Tag: faith venture

Step away from the pit…

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Good news everybody…I have decided to step away from the deep dark pit of loneliness and self pity that I was sitting on the edge of this past week…mind you I was not in the pit wallowing in the sludge at the bottom, I was just sitting on the edge…what was so horrible about last week you might ask…great question…my hubby was on the other side of the world, just about as far away from me as it is possible to be on this earth. And, yes I am one of those girls that no longer sleeps when he’s away because I just miss him too much…not really sure when I became this person…but now he has returned, hooray, and I have decided to step away from the pit.

Upon my departure I realized that I have lost my focus a bit the last couple of weeks…I feel like I JUST wrote about this, am I seriously back here again so soon!?! I’ve kind of forgotten my purpose, forgotten why I started this adventure in the first place, and lost a bit of my brand identity in the process. I’ve gotten really caught up in the hustle of opening a shop, the anxiety of watching statistics and waiting for sales, the excitement of seeing them rise and sales come in, and the confusion of seeing them drop.

So, I’ve spent most of this week focusing not on designing or making jewelry, but on the businessy stuff of owning a creative business. Oh the businessy stuff…businessy is not a real word but please humor me…it is the stuff of my nightmares and my #2 enemy in this venture…the post office was #1 but having conquered that enemy the sewing machine has moved into the #1 spot…I’m just not really very inclined to business type things.

Historically I have done best at jobs with flexible schedules, lots of human interaction, lots of moving around and changing tasks constantly. I’ve worked as a secretary twice in my life both times for a couple of months, and both times the end of the job felt like the release from some sort of punishment that consisted of sitting in a chair, staring at a wall, and listening to the same stupid music all day…one of these jobs was working for my aunt and I feel I need to share that I loved the people, loved working with my aunt and cousin, but hated the desk, the chair, and the phone! I drank SO MUCH COFFEE when I worked there; it was like I was trying to drown my boredom with caffeine.

So this past Monday morning I made a giant pot of coffee and got right down to it. I started at the beginning…asking myself why I started doing this in the first place…who am I making this jewelry for…why jewelry…and then I worked my way through my websites and blog and FB page and Instagram accounts, I evaluated my products, my packaging, my photos, about sections, shipping information, checked all my links…and now I have a list of things that I need to fix, adjust, change, and redo.

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Detail from my chalkboard…ADOPTION…every day it seems I want this more…I’m ready for the rest of our kids!

Basically, at the end of a very thorough audit of all things businessy I have a long…seemingly endless…list of more businessy things I need to do. …but instead of being overwhelmed and stressed and discouraged by it I find I have drive…and even a bit of excitement…to plow on and do it…and I think it’s because I started at the beginning.

Frippery House began…because I love making jewelry…actually I love making anything I can, but pretty rocks are so fun! 

Frippery House began…because I wanted to have a source of income that can go directly towards growing my home…adoptions.

Frippery House began…because there are things that God has put on my heart for the future with working in missions again and I believe this is step one.

Frippery House began…because being a SAHM is what is right for my family right now but there’s a lot of alone time involved…and me bored is just BAD news.

Frippery House began…because I believe God uses our stories to inspire, encourage, and transform lives, because I love people, I love the people in my life and their stories, I am inspired and changed by their stories…business allows me the platform and opportunity to share these stories with others.

Before I pounced on my to do list I sat down with my newly acquired chalkboard…It’s a precious gift from the Treus, made by Brandon and used by Ernie, and fortunately for me unable to travel to Ireland…and I wrote down all the reasons for Frippery House, all the things I need to personally remember. And, you know what’s not on there…numbers! There’s not one reason for Frippery House related to sales, stats, likes, follows, or shares. Sure, I have business goals for sales and such…but numbers have nothing to do with why I stepped out into entrepreneur life.

At the heart of my business is people and stories…Love is at the heart of Frippery House….I don’t ever want to forget that.

For today I have learned this lesson, hopefully it sticks this time, I pray it takes root in my heart and I just live it out and don’t have to learn it again…but I’m human and I’ll probably need reminding, but the beautiful thing is that now I have all of you to remind me!

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I did find a bit of time for the creative this week and I finished up a design I’ve been working on for a few weeks. I’ve had several requests for the very popular the Ernie but smaller. This 18″ necklace with a delicate mini spoon is precious…meet the Mini Ernie. 

Available now on FripperyHouse.com

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the Julia

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Oh my! I just did a count and I really have only written about half of my designs and the women that inspired them…that includes the final pieces I will be introducing the next couple of weeks…I better get busy!

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Photo credit not me and not Julia…I think maybe Ernest

Julia is lovely!

She’s a very unexpected friend…we became friends during a season of my life that I was not really sure I wanted any new friends and I’m not even really sure how it happened…but one day all the sudden there it was, we were friends…I knew we were friends the afternoon that we were hanging out watching TV and I totally fell asleep and when I woke up she was still there and didn’t make me feel weird about it at all.

She’s gentle and kind. She reminds me of a deer frolicking around in a meadow of flowers…carefree and joyful…she makes living life look fun. She’s always quick to laugh and her eyes kind of sparkle with joy…and maybe a bit of mischief.

She’s also so incredibly cool! Her and her husband Ernest are kind of like rock stars in my mind…seriously though you should see these two pose for pictures, they would own any red carpet.

Oh yeah, and brave!

I have had the pleasure of watching her and Ernest walk the journey of starting their own coffee shop right here in Aurora. I’ve heard them talk and dream, I’ve seen it transition from dreams to saving and planning, and now I get to watch it as it unfolds before our eyes as Sonder Coffee becomes a reality and will be open very soon…check out what is happening at Dream A Latte and make sure to sign up for emails so you’ll know when they open…I am incredibly excited and can’t wait until it’s finally open!

This necklace took me longer than any other piece in this line to design. It went from two strands and pinks and purples, to one strand, to one strand with a bar and blue greens. It’s changed length, shapes, and materials so many times…I think Ian really started to get irritated with me showing him a different necklace every day and telling him it was the Julia each time...one design would be too rock star, another too delicate, but I think I finally got it…with a bit of help from Julia herself…

There are several different stones and colors and textures in this necklace, there is something delicate and soft, but also very structured about it. Oh yeah, and I love wearing it!

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Julia is complex but yet simple, so cool but so genuine and real, so much of a dreamer and yet also a planner…However it happened, I’m glad we are friends!

If you want a Julia of your very own click here!

Oh yeah, and this is happening 9/16…TOMORROW

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the Sharon

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I know I’ve said this before, I think I say it every time…but this one was hard to write! In fact, I intentionally am writing and posting it today because she will be on an airplane for hours and then she will be jet lagged and overwhelmed by life back in America, so it will take her a bit of time to see it…at least that’s my hope.

It’s not because I’m going to say bad things about her…that would just be a horrible way to write a dedication page…it’s because she’s my mom, and I come from a family that doesn’t really gush feelings and emotions…I always have but it’s just one of my many black sheep qualities…so to publicly gush about how inspiring I find my momma is going to embarrass her and probably make her uncomfortable…but I just gotta do it!

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Like I said, Sharon is my mom. And, I would love to tell you amazing stories about how my mom and I have always been best friends and I was that sweet adorable child that cried when I missed her and ran laughing into her arms when she picked me up from school…but that just simply wasn’t the case.

…I want to put a disclaimer here that I have NO memory of who I was as a small child, I remember none of the stories told of me, and I have no idea why I chose to do the things I did…

From all the stories I’ve heard I was AWFUL. I screamed and ran away when she picked me up from school. I wasn’t kind or loving to my parents. I was strong willed and a destructive force…misguided creativity I think.

Crayons, scissors, markers…all banned from my possession…sometimes I wonder if either of my brothers had delayed fine motor skills because I’m not sure they were ever in contact with scissors or writing devices until they went to school because their big sister couldn’t be trusted with them.

My adolescent and teen years were less destructive to the home and possessions, but I continued to be a bit of a handful…strong, independent, insecure, and hormonal make for a rough puberty.

But we made it, we’ve come out the other side, and hopefully we are all better for it. Now, my mom is one of my closest friends. She is the woman I turn to when I need really wise advice, when I’m overwhelmed by being a wife and mother, or when I just want to talk. She lives far away most of the time, but when she’s in town I just like spending time with her…I miss her when she’s not here.

My mom is this amazing calming presence…which is probably why I like being around her, because I kind of have an internal storm of worry and anxiety swirling around inside me…I use to think that she just had this affect on me, until her ENTIRE house flooded and had to be completely remodeled. Most people would freak out if their daughter called and woke them up in the middle of the night to inform them their house on the other side of the world had been turned into a giant water feature at the end of the cul-de-sac. But, she didn’t, and through the whole process I kept hearing people say things like “at least it happened to Sharon, anyone else would be freaking out.” She just took it all in stride…and now she has a gorgeous newly remodeled house.

So, It turns out, my mom is just really calm…which makes sense because I think most people would have either had a mental breakdown or given me away if I had been their child if all the stories are true. 

My mom also is kind and funny and giving, so incredibly giving. She has spent her life serving others…her husband and kids of course…but she has also spent years involved with orphanages or homeless kids or homes for the elderly or kids with disabilities…whatever the biggest need was in whatever place we found ourselves. She found the best way to serve the people with the biggest needs and then she did it!

She shaped my perception of the world, and her kindness, humility, and desire to take the privileges she had and serve others with them changed me from a bratty and entitled teen to the woman I am today. She is the one who brought me to that orphanage all those years ago, who took me into slums and showed me poverty, and she’s the one who opened my eyes to poverty in my own town.

She also taught me to channel my destructive forces into creative ventures. She taught me to sew, cook, bake, quilt, cross-stitch, crochet, and bought me my first camera. She has always encouraged my creativity…she may not have always understood it, but she encouraged it…again shaping me into the woman I am today.

Oh, and my mom has this great laugh! When she really gets going it’s like she’s all rosy cheeks and nose and she laughs so hard she can’t really talk she just squeaks and she cries a little bit…it’s just the best!

 

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This bracelet is for my mom, because she loves jewelry and she always has great bracelets. She loves blue, and calcite is the perfect blue for her, soft and gentle with just a bit of shine.

I am forever grateful for my mom. We are so very different, and I quite often feel like she just doesn’t understand me…but she has always loved and supported me no matter what crazy idea I have, from moving across the world to adopting a teenager to starting Frippery House. Thanks mom!

Shop the Sharon

Now What…

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I’ve launched Frippery House! I’ve spent a year planning, and designing, and creating…researching all the best ways to do everything…it’s all lead up to the moment when I hit “publish” on Etsy and now…well now I’m just not sure what to do.

I’ve found myself obsessing over views and likes and purchases. Watching every vlog and reading everything I can about search engine optimization and how to turn traffic into sales. My brain is fixated and running full speed with worries and fears…what if everyone has just been telling me they like my jewelry because they are my friends, what if it all breaks, what if no one buys it, what if too many people buy it, what if no one finds me on Etsy, what if they wish it was longer/shorter/a different color…you name it and I think I’ve worried about it this week. I literally had a conversation with Ian in the car after I hit the publish button and went live with the store where I asked him if it was too late for me to change my mind, if I could just hit rewind and go back…he said no I could not!

Amidst all this fear and worry I have made three major discoveries in the last week: 1) I am surrounded by really incredible cheerleaders…and I am sooooo thankful for them. 2) I really have no gauge for what to expect now, if I’m doing well, if I’m sucking…how do I measure this!?! And 3) I just totally put myself out there for the world!

The last two bring me face to face…again…with some of my deepest insecurities…I just really want people to like me and validate me and give my life purpose and oh yeah, I really want to be cool!!! Discouragement has come quickly and often this week as I’ve come up against these things. It seems like every time I leave the house someone asks me how Frippery House is doing…which is so incredible and I am beyond thankful to have such amazing support…but it just smacks me in the face with the reality that I don’t know!

It’s hard to put yourself out there! It’s hard to create something that you think is beautiful and kind of cool and means something special to you and then hold it up for all the world to see…and judge. In college I was an art major, but I never wanted to create art for others, I wanted to create art for myself and teach art to others. A big part of why was self defense…if you create your art only for yourself and not for others, if they don’t like it then who cares…so to be here in this place, creating for others…it feels very vulnerable! And, I just really have no idea what the measure is for success at a week in…so I just feel uncertain and inadequate when people ask.

But then I remember…my feelings are real but not always true.

I didn’t make the decision to start Frippery House lightly. It was on my heart the moment I moved back to Colorado 6 years ago, I prayed about it, I thought about it, I planned, and I dreamed…and yeah, and then I prayed some more. I wanted to make sure that if I took the brave step into entrepreneur life that God was for it…because if He’s for it there’s no stopping me! For years I hesitated, made excuses, and lacked the time to make Frippery House happen…I walked in a lot of fear of failure during those years. The very thought of failing kept me from ever starting.

But then…God brought people into my life that reminded me not to be afraid of what God had put on my heart. To not be afraid of failing. To not be afraid of sharing my story and my journey, because that’s why I was placed on this earth…oh, and one special person came along and told me not to be afraid of the post office…seriously…that was a pretty big turning point for me.

So, discoveries 2 & 3…they’ve got nothing on me! Because, no matter what gauge I decide to use to measure my success it will always fall short of just trusting that God has asked me to step out into this. And as far as putting myself out there…I guess it’s just what I was created to do!

My validation, my purpose, and my utter coolness…it comes from my identity in Christ…not my identity as an entrepreneur, wife, mom, friend, daughter, or any other thing…and I think I forgot that a little bit this week. I think I thought likes and views and sales were what made me valuable there for a moment.

 

 

the Ernie

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Just in case you missed the big announcement this morning, or yesterday, or a week ago…

Frippery House launched this morning!!!

I’m pretty excited and nervous and I didn’t sleep AT ALL last night…but today is going pretty good. And, in honor of this incredible day I wanted to post a very special dedication page about a most wonderful woman…Ernie!

 

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Photo Cred Silas Treu

Ernie is more than a friend…and not because we’re so close we are like family…we are actually family…I married Ernie’s cousin, and now our lives are forever intertwined.

When Ian and I were engaged Ernie use to joke about how Ian was getting the better end of the deal, but I disagree…because I think my husband is wonderful and I love being married to him…but also because I married into an incredible family…honestly, I have amazing in-laws, and not just mom and dad but brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles, cousins, and nephews.

We have a lot in common Ernie and I…photography, making things, garage sales, and missions…and I just LOVE spending time with her…it doesn’t matter if garage sale shopping, hanging at a family function, chilling in my living room…it’s all wonderful. And because we are stuck with each other FOREVER there’s a safety in sharing our hearts I think…we can share with one another promises the Lord has whispered to us and trust the other to pray and not blab or judge. 

Case in point, she and her hubby Brandon prayed along side of us with faith and expectation to see God bring into our lives the child He had promised…she never told me I was crazy, or tried to get me to see how hard it was going to be, she never told me that I should really just try harder to get pregnant…She faithfully prayed for me and with me to see what God would do. And, she has celebrated, encouraged, and exhorted me as I have learned to mother that child that was the fulfillment of the promise.

Recently…well, not really recently, but it’s still happening now so we will go with that…I have had the pleasure of watching her and praying for her as she has felt called by the Lord to move to Ireland…at first we were praying for direction and for the Lord to reveal the same thing to Branden…God answered that prayer…and now we pray for provision and for peace as they and the boys prepare leave in just a few weeks…I seriously just broke into sobs as I typed that…maybe I need to pray for myself a bit too….

Fairly early on in our friendship I noticed that Ernie always wears this one necklace with a little spoon on it…it has some other things too, a little charm that says “Abide” and maybe a cross I think…and the spoon always catches my attention. So one day I asked her, why a spoon?

It turns out that someone once told her that “Forks are for poking, and knives are for cutting, but spoons are for serving…be a spoon.”

I love that! I want to be a spoon!

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When I started designing for this line I knew I just had to make a spoon necklace, but with my very own twist on it. I found the perfect spoon and added white pearls and a green…for Ireland of course…mountain “jade” bead to complete the look. It’s a long necklace, because I just LOVE the ease of necklaces that slide over my head. And, I know it’s just me talking here, but I really think it’s pretty great.

An added bonus is that purchasing this necklace supports Ernie’s family as they love and serve the people of Ireland…I give them $15 for every necklace I sell…to purchase the Ernie click the link.

And make sure to check out Ernie’s blog The Treus Go To Ireland, her kiddos even have a “Boys on Mission” link where they share their journey as young missionaries.

Thanks again for reading, and make sure to like, follow, share, and to go to Frippery House to check out my first line of jewelry.

 

 

Super Awkward Me

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Funny story…I was pruning bushes in the back yard earlier this week, and I came to an exceptionally stubborn limb. Next thing I know I was standing there shaking my head dazed and trying to figure out what hit me…?!

…it was me…

I punched myself in the face! I don’t know if any of you have ever been punched in the face, but it hurts! And it doesn’t just hurt your face, my whole brain hurt. I felt like I walked around in a fog the whole day and wasn’t able to think straight.

I tell you all this because my post punching brain fog caused me to forget about blogging on Tuesday…I even had it pretty much ready to go just had to post…but without any further delay…and yes I am fine and will be safer next time…here it is.


Get ready for me to get real with you guys…I am discovering that while I have the creative thing going for me…ALL the other facets of business are pretty challenging for me.

Building a website, writing product descriptions, setting up business plans, and networking on social media have all been pretty challenging for me.

My latest discovery is that face to face networking is very challenging…and I mean very very challenging…for me…I’m so awkward!

I had a couple of encounters with people where I had amazing opportunities to pitch Frippery House and network with people who could really help me get my jewelry into the local market in a really great way…and I was just weird..awkward…and super lame…maybe they’ll just chalk it up to me being an eccentric artist.

Let me give you one scenario…I walked into a cool local business…in the hip newly renewed part of town..and I’m checking out all their stuff and chatting with the friendly…and super kind…owner when she asks what it is I do for a living and I say ,”I make jewelry.” That’s it, I just throw it out there, I don’t engage her in a convo, I just kind of say it.

So, then she asks “Is that necklace one of yours that you’re wearing” or something like that. And I awkwardly reply that yes it is…and then in an instant, every insecurity I’ve ever had…primarily ones having to do with creating/failing/not being cool…flood into my mind and suddenly the whole interaction went from lovely to TOTALLY awkward because I realize that it’s been several seconds and all I’ve said is yes. And that while I was able to have a very pleasant conversation with her about other things, as soon as it switched to Frippery House I got weird.

So I spend the next 5 min wandering the store trying to decide if buying something would make it all less weird. Before settling on just saying nice to meet you and goodbye…because let’s be real, I don’t have money to buy anything other than supplies to make more jewelry…to her credit this super awesome store owner totally redeemed the convo and gave me business cards and told me to contact her when I’m ready to wholesale before I left.

So…this week’s goal is to branch out and have conversations…with new acquaintances…about Frippery House.

Here’s to hoping that this girl’s awkwardness is redeemable!