Well, my last blog
entry was a little down in the dumps, wasn’t it. We’ve gone through a few scary weeks
here. Richard’s income tanked much
further than we’d planned for with the opening of Maryland Live’s Poker Room
and then, after several weeks of significantly lower paychecks, they started
firing dealers at the his casino. The
firing is over and Richard’s still got his job, thank goodness! Now that the staffing levels have dropped, he’s
back to making his “normal” income and that’s been a HUGE relief! Things are starting to look up again and we
couldn’t be more grateful.
That being said, I am
still applying for some positions here and there. There isn’t much out there in my particular
line of work (federal HR), but I’ve broadened my horizons and we aren’t in as
big of a rush for me to hop back into the working world. Richard and I both really believe that the
best place for me right now is in our home with our girls. It’s where I really and truly want to
be. When this “rough patch” began and we
started to consider our back up plans and options, I was pretty down. None of those ideas made me happy or gave us
the satisfying home-life we’ve come so accustomed to. Out of desperation breeds the most creative
solutions…
I started to think… What on earth could I do that would enable me
to stay home with my girls and still bring in some extra money!? There were a lot of ideas that floated around
in my head, but nothing really felt right. Then, like a perfect storm, several ideas
came clashing together at once…
- · I love being creative.
- · I love sculpture.
- · I love my girls more than anything in the world.
- · I like to recycle/upcycle and it’s a popular thing at the moment.
- · Flea Market Flip is one of my favorite shows.
- · I’m obsessed with Pinterest.
- · Robin (one of my friends) liked my kids’ cabinet redo, maybe others would too.
- · What if I tried to sell stuff like that…?? Would there be a market for such things…?
These things swirled around in my
head, multiplying like bunnies! The more
I thought about it, the more reasons I came up with as to why this would suit
me so well. The question was, how do I
pitch this to my husband.
Now, for those of you
who know my husband, he can be a little… well, blunt. Haha!
If he doesn’t like something, he makes no bones about telling you
so. I’ve pitched a few business ideas at
him over the years and he’s pooed all over them. So, if I wanted to pitch this upcycled idea
to him then I needed to be very detailed and logical about it. I can’t just go to him and say, “Baby, I
wanna stay home and I wanna build stuff because I love my kids and don’t wanna
go back to work.” That just wouldn’t
fly.
So, during nap time, I
sat down and started putting together a quick and dirty PowerPoint presentation
that I planned on pitching to him over dinner that night. I searched around and started pulling
examples of furniture that was selling in local yardsales and flea
markets. I pulled ideas off Pinterest of
ways that I could upcycle these furniture pieces into something fun for
children. I pulled prices off Lowe’s,
Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, and Michael’s for odds and ends we’d need to recreate
these fun items.
I only got about
halfway through my PowerPoint when Sam woke up.
But I figured I had enough to pitch it to him. He’d probably think it was silly anyway…
BUT HE DIDN’T!!!!!!!!!
Richard got on board
right away. He thought it was a great
idea and something that was right up my alley.
He gave me the green light to start looking for furniture and handed me
a credit card we don’t use so that I could start my “business” and keep
everything separate from the household.
He even agreed to help me out with some of the assembly and stuff.
I immediately set to
work! After some bumps along the way, we
collected what would become our first four pieces. We kicked around some name ideas while we
toiled away on our first few projects. Richard became so much more than a supporter;
he became my perfect partner! I built a
Facebook store page, created a new email address, and started lining things up
to “launch” our hobby business. Already,
this adventure has brought us closer together and given us something new to
strive toward and enjoy. Even if we don’t
sell a single solitary piece, we’ve had a great time!
So, it is with GREAT
PLEASURE and EXTREME EXCITEMENT, I give to you……..
At S&R Custom Creations, we create, upcycle, and recreate
children’s play furniture. Kitchenettes,
dress up stations, chairs, and benches are just a few of the fun custom pieces
you will find here. Every piece is different, unique, and fun - just like your
child(ren)!
We would love it if you
would like our facebook page and share it with your friends (click the name
above; it’s a link). Richard and I are
truly excited to begin this new chapter.
I can’t wait to see what the future will bring! I can’t wait to dive into our next
project! I can’t wait to find our next
piece of furniture to rescue and revive!
And we would love so much for you to follow us through this
journey.
Yay!!
No comments:
Post a Comment