 Ellen Yin is the cheerful face behind the adorable cat and café, Jancat. Maybe you've met her and Jancat at the Horton Farmers Market or wandered into her cozy downtown shop, not entirely sure what you were craving until the scent of something sweet or the glint of a sticker caught your eye. Either way, there's a good chance you've already experienced the joy of Jancat Café & Designs. Behind every doodle, sticker sheet, handcrafted brew, and a slow-simmered bowl of ramen is a story much deeper than cute cats and charming keychains. Creative beginnings
Art has been a part of Ellen's core make up since she was a girl. She reminisced about the days in her family's old apartment when she was little, when there would be paint all over her walls. "They didn't say no or anything. They just repainted twice." Even still, Ellen didn't set out to become an artist in the traditional sense. Born in China, she was first nudged toward a more "practical" career, nursing, at her father's insistence. Army or nurse, he said. She chose nursing and began studying midwifery. A noble path, but, as Ellen now admits with a laugh, not one suited to someone squeamish around blood. The Journey
Instead, she found herself following her own path, one that wound from China to Japan (where she studied Social Science but found her greatest joy in doodling in the margins), then to Canada, where she eventually landed in St. Thomas. Each chapter came with lessons, about language, culture, food, and, perhaps most importantly, about herself. "There's no right or wrong in art," she says. "Some people like cartoons, others call it childish. That's okay. I just want to make people happy." That simple goal soon turned into something much bigger. Starting from a sticker
In Toronto, Ellen was working as a café manager, continuing lessons learned from her many roles in the food service industry in Japan, when COVID-19 disrupted her position and her mindset. Despite her love of food and desire for a café atmosphere, she didn't feel as though she was making progress in her career. The café gave her the freedom and flexibility to try new dishes and expand the menu, but she was still "just the manager." The disruption sparked some creativity, and Jancat Art officially began in 2020 with a single sticker sheet—a calendar featuring an animal for each month. January was a cat. Small, round, and impossibly expressive, that cat quickly became "Jancat," the brand's now-iconic mascot. It was a spontaneous sketch, but something about it stuck. Ellen kept drawing. Her husband, Kirill, who handles the operations side of the duo, helped launch the online shop. Orders started rolling in. Then more. And more. Today, they've grown a fan base of over 100,000 across social media and created more than 200 products, each one designed, tested, packed, and often printed in-house by Ellen herself. "I make sure I love it first," she says. "If I don't believe in it, I can't sell it." That authenticity shines through, not just in the products but in the entire Jancat experience. Whether it's a notebook with just the right paper weight, a sticker that survives the dishwasher, or a cup of fresh strawberry bubble tea, there's thoughtfulness in every detail. Taking the shift COVID provided as an opportunity to get out of the big city, Ellen and Kirill opened a map, closed their eyes and pointed to St. Thomas. It's not the most conventional way to choose our community, but aren't we lucky? The Cafe comes to life
Because beyond her art, Ellen has a deep love of food, bringing people together, and sharing joy. One of her first keychain designs featured Jancat and his girlfriend at a café, and the vision stuck. Jancat Café opened in 2023 and aimed at providing options with real ingredients, no powders, no shortcuts. Ellen tests recipes repeatedly until the texture feels right until she knows the noodles will hold up authentically for takeout until she knows she's sharing the best version with the best available ingredients. "Sometimes I just want to eat something I can't find," she shrugs. So, she makes it, and this community reaps the benefits from bubble teas to sweet treats like cookies and ice cream to lunch items like ramen and onigiri. More on Ellen's menu philosophy can be found on the shop's website! a place that feels like home
With the downtown shop nestled near City Hall, Ellen is adding her own brushstroke to the city's evolving cultural canvas. Part café, part art studio, part bubble tea oasis, it's more than a business. It's a little pocket of joy. A space where design meets comfort food and where strangers leave with a smile and a sticker (or two). "I want people to feel like they've travelled to Japan," she says, "without buying a plane ticket." There's something quietly remarkable about how Ellen has woven her global journey into this small city block and built a business for herself (and us) to enjoy. A career she can feel at home in. And while she's quick to downplay the impact, there's no denying that Jancat has brought something special to St. Thomas, a reminder that joy, like art, doesn't need to be complicated to be meaningful. It just needs to be real.
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