Twisted Feather

One of my favorite moments of the One of a Kind holiday market at the Merchandise Mart was getting to the show early in the morning and having time to work in my carefully curated mini boutique. Since I had set up everything earlier in the week, I was able to enjoy the moment and soak it all in while the other artists and vendors arrived and things started to pick up.

I have to be honest. The show did not go as I had expected. All in all, it was a great learning experience for me. I met so many cool people and made some good connections that will definitely continue into the future and bring even more opportunities. So many people stopped by and seemed to be in awe of my work, complimenting the craftsmanship and design. However, the sales were just not what I was hoping. But that’s ok. My business is still a baby. I started this less than 3 years ago. I’m learning where my small business fits in and this was just not the right place for me at this time. Thankfully, I’ve had great success in other places and I will never know what works unless I try.

Another great thing that came out the experience was realizing that I’m able to take a step back and let someone else run the show. As we saw how the weekend was unfolding, my husband and I made a last minute pivot so that I didn’t have to miss my daughter’s ballet performance on Sunday (and me extra devastated). I did a quick POS tutorial for him and he went on his way (Yes, I know - he the BEST EVER 🥰) . I’ve built my business completely on my own and have never had anyone else work with me on it, so giving up this control and trusting someone else with my “baby” was a really big step for me. It couldn’t have gone any smoother (he even sold some bags! 😍) and now I realize that when the time is right, I can trust someone else to work with me.

I feel like I had to put this out there because not everything is perfect. This is really hard work, but it’s work that I’m willing to put in because I love what I’m doing and I believe in my business. I think it’s important to be honest and share with you all and if you’ve read this far, thanks for supporting me on this journey!