Have you seen our awesome new series we are starting here on the blog called Treat Yourself Handmade Hustlers!? We absolutely love the awesome creative community that we get to work with and are so excited to share more about them right here! These ladies aren’t just hard workers, they are hustlers! Many have children or second jobs and run their households while also running businesses. We want to applaud, encourage and support them!
Our box was born not only out of a desire to help others indulge for themselves every now and then, but also out of our passion to empower and help grow other small, handmade and women-owned businesses.We will be sharing more about these amazing shops and the women behind them each week.
What are your favorite ways to treat yourself? When I can afford it it is definitely acupuncture and massage which I think is not only a luxury, but an important part of spiritual and physical health. Usually my treats are small and food related like a really good bar of chocolate or a great cheese!
What’s your favorite sweet treat? Right now it’s Banana “Nice” Cream. Just frozen bananas pureed – It’s SOOOO Good!
Which do you prefer milk or dark chocolate? Dark Chocolate
What is your favorite time of day to create? I think I’m sharper in the mornings. My brain is always ”on” but I do need a large chunk of time to dedicate to creativity, so usually on a day when there is a light production or administrative workload. I really like collaborative creativity too.
What’s your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving – its all about the food!
What color describes your personality best? Sunshine yellow. I think I’m energetic and I do smile a lot. I have a bit of dual positive and negative personality going on so I try to fight my tendency towards negativity by trying to see the positive side of situations. It doesn’t always work but I think I’m getting better.
If you had one what was the name of your childhood imaginary friend? I did not have a childhood imaginary friend that I can remember but I did have a reoccurring dream about a jellyfish like sea creature. I just thought it was so cool that I could breath under water in my dreams, that I never asked my little friend his name.
What makes your life sweeter? Good people, making things, definitely being self employed.
Why do you create what you create? For my job, I fell into making bath and body products. There are a lot of great small bath and body companies now, but when I started in 2006 there was a lot less available. I suffered from all kinds of skin issues, which in hindsight I attribute to poor diet, but at the time, all of the typical topical treatments made my skin worse so I wanted to seek out ingredients and recipes that pampered my skin. I like the chemistry aspect of making soaps and lotions and the creative part of blending fragrances and package design. It works both sides of my brain.
What advice would you give someone just starting out selling handmade? Be patient, be unique, charge what you are worth, break down your overwhelming tasks into manageable baby steps, find time for yourself. You have an awesome product, and awesome photography or setup and you might be in the right place at the right time and your product might take off, but most likely you are going to have to work really hard for every sale in the beginning. Stay positive and energetic. Get help with the aspects of the business that are your weaknesses. For example maybe you don’t like the accounting or the marketing so get help in those areas. Outsourcing is a great way to free up your valuable time and keep you motivated and productive. I know in San Diego we have a lot of workshops and support for indies like Collaborative Thread. The Academy of Handmade is a great online resource for Makers specifically. Check your city for the same.
About YOU: I grew up in Connecticut, went to college in Boston, and drove to San Diego at age 21 with a car full of stuff and $1000. Ahh to be young! I met my husband here and started my business here and I feel so blessed living in a beautiful welcoming place! Life is so focused on business right now but in my spare time I like all manner of supernatural, sci-fi and horror entertainment, tending to my garden, drawing or crafting, getting outdoors, exploring neighborhoods and wilderness, and fussing over my eating habits.
