From St. Catharines to YouTube Fame: LaurDIY’s Journey

Lauren Riihimaki looks back fondly at the times she crafted embroidered friendship bracelets – one of the first things she picked up as a kid during summer camp at the YMCA of Niagara in Ontario.

She would eventually create videos “for years” showing how to make those bracelets – her initial steps into the world of You Tube.

Little did she realize that she was stepping into a new wave of do-it-yourself (DIY) You Tubers when being a content creator wasn’t seen as a traditional career path.

Now, at 32, she’s one of the most well-known faces in crafting and lifestyle content, known as Laur DIY.

Residing in Los Angeles, Laur DIY boasts over 8.8 million followers on her You Tube channels. She’s teamed up with brands like Disney, Starbucks, Pop Sockets, and Ardene, a fashion retailer.

She even launched her own collection of onesies and sleepwear through Ardene.

Lauren Riihimaki first partnered with Canadian fashion retailer Ardene in 2017, where she released a collection of onesies and pajama sets. (Submitted by Lauren Riihimaki)

Returning Home

In some recent videos, she shared her experiences from visiting St. Catharines again as part of rediscovering her love for creating things.

In one clip, she gave an honest look into her childhood – a time when creativity “was untouched by expectation, analytics or outside judgement.”

“I have quite literally the best job in the entire world,” Riihimaki told in an interview. “There is nothing that I would rather be doing, but there is a lot more responsibility tied to it.”

She reminisced about her younger days spent in art classes at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School where she could create “with no pressure.”

“It was just an entirely different era of creating here,” she said. “It was just for the love of it and that was, I think, something that I needed to be reminded of. That is St. Catharines for me.”

Her mom Gail Riihimaki, also affectionately referred to by fans as Mom DIY, mentioned how her daughter always leaned towards coloring books and craft kits as a toddler before moving on to altering clothes and teaching music at the Niagara Conservatory of Music during her teenage years.

Laur DIY’s parents Gail, left, and Greg Riihimaki at a cross country meet in Alexandra Public School, now Harriet Tubman Public School. (Submitted by Lauren Riihimaki)

“It’s funny because neither my husband nor I are particularly artistic,” Gail told . “Being a social media influencer is a big surprise. Guidance counsellor didn’t talk about that.”

A Different Career Route

Riihimaki realized early on that she wanted to be part of the creative industry; interior design and graphic design were top choices when asked about career goals in Grade 5.

With three generations living in St. Catharines behind her, she moved to Toronto at 18 eager for new experiences while studying graphic communications management at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Pumped about living independently in such a vibrant city soon turned into creative burnout for Riihimaki.

Gail described how the program was both beneficial and challenging for her daughter since it pushed her to explore various ways for her creativity to shine through.

“When she just started posting videos for her own pleasure nobody knew-not even Lauren.. The world didn’t even know at that point that it could eventually turn into a career,” said Gail.

After graduating in 2015, Riihimaki decided to dive headfirst into content creation full-time and announced on her Draw My Life video from 2016 that she’d be moving closer to other creators by relocating to Los Angeles.

WATCH | Lauren Riihimaki and her mother discuss what she misses from home:<img src="https://ontariochronicle. ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1773991084_165_default. jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" loading="lazy"/

You Tuber Laur DIY shares the one thing she has her mom fly out from St. Catharines to Los Angeles

You Tuber Lauren Riihimaki also known as Laur DIY along with her mom chat about their adventures with fans from Niagara Region plus share their favorite spots back home.

‘Niagara Region Girls Unite’

This month marked ten years since then; Laur DIY posted on Instagram and Tik Tok showcasing winter outfits during another short trip back home which sparked reactions filled with pride among fans from Niagara Region.

A commenter who attended Niagara College expressed constant amazement over discovering she’s from St. Catharines while another chimed in saying: “Niagara region girlies unite.”

The recent visit was meant for celebrating family moments-specifically welcoming a new baby cousin-and spending time together has become increasingly important as she’s matured over time.

Lauren Riihimaki poses alongside parents outside their house back home-from ’93 on left side & ‘19 on right side (CBC blurred house number). (Submitted by Lauren Riihimaki)

The You Tuber continues exploring fresh creative projects like flipping rooms around within homes including hers based out West while recently co-launching Fuzzboy Originals-accessories designed specifically for dog walkers-in partnership with good friend Dani Roche from Toronto.

“It’s been something I’ve always wanted but kept pushing aside until now,” said Riihimaki.”

Source link