We sat down (figuratively) with the founder, developer, packer, photographer, accountant, and quality control department of YXE Creations. Spoiler: they are the same person.
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Let's start with the obvious. YXE, some people have no idea what that means.
It's the airport code for Saskatoon. Every city in Canada has one, and ours is YXE. It's a bit of an insider thing, if you're from here, you get it immediately. If you're not, now you do. It felt right.
Your resume says you have two degrees. Mechanical and Software Engineering. How does someone with that background end up selling glitter acrylic sheets?
*(laughs)* That question assumes those things are mutually exclusive. Laser cutting is literally applied engineering, you're working with tolerances, material properties, kerf widths, heat dissipation. And running an e-commerce store in 2026 without understanding systems and infrastructure is its own kind of IT project. The degrees aren't decoration. They're why I can build and run all of this alone without outsourcing anything and in addition work on my passion project - mylasertools.com, free parametric design generator!
But also Glitter is just fun. There's no engineering justification for glitter. Sometimes you just need glitter.
You built and maintain your own website. What does that actually mean, most store owners are on a Shopify template and calling it done.
Setting up a website and getting traffic and sales are two completely different things. It’s not just about using a Shopify template, it’s about making sure the UI/UX works, the site converts, and the SEO is optimized so Google actually ranks it.
That includes improving mobile navigation, adding new features, and building tools like a material selector for UV prints. Even earning the Top Google Store badge that we have isn’t automatic, it comes from ongoing optimization and performance.
The store started because you had a bad shipping experience?
The most unglamorous origin story imaginable, yes. I needed craft supplies. I waited two weeks for them to arrive from the other side of Canada. Two weeks. So I decided to solve it. If you're in Central Canada and you need laser supplies, you shouldn't be waiting two weeks. That still drives every decision I make about inventory and fulfillment.
You handle everything yourself. Orders, fulfillment, quality control, social media, the website, is there anything you actually outsource?
Nothing. Every order that goes out has been touched by exactly one pair of hands. I check every sheet before it ships. I pack every box. I respond to every message. There is no team. There is no virtual assistant. There is no social media manager posting on my behalf. When you message YXE Creations Craft Hub, you get me. I think that matters. I know what's in stock because I physically see it. I know what's good quality because I test it myself. That's not a system that scales forever, but right now it means I can stand behind every single thing I sell.
What actually fails quality control? What are you rejecting before it goes out?
Masking defects are the biggest issue, even if the sheet itself is fine, I won’t ship it if the masking is damaged. If it’s the last one in stock, I always reach out to the customer and offer a discount.
Plywood can sometimes get minor damage during shipping, so I check every sheet. Leatherette is usually the most durable, I haven’t had a bad sheet yet, but I still inspect each one.
You mentioned you wanted to do magical miniatures. What does that actually mean?
So before all of this, before the store, before the operational chaos, I had this vision of making tiny, intricate miniature worlds. Laser-cut and hand-assembled little scenes, fairy-tale adjacent, the kind of thing you put in a glass dome on a shelf. Incredibly detailed, incredibly time-consuming. That's actually what got me into laser cutting in the first place. One day when I get a quiet month, which has not happened yet, I'm going to sit down and make them again. That's the dream that started everything, and it's still there. For now I am enjoying the magic my customers do, each project is so unique, please share yours!
Do you have a favourite material in the shop that you think is criminally underrated?
Leatherette. Without hesitation. Everyone walks in looking for acrylic or plywood, which, fair, acrylic is great, but they completely overlook leatherette unless it's for hat patches and I genuinely don't understand why.
Here's what makes it special: it's soft, it's flexible, it feels premium in your hand. But it's also incredibly durable, more so than you'd expect from something that feels that nice. It engraves beautifully, the laser burns a crisp contrast into the surface that looks intentional and finished. And here's the part people don't expect: you don't even need a laser to use it. You can cut it with scissors. Regular scissors. That means it's accessible to crafters who don't own a machine at all.
The other thing, and this is a practical game-changer, ours comes with an optional adhesive backing. So you're not hunting for the right glue or figuring out how to bond it to something. You peel, press, and you're done. That opens up so many applications: keychains, ornaments, bookmarks, bag tags. And because it's soft, those finished pieces won't scratch, won't crack in the cold, and won't feel plastic. A leatherette bookmark feels like something you bought at a boutique. A leatherette keychain survives two years on a set of keys and still looks good.
The textures and finishes are the last piece, denim, carbon fiber, metallic, holographic, suede-effect, it's not just "faux leather brown." There's something for every aesthetic. I think people assume it's a niche material and skip it. It's actually one of the most versatile things in the store.
Last question. If YXE Creations Craft Hub were a character in one of the books in your library, who would it be?
Not a character, but the map at the beginning of the book. The one you keep flipping back to. It doesn't tell the story, it makes the story possible. Without it you're just wandering. With it, suddenly everything has a place.
That's the vibe I'm going for.
