Saskatchcushion: The Land of Living Skies in Pillow Form

Inspired by Saskatchewan’s small towns and people’s love for where they live, coupled with Ellen Degeneres’ bungled attempt to pronounce our province’s name, Catherine Higginbotham, wanted to create something that could feature any town, no matter how small. So, it was with these thoughts, Saskatchcushion was born!

Originally from England, Higginbotham first sat down at a sewing machine in high school, during a timed A-Level art exam. Years later, in 2007, Higginbotham moved to a farm near Eatonia where she currently lives with her family, sheep, chickens, turkeys, ducks, pony, llama and three giant sulcata tortoises! It was in 2016, she began making her charming little cushions in the shape of Saskatchewan. “Small towns and communities are my favourite thing about Saskatchewan!” said Higginbotham.

Each cushion is made to scale and features a map on the front and a comprehensive list of the province’s communities on the back. The cushion is then personalized to tell the person’s story and their town(s) or land location.

One particular cushion that sticks out in Higginbotham’s mind, was one ordered as a gift for someone’s 90-year-old mother. “She had lived in nine places throughout Saskatchewan and her daughter wanted them all on a pillow. It was like her life story on a cushion, I was told she loved it and it even made her cry because it meant so much and brought back so many memories,” said Higginbotham.

Higginbotham hasn’t just stopped at Saskatchewan shaped cushions, she also makes Alberta, Manitoba, Yukon and British Columbia ones available to those who aren’t lucky enough to live in the land of the living skies!

In addition to one of her pillows being spotted on an Ellen episode, in December 2017, Saskatchcushion was chosen as the winner of the Small Business Spotlight Opportunity, beating Rebellion Brewery of Regina and Ecobain Naturals of Saskatoon in a voting competition held on Facebook. The prize included free Sasktel services for a year and a promotional video highlighting the chosen company. Play Creative Media came out to Eatonia to film some behind-the-scenes shots of life inside the Saskatchcushion studio. The video was then promoted by Sasktel across social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Currently, Higginbotham has her cushions, Saskatchewan cross-stitch kits, and keychains available on her website. She is bringing in velvet Saskatchewan pencil cases and Saskatchewan cross back aprons.

As a side project, she is planning to hold an art exhibition based on homesteading and the Saskatchewan lifestyle featuring some stained glass pieces she is working on.

For those interested in owning their own little piece of Saskatchewan, you can head over to saskatchcushion.com, or contact catherine@saskatchcushion.com. Be sure to also follow Saskatchcushion on Facebook and Instagram.

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