Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Capturing Change

Change can sneak right up on you.  In some instances you can blink and miss the whole darn transformation.

Luckily for me, I've had my eye on this beaut for the last few weeks. With her being tucked away in our backyard oasis, I've felt like she's been putting on a show just for me.

And sometimes with change, if you're truly paying attention, it can actually be quite beautiful.







Monday, October 22, 2012

Terrifying Excitement

Those two words above pretty much sum up my emotions these days.  I never knew how terrifying starting a new business venture could be. Kudos to my friends out there that have done this on a much grander scale. You're the bomb.com and I have a new found respect for you that goes beyond what I can put into words.

This past Saturday my new business partner, TB we'll call her, and I had our first photo shoot to stage our inventory.  My amazingly generous and talented new sister in law drove in for the morning/afternoon from Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her 2 little boys, simply to shoot our items and then literally get in the car and drive home again. Can you say selfless and way sweet?  Uncle T got to spend quality time at the super cool Monkey Joe's where bouncy house powered air flows like the wine most parents wish they had as their kids play.

Thanks to my SIL and my amazing mom who rolled up her sleeves and has become my estate sale wing man, Asst. V.P. of Creativity, and chalkboard painter, Saturday turned out way better than I could've hoped for. As I lay in bed on Friday night (briefly I might add due to last minute details that needed to be done), self doubt took the main stage. I cannot tell you how many times these words danced through my exhausted yet there's no way I can sleep mind:
-What if my "treasures" are junk to everyone else?
-What if we get there and TB hates my stuff and wants to bail or go solo?
-What if I spend my savings on these items and no one even knows we exist?
-Will people laugh if this thing flops?

In 100% transparency here, I was so anxious and doubtful Saturday morning that I physically got sick. Like head in the toilet sick. Now that, my friends, is fear.

However, after running out to buy $50 worth of flowers and desserts for the shoot early that morning, chugging Pepto, loading 2 vehicles with my "treasures", and making the trek to TB's house, my fears slowly vanished and excitement took the floor. Thank the Lord! As we began to stage our items, I felt myself thinking multiple times "Ohh, I'd rent that", which was like the weight of the world being lifted from my heavy heart. Pssst, the picture above is a sneak peak from our shoot. Isn't she cute??

We still have no guarantee of business rolling in or of people loving us as much as we love all things vintage, but I now know that we've got a pretty good product and we're either brave enough or crazy enough to follow our dream. The rest is out of our control and that has to be okay for now.

And in closing, this blog excerpt below is something I stumbled across this morning and it really sums up what I'm feeling. Apparently I'm not that crazy or alone at all in my fears and dreams. I love when someone else can speak a word to your heart exactly when you need it.

Vintage Party Rentals around the Country


There are a lot of people daring to take a risk and be different; to offer people a place where they can go to find unique items to make their event stand out. I think the people who own these business’s themselves stand out. I think words such as crazy, brave, and courageous are good descriptive words used for people like us. It’s exciting and terrifying to start a business; to follow your vision and to be true to oneself is definitely a characteristic that makes you stand out. This isn’t easy and at times it’s not necessarily fun (because there is SOOO much work that goes into it along with emotions) but that didn’t stop us from diving in. I’ve been following a lot of vintage party rentals/vintage event rentals and below are some of them. I know there are more out there and others preparing to open. I would love to hear from you fearless people who took the path less traveled.



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

News Revealed...Something Borrowed


Over the last few weeks, and really over the last 8 months or so unofficially, I've toyed with the idea of starting a small, side business that caters to bridal event decor rental.  After collecting items for my own wedding, and doing countless hours of research on what's available to rent versus purchase, a business like this just seemed like an untapped market in my hometown.  A few people do offer your standard rentals such as: table linens, seating, candelabras, votive holders, etc...but it all was so standard. Everywhere you look, brides are constantly reinventing their wedding space with personal touches, so why not offer this here? And with us only specializing in decor details and vintage furniture touches, we won't be seen as a competitor in this market, but hopefully a team player and strong complement for what's already being done.

How it came to be...through random, Craigslist happenstance, I've now teamed up with a local, vintage furniture repurposer (is that even a word?) to turn our little vision into our own shabby chic wedding corner of the world. Or at least Rockford. Who knew purchasing an entry way console from the amazingly well connected Craigslist would result in a new relationship with someone who loves all things vintage as much as I do?! Luck? I think not. Stars aligning via sale postings? Let's certainly hope so.

Now that we've been talking through logistics, our first step will take place later this month with our first photo shoot to showcase our items in action. My mind is racing on everything we'll need and my inventory has officially begun to grow. The coolest part of all of this is hunting for new treasures. With my mom as my co-pilot, we're slowly scouring Northern Illinois for estate sales, thrift stores, etc... Think of us as the Mike and Frank of the wedding decor industry. Gotta love a good ole American Pickers plug!

Stay tuned for pictures from our photo shoot, but in the meantime, please say a quick prayer that this takes off. Worst case scenario, Tim gets to help me have a major estate sale of my own to unload all of my treasures;)

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Oh Darling, Let's Be Adventurers!

Sometimes I get what my lovely mom would call "hair-brained ideas". I've never really understood that euphemism, seems kind of nasty to me, but apparently I'm subject to them on rare occasion. Or not so rare occasions, but I digress.

Well, in my quest for all things retro and vintage, I stumbled across a lovely, little gem on Craiglist. She's everything I love- aqua, retro, recently renoovated so that I can just slide on in, and she's adorably cozy!

I'll be the first to admit that I've never been a huge camper. But when I've gone, I've loved it all but the sleeping part. Too. Many. Spiders. Would those closest to me call me "outdoorsy"? Probably not so much. Would they call me adventurous? Maybe, on a good day, I would guess. But as a newly married gal, some of my fave moments are when Tim and I just cruise in the car. Especially during this gorgeous season of fall. I LOVE to drive through the corn fields, surrounded by vibrant golds, reds, and orange pops of color in every direction. Fall is a gift from the Lord himself. I have a theory that winter in IL is simply ungodly and is thrown upon on once a year to reiterate to have a Heaven we must also have a hell. Any who....

With my gut need to get lost in the country, matched with the desire to travel to see our families that I'm now close enough to for a road trip, this prize really just makes sense. We'd be free to house crash the relatives minus the intrusion part!

I want to load 'er up with delicious road trip snacks, hot dogs, smores, and wine. I want to stuff her cupboard with board games and plaid, flannel blankets for camp fires. I want her to carry great books, fun lanterns, and maybe a pink flamingo or two (or 3;). I want to get lost in her.

Who wants to meet on the open road in this beaut?? I'll bring the Lionel R. and ZZB CD's and we'll be "free as we'll ever be" adventurers together.
Check her out. She's literally calling my name. Daily. By the hour. One phone call away.

Oh the memories we'd make!




Monday, October 1, 2012

Snack Hoarder Confession

If for some reason my coworkers ever drop by my desk drawers to borrow a paper clip or highlighter, they are in for a treat. I am apparently a snack hoarder.

When contemplating if I had anything in my desk drawers to tide me over until the real fun starts I get off work, I realized that I could not only tide myself over but also our entire team if a fluke, flash snow storm were to ensue.

Don't judge. I'm sort of a fat kid when it comes to snacks. High lighters, staples, pens, and Doritos, granola bars, pumpkin spice tea, nutrigrain bars, candy, pretzel thins, and peanut butter, etc... What else does one need to be successful really?



What's in your desk? If you're being 110% honest?