Name: Picky Finders Store by Co-Founders Victoria and Dana
Website: https://pickyfinders.com/
Instagram/ Social Handles: https://www.instagram.com/picky.finders
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Picky Finders is a new online store specializing in unique Ukrainian jewelry in Toronto. But there’s more to that.
Picky Finders is about thoroughness in searching for beauty. It’s about the almost surgical precision with which we find real treasures.
It’s about obsession.
Obsession with art pieces that people can wear on themselves due to the creators.
These creators are artists, and we are their gallery.
What inspires you?
The designers we work with. They live and work and create amid the full-scale war with the everyday bombing. And they still haven’t lost faith in beauty, love, and hope. Every time we receive a package from them and we touch this jewelry, we know that it came to life in the most challenging conditions. Their absolutely unstoppable passion for what they’re doing is what inspires us most.
Tell us the story behind your brand/ art.
We moved to Toronto from the beautiful Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia in the summer of 2022. We brought our dog, two cats, and two laptops – the most important. We also brought here an incredible passion for Ukrainian jewelry, for the art pieces of independent creators and artists, you can not help falling in love with.
Back in Ukraine, we already had several jewelry artists whom we adored and from whom we had gorgeous items. When we came to Canada, we started visiting various events, shows, and markets, and we noticed that we couldn’t find anything like that here. So, we felt we wanted to bring it here and show it to the local audience. Especially after we visited our first FAT in 2023. We saw these amazingly beautiful, stylish, and open-minded people who visit the shows, and it just came to us – we want them to wear our favourite Ukrainian jewelry!
And so, the story of the Picky Finders store began.
What’s one piece of advice you would give someone starting out in your field?
Do what you actually believe in. Customers smell fake, and that is great. It gives you a chance to build something meaningful.
Even if it’s just a small store, you still can make a difference and conquer people’s hearts: by being true to your values, by being honest with your clients, by providing the highest quality of service, and maybe even by addressing social issues you care about. There’s always a place in the website’s main menu for one more section – make it important not only for your profits.
What do you love most about FAT?
The people. Their open-mindedness, passion for beauty and their own style, absolute fearlessness when it comes to creating and wearing art pieces. When you walk through the crowd at FAT, you see all the styles and looks you can only imagine. They are all so different, and yet united by this irresistible passion for self-expression. It’s truly amazing.
What does 2025 hold for you?
Hopefully, more and more FAT collaborations. We want to be as present at the Toronto market as possible, so we’ll be seizing opportunities to show our jewelry more, but still within our fashion/art niche.
Our motto is “Be picky. Don’t settle for average”, and it applies to every aspect of our lives, so we’ll keep being picky in terms of where to present our products offline.
Interested in seeing more Faces of FAT? Click Here!
