Den Designs honours a father’s memory
Den Designs started as a project to showcase Erin Holm’s family photos. A creative outlet while caring for her father in his last few weeks. Holm created wood prints using family photos, memories with her father. They were gifts for family and friends.
After her father passed in 2016, Holm started creating prints with her own photography and friends wanted to buy them. She named her company Den Designs. Den in honour of her late father, Dennis.
Holm dedicated her evenings and weekends to her art.
“Every evening and weekend I was in the wood shop and every weekend I was on adventures or travels capturing images along the way,” says Holm. “Every trip I was adding to my gallery”
Orders began rolling in when Den Designs joined Instagram.
Local stores discovered her art and began carrying it. Den Designs quickly expanded to stores in Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C..
At first, Holm was still working her 9-5.. But the orders kept coming in and the work began to pile up. Within six months, she was working full-time on Den Designs and hiring casual staff to help in the shop, cutting wood and other shop related jobs to help with production.
In 2018, Holm moved to the Yukon. Her parents had spent some time in the territory and loved it. Holm always kind of wanted to move up north and try it.
“My dad always said that Yukon would probably be my place, but I'd need to go see for myself,” says Holm.
Two years later, six stores across the Yukon carry Den Designs pieces — five in Whitehorse, one in Dawson City. Holm has focused on a business-to-business model, retailers place large scale orders to sell directly to customers.
When COVID-19 hit, and when many businesses were forced to close, Den Designs lost all of its spring orders from retailers. Holm says the first few months were pretty devastating.
The company worked with the Yukon University PIVOT program to build a more consumer-based website where people can choose an image from the Den Designs gallery , select their wood and place an order.
“We've tried to pivot and make ourselves more accessible to consumers,” says Holm. “Focusing on our retailers, it’s definitely something that's been on the backburner for a long time. And we finally got there, which is amazing.”
Den Design’s new website will launch soon. And today, Holm’s pieces can be found in 24 stores across western Canada, as well as Simons, the large Quebec-based fashion retailer..
Ten per cent of Den Designs sales are donated to cancer lodges across western Canada. Lodges are a home away from home for cancer patients who need to travel for treatment. The funds help improve the lives of residents at the lodge. All donations are made in memory of her father.
For more information, like and follow Den Designs on Facebook and Instagram and visit her website: www.dendesigns.ca