Sara Moshurchak is the owner of Eyeland Framemakers. Moshurchak and her employees make one-of-a-kind, handcrafted eyeglasses. For 20 years, the business was located on Granville Island in the Net Loft building and called Granville Eyeland.
Moshurchak bought the business in 2007 from the original owner after apprenticing with him. But in 2013, renovations to the Net Loft took a big bite out of Moshurchak’s profits.
“It caused sales to drop almost 50% for the whole year, which put the whole business in a downward tailspin,” Moshurchak said. “I felt like I couldn’t stop the hemorrhaging.”
Moshurchak had been thinking for a few years about moving the shop away from Granville Island. But the dip in business pushed her to go through with that “scary decision.”
The process wasn’t easy. Moshurchak found a bigger and less expensive location in Gastown, but to cover her costs she had to let all of her staff go.
“I had just finished paying off the commercial loan I had used to buy the business and I was completely extended, credit-wise,” she said.
She has since hired four employees. And now that she’s through that crunch period, the effort of making the big change has paid off. She’s saving money in rent and has a more versatile space with a studio in the back and retail in the front.
On Granville Island, which is managed by the federal government’s Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., retailers are required to be open at certain times and on certain days. Now Moshurchak can choose the hours that are best for her business.
She’s also been inspired to push her business to new levels. She’s created her own eyewear collection and plans to partner with a nearby wedding dress designer to create a collection of wedding eyewear.
“All the things I loved about Granville Island are here too – the artisans, the community spirit,” she said.
On finding the right location | “On Granville Island we had much more foot traffic, but a lot of that was just looky-loo, kicking-tires kind of stuff. Down here, we do get tourists coming in but we get way more people coming in looking to buy eyewear. … Gastown, there are a few other optical shops here too, but this area is about style and fashion, and there are lots of other people here who make things.”
Has a work or life challenge taught you a key career lesson? Contact Jen St. Denis at [email protected]
