When Kelly Bruce was laid off from her job, it ended a 17-year career working in the oilpatch corporate office towers in downtown Calgary. The news came on a Wednesday in January, and at first she was in shock. The next day she was angry. By Friday, she was over it and knew exactly what she was going to do next.

Using her severance pay, Bruce turned her online stationery store from a hobby into a new career.

The website Little Blue Canoe has expanded well beyond stationery to now offer 500 products from more than 75 vendors across Canada and is approaching its 1,000th sale.

"It's really ballooned into something I've never imagined," said Bruce.

Read the full story at cbc.ca.