Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristi & Derek Sahagun
Hi Kristi & Derek, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We actually met over twenty years ago as seniors in our high school broadcast class. We clicked right away and have been together ever since! We both decided to pursue degrees in multimedia production and found a shared passion for prop making and costume and set design. As we were starting our professional careers after graduating college, we each went in slightly different directions, but we were always working on projects together. Fast forward several years, we had just moved to Utah together and gotten married, and we were ready for our next adventure. At this point, Kristi had had several Etsy shops and we had both held various creative potions, so we decided the time was right to start our own venture. That’s when we created Steadfast Rebels – a hand-crafted business that would be an outlet for anything and everything we want to make and sell. It’s been almost five years since we started and we have no plans on stopping anytime soon! So far we have made thousands of sales in our Etsy shop and participated in the largest craft fair in Utah for three years in a row along with countless other local markets. We love our customers both online and in-person, and we are so grateful for the wonderfully supportive community we’ve found. We look forward to continuing to grow our business and doing more of what we love every day!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
While we have certainly encountered some minor bumps in the road along the way, we more so feel that our journey has been a slow, gradual progression towards our goals. There haven’t been too many major setbacks, but we like to think of our path as a road trip. It’s not going to happen quickly or overnight, and there have been and will be plenty more pit stops (always for snacks haha), but we are constantly doing our best to push ourselves forward. Some seasons feel like more of an uphill battle than others, but we are proud of what we have built together over the past twenty years and we wouldn’t change a single thing about the winding road we’ve taken because it’s made us who we are today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
To quote our friends, “Is there anything you guys can’t do?!” Seriously, though, we like to say that we make all the things because we genuinely love to challenge ourselves. We are both endlessly inspired by the world around us and love discovering new creative outlets. We both have years of experience experimenting with different crafts and mediums and coming down to our basement workshop is like coming to play with our favorite toys. Kristi has a particular love for sewing, textiles and design, while Derek has a background in digital illustration and thrives from turning his art into physical products. We sell art prints, bags, jewelry, stickers, custom commissioned costumes, cosplay accessories, apparel that we screen print ourselves, hats, roller skate accessories, buttons, postcards, framed art, patches – ALL of which we designed ourselves and made with our own hands. Basically, we have done, and we continue to do, A LOT! We have started making a name for ourselves by having a booth at markets that is full – in a good way! – and that is somehow both eclectic and relatable, unique and familiar. We are known for making all the things, but most importantly, for making people feel welcome and recognized, for being wholly ourselves, genuine and passionate and willing to share our world with whoever comes into our space.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
We have both been makers our entire lives, and we both have distinct memories of wanting to make things from a very young age. For Derek, it was making ramps for his Tech Deck finger boards, and for Kristi it was designing and making clothes for her Barbie dolls. It wasn’t that we didn’t have access to any number of options in the stores, or that our parents wouldn’t buy them for us, it was more the fact that we had ideas in our heads that we wanted to bring to life. In the spirit of all DIY’ers, we wanted to make it ourselves, and we really haven’t stopped since.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.steadfastrebels.etsy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steadfastrebels
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steadfastrebels
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@steadfastrebels
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/7D6f1R51Bcs8dT8UGoD6iQ
