Wow, I've been missing in action on my blog for awhile. It wasn't intentional but life got away from me. New things are happening at Tattered Butterfly.
I've moved my operation back home. I was at a local furniture co-op for the last few years. I learned so much there and met some wonderful people over the course of two years. I grew as an furniture artist there and I will be forever grateful for that experience.
It is a relief though to be back at home. To create at my own pace. To be true to my style and inspiration. It's hard as an artist to be spread to thin. I've gave up some creativeness to be super productive. That has resulted in being lost in translation for me. When I set out almost 5 years ago it was to be true to myself and to live an authentic life. To create beautiful furniture but also inspire other people to be more of themselves. I have done some things in that direction but to not to the fulness I want too.
It has been awhile since I mentioned how I got started in this business. Almost 6 years ago I had my own family childcare business for about 8 years. I loved it and felt this would be my life's work. It was what I was made to do. A few years early I started feeling tired and achy all over. I thought it was a new bed we had just bought. Well, eventually I was diagnosed with one of the worst cases of Fibromyalgia. My life changed quickly and I ended up in bed most of the time for a year. It was devasting to me. Child care was my identity. I couldn't do anything I thought. I felt useless. I couldn't get out of bed so how could I adjust to this new life I didn't want.
I began to read everything about this disease. My relationship with God became the only thing I could hang on to. My faith was strenghten through this ordeal. I had to rely completely on Him. The butterfly became a sign of hope for me. Every so often I would come across a butterfly outside, on the internet, in a book, or magazine. I came acrossed a quote by Maya Angelou:
"We delight in the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
That spoke to my heart. I discovered that I could re-invent myself just like a butterfly. I was going through a rebirth. I have always loved to create and it's where I felt like myself the most. I decided to a makeover on my Grandma Anne's Dresser. It had sat in my son's closet as extra storage. I couldn't get rid of it because of the sentimental attachment.
My Grandma Anne was a force to be reckoned. She was Swiss and a dairy farmer's wife. She had raised 5 children and managed always to have an unspoken grace about her. She was no push over but she was always beautiful to me as a child and I loved that she wore her hand sewn apron while preparing Sunday dinners. She was a lady which you don't see as much anymore.
The dresser was in solid condition but the paint was coming off in big chunks. Not pretty. So I took about a week to sand and paint it. It turned out great and loved using it everyday in our master bedroom. I loved the process of hard work and how paint can transform a piece. I knew my Grandma Anne was smiling from heaven. She was very practical and would've loved that I was reusing an old piece furniture.
Slowly I started painting a piece here and there. 6 months later I decided to start my own business. I named it Tattered Butterfly. The reason being is I felt tattered around the edges but I knew I could become something beautiful like the butterfly. It was the perfect business name too. To take worn out piece of furniture and make it beautiful again.
I'm getting back to my grass roots efforts to live my authentic life. To inspire other women to "Be Your Own Kind Of Beautiful".
Debbi
No comments:
Post a Comment