

“When we made our first $10.00 we literally took a picture like ‘oh my god we made 10 dollars.’ We weren’t expecting really anything we just did it to make ourselves happy,” said Charette.

(facebook/Cut&Stitchco)

Now with the Holiday season here the two best friends are busier than ever with filling orders.

“We are actually really busy with Christmas orders and trying to keep up. We actually just participated in the Local Love Box, which we sold 25 boxes and that went really well we put three scrunchies in each, and there’s a couple other local businesses that put some things in there, so we were really busy doing that,” said Hill

Scrunchies made by Cut & Stitch Co are also available at shopyxh.ca

To commemorate Nick’s life, the two friends hope to donate 10 per cent of all sales in January which is Nick’s birthday month to a mental health organization in Medicine Hat.