My story
Hi I’m Crystal. I’m the designer and maker behind Prairie Chick Prints. Born and raised in Alberta, a city girl who loved spending weekends on the family farm. Gifted with my dad’s sense of humour and my mom’s love of pretty things.
I’ve always loved creating. Originally I went to the Alberta University of the Arts to become a painter. Intimidated by galleries I quickly chickened out! However, I was intrigued by graphic design because it was creative, yet practical. This led me to a Bachelor of Design from the Alberta University of the Arts. As a graphic designer in Calgary, Alberta for 10 years, I had the privilege of working for some pretty large companies and on some amazing corporate projects. But there was something missing working for someone else.
After our first child we decided to move “home” closer to family. With little babes came sleepless nights. On one of those sleepless nights, I decided to try to sell my greeting card designs that I made over the years for friends and family on Etsy. That’s when Prairie Chick Prints – a line of charming & cheeky goods by Crystal Derouin Design Inc. was born! Going back into the corporate world just didn’t appeal to me anymore. I’ve had a lot of fun along the way, including being featured twice in the Edmonton Made Gifted catalogue, winning the Women of Inspiration SupportHER™ Award and being featured in the award winning book Women Driving Change. Most recently I was nominated for an Alberta Women Entrepreneurs Award! Almost 9 years later you can now find my line of stationery and gifts in over 300 locations across the world!
Life with my hot-stuff hubby, three busy kids and the cutest puppy is where I get much of my inspiration. It’s so much fun. I hope you enjoy my shit as much as I love creating it!
Crystal Pretula
Founder of Prairie Chick Prints a design line by Crystal Derouin Design Inc. aka the head honcho, the big cheese, the mother fucking queen bee. The OG and copyright holder of the rustic sublimation mug!