Growing up I had two very different parents who inspired me in different ways. As a true “Daddy’s girl,” I sometimes tagged along with him to work. He managed a grocery store and I’d follow him around requesting my own little jobs to do. As a 6-year-old, I’d be assigned fly-swatting duties at the entry doors and he would pay me a dime for each fly who dared to enter with the customers. My dad was the kindest, most hard-working man I’ve ever known and his customers adored him. I’d love to think this is where my high focus on customer service came from. He passed away in 2010, but to this day I remember watching him and learning how to treat people with big love so they keep coming back for more.
With a quiet nature like my father, I was a bit more intimidated by my mother — who encouraged me to try anything and everything to put my shy self out there in the world. I loved playing outside and climbing trees, and roller skating was a passion for me as well. I skated competitively for a brief time, but when it was time to enter high school I was a huge music lover so I spent those years in the band and (go mom) baton twirling. I cherish each moment with my mom. She is 97 now and has been living with my husband and me for 13 years.
While both of my parents encouraged me in different ways, neither of them steered me toward a higher education, so I entered the corporate world straight out of high school and didn’t attend college until later in life. For years I worked in HR roles and recruiting, and eventually wound up working in a more technical role as an account manager for a large software firm. It was then that God stepped in and led me down a totally different path.
Enter … the flowerpot.
I’ve always been a big daydreamer, and my creative left brain finally came out of hiding. While sitting in my backyard swing one weekend afternoon I found myself gazing at a sad old flowerpot sitting under our big oak tree. After staring at that planter for a while, I decided I would paint it. For some reason, the thought of it actually excited me. I snapped up the planter, hosed off years of dirt and took it inside to paint. At that time, all I had was some leftover house paint and zero artistic experience, but I gave the outside a couple of coats and found that I loved the process of watching it transform.
Rather than letting it all end there, I decided to go to our local craft store to find paint in some different colors so that I could add some giant flowers to my creation. As I was waiting in the check-out line, I zoned in on the magazines and saw the words that changed everything: Paint- A-Pot: 12 Great Clay Pot Projects by Linda Gillum. I don’t believe in coincidences.
I have always loved learning, so I read every word of that book and completed my first creation. I took that planter to work with me to display on my desk and got requests to do more for my co-workers. That’s when my big dream took hold. I locked in on all the education I could get. I took a decorating class, bought more books on technique and eventually took a business class. A very talented artist happened to live next door and she let me visit her studio/garage where she worked painting furniture and antiquing mirrors. It was she who told me about Etsy and encouraged me to give it a try. That was in late 2009. I’ve since gone through Marie Forleo’s B-School, and YouTube has become my go-to for painting technique. I believe that learning is a lifelong thing and a gift to be sought after.
At the same time I opened up shop on Etsy, I also experimented with venues like a local farmers market that also featured local artists. Family members would take turns helping me set up at the weekly market but it was slow going and not my thing. I discovered that I couldn’t sit still and watch people walk by. While I did get sales at this venue, it wasn’t enough to warrant being there for four hours and having to pay a table fee.
Another thing happened there that sealed it for me. A woman walked by and her little girl came running over to say she loved the little pots I had on display and wanted to get one. Her mother replied, “Honey, you could make that yourself at home.” Years later, I find it amazing that I can have thousands of five-star reviews yet still remember that moment like it was yesterday.
“Don’t let the noise of the world drown out the work your soul came here to do.” — Marie Forleo
I have no formal training in art, nor are there any artists in my family, but as time went by I could feel my work improving. Watching trends and scouring beautiful magazines and websites became an obsession. I slowly added more items to my shop. In that first year, I only sold a few things, but each sale brought me joy. Still working my full-time job, I would come home every evening and paint something new to add to the site. I took over half of our dining room table with a drop cloth. My mother helped peel the stickers off the planters (back then, purchased at craft stores). Coming home to this tiny space after my “real-world job” each day elated me, and the following year things picked up significantly.
I began to get requests for event favors and weddings, which required the purchase of pots in higher volume. The craft store did not have enough planters for an order I received so I drove to the local nursery and used up their supply. It was there that I inquired about the nursery’s supplier, and they gave it to me without question! I began purchasing the planters wholesale and they now arrive in a semitruck on pallets.
The day a customer asked me to do a custom pet memorial was the turning point for my online business. Once completed to her specifications, I photographed it and added a listing to my shop. The orders started coming in. As those were larger planters than my event favors, I needed much more space so we converted our spare bedroom into my studio space. It was around this time that I took a huge leap: After saving a chunk of money, I left my corporate job. I have never looked back.
We added a large sunroom onto the back of our home and opened up the bedroom, so it is now one large sunny space full of worktables and shelving for storage space. Looking out the glass wall in the back, over our big tree-filled backyard, is like a dream come true. My best friend gave me a lovely couch she was getting rid of and I added a pretty boho couch cover. There are plants everywhere and the space is filled with mementos such as my dad’s old shoeshine box and pieces of pottery my kids made in school.
I love that friends, family and our pets love coming into this welcoming space, filled with music and scented candles, where they can have a cup of coffee, tea or a glass of wine in the evenings. My sweet 21-year-old cat, Millie, sleeps in a wine crate when she isn’t hanging out on the floor while I paint; and there’s even room for our big boy Vader, a 10-year-old spoiled rotten Great Dane. Plus, that best friend of mine I mentioned, along with my husband, built a big, beautiful shed to store all of my supplies.
These days I collaborate with two other artists on my pet memorials for a beautiful gift package (even the box has hand-drawn art). I believe that loving on customers is one of the biggest reasons for my success. Many of them are gifting a friend or family member who is hurting over the loss of a beloved pet, and I totally get that.
It’s my goal for every item that goes out to be an “experience” for the customer to open, not just a painted flowerpot. Most of my creations have a vintage rustic kind of feel — with crackling and coloring blending for an aged look — because to me, vintage and gardening just go together. I know this style isn’t for everyone, so I balance it out with a beautiful selection of solid colors for my polka dot planters. Those are very popular for wedding favors as well as bridal and baby showers. Everyone is different, and the world would be quite boring if we all loved the same things!
Looking back, I realize that it doesn’t matter how big your space is. You can make it your own even if it starts in a closet with a pretty rug, a tiny desk and a funky vintage mirror.
It took a decade to come into this larger space, and the journey has been amazing. I believe God places big dreams on the hearts of people, and those are the ones we must hang on to. They don’t happen in our time frame, but somehow the timing always seems to be perfect.
My new Instagram page is a cross between my studio life and a pet memorial page for my customers. I don’t focus on social media too much because I’ve learned to “look up instead of out” (great advice from the pastor at our church). Getting the “approval of the masses” seems like a very tiring goal and I’d rather just create for those who appreciate what I do and why.
A portion of the proceeds from my sales goes to several animal-related/rescue organizations, and that is a huge part of my “why.” There is also a pet memorial page on my website and those photos are always included in my newsletter as well. Customers LOVE this, and that’s what it’s really all about! Creating things that bring joy to people has always been my goal, and I want nothing more than that going forward.
I know my Daddy would be proud.
