Who am I?
My name is Amy Glade and I’m from Alexandria, MN. I’m a former kindergarten teacher (6 years in Fergus Falls, one year in Alexandria) who left the field after the 2019-2020 school year. I actually put in my resignation just a couple weeks before Covid came along. Due to the increasing demands of my husband’s job, I wanted to be more available for my own children who are now 11 and 13.
I’ve been creating and selling teaching resources on Teachers Pay Teachers since 2014 and I started a teaching blog (www.littleplayfullearners.com) in 2019. I also have a budding YouTube channel (though its success is somewhat accidental and perplexing to me…). I have no particular experience or training in blogging, website design, or video creation, but I’ve really enjoyed playing around with it all and teaching myself some new skills!
How did We Make It MN come about?
The idea for We Make It MN came along thanks to my sister-in-law, who posted a picture on Facebook of some locally-made goat milk lotions and soaps that she purchased. I had no idea anything like that was made locally, and it struck me – how do you even find something like that without already knowing it exists?
I thought it would be really nice to have some sort of database where people could find locally made goods, and I did a quick Google search – nothing much came up, other than listings of well-established brick-and-mortar shops. So I decided, why not create one myself? Everything fell together really quickly – the name, the logo, everything! And it’s been so much fun seeing all of the cool things being made right here in our local Minnesota communities.
I hope We Make It MN becomes a powerful tool for shoppers and sellers alike. Take a look around, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me!