Blog Block

After my "big" revealation on my last post, I gotta admit I was a little embarrassed. It took me a few days to think of what to write next and up until right now I thought I would let it go another day. I got 5 whole comments though and that made my day... and the the next day, too!

So, I figured that I would blog hop a little and I visited Amy's blog... which I will admit is one of my top 10 favorites. She is a great example being "you" on your blog. You feel like you know her when you read her posts! Today she was sharing all her juicy gifts from an art retreat (fabulous pictures, of course!) and she received an adorable necklace that says, "I am kind of a big deal on my blog". I just thought that was so funny! Really, where else can you be a big deal? Love it! Hop over there an have a look. :)

post it note by Gunhild Storeide

I am Enough.

Really. I hope this blog is as anonymous as I think it is after I post this picture. Several of the artists taking Flying Lessons are writing affirmations on themselves. So, I did it, too. My mother would say, "If they jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you?" I always make notes on the back of my hand, so this wasn't as far of a reach for me as one might think. As corny as it sounds, there is something about writing it on yourself... it's like a branding, I guess. I never saw myself as a tattoo kindof girl, but I have an idea now of why people might do that.

I'm not saying I'm running off to get a tattoo... but I understand now. I do.

I'm having a hard time hitting that "publish" button. Oh, I they will definitely think I'm crazy. And they will probably be right...

Giraffes Can't Dance

Last night, as I was putting my youngest to bed, he asked me to read Giraffes Can't Dance. I have to say that I love this book and have each and every time we read it, but last night it really struck me that this is exactly what Monday's "Flying Lesson" was all about.

The last page says,
Then he raised his head and looked up at the moon & stars above
"We all can dance," he said, "when we find music that we love."

Even as I sit here typing this, it is more & more obvious, this whole book can sum up what is true in a creative business... our fears & self consciousness hold us back from doing something, but often it is that one small voice that makes up push through and find our place where we can dance... fly... swim...

Explanatory note: I am blogging this whole thing because I am really trying to "find my voice" as Kelly says. I really feel like my writing is akward and that's normally why I keep these kinds of crazy ideas inside my head. Supposedly, I will get better... let's keep our fingers crossed on that.

What if they think I'm crazy?

The topic for yesterday's Flying Lesson was our fears... tackling the toughest part first, I guess!

I think that fear has definitely kept me from taking on my creative dreams. I just don't think that anyone will take me seriously. I have often said, I can follow direction but I'm not CREATIVE. It some ways, I still believe that but I have also learned that creativity is a practiced skill as well as inbred talent.

Over the last year or so that my sister and I have been making buttons, we have said to each other (at least 1,000 times), "No one is going to buy these." "Who would buy these?" etc. We are lucky to have each other in this dream because when one doubts, the other supports and we somehow keep going.

Putting myself out there for others to critique has been one of the hardest things for me to do. Sometimes when someone walks away without even one little button, the sense of rejection is embarrassing, for lack of a better word. It's hard to make yourself remember the excitement of that first stranger who loved them, too!

The photo above is of that first stranger and the first friends who believed in us. She was our very first customer at our first show. Her excitement took away so many of my fears in that moment... when I think we both wanted to run screaming! The other half of that photo is Lorrie & Michael Wardell. They believed in my sister and I am so lucky that they have included me! They are the reason that we are doing this at all. Their support has been vital to any success we may have.

Ok, so enough of this deep babbling thought so late at night....

Sink or Swim?

I have signed up for Kelly Rae's Flying Lessons course on building a creative business. I really don't acknowledge that I have a creative business already. It isn't a part of me yet, in the way I imagine a creative business should be. I don't feel like I really took "ownership" until my sister and I found ourselves with our own booth at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival in May. Without having anyone else to take charge, it was left to us. As it turns out, it was exactly what we needed. Sink or Swim.

I think we are swimming... maybe only a doggie paddle, but still swimming. I hope that the insight I gain through the Flying Lessons will teach me, & us, to swim. I have never really believed that I was "creative". Old labels die hard. I want to give myself a chance to find out the truth.

Slow & Steady Wins the Race

Originally posted April 15, 2010

I've got the slow part down... the steady, well, not so much! Several pages of buttons are up (alright, technically a few). I am enjoying building the website though. It is a challenge. I love the computer and it's something new. That is all good in my book and the "new" part is a big motivator.

So, in between getting ready for a party this week, I'm scanning buttons like crazy. Everything will be ready for our "grand re-opening" in Maryland.

PS That is one of my favorite buttons, and one of my favorite glazes, as a matter of fact.

A Brand New Us

We are a new "us". We've refined the buttons & the business... new name, new logo. Bread, Butter & Sugar was cute, but just not really moving us forward. The last-minute opening at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival has given us a renewed drive to figure this all out... in spite of the challenges life throws in the way. Owning our own business is somehow in our blood and heart. Maybe it's genetic.. afterall, Tournament magazine is in our history! So, here's to a new beginning that will be all we are hoping for & working toward!

I do wish that I had a Tournament cover to scan here... maybe Dad can provide that for us.