m y    w e e k 

I thought I might try this. My week in this business and a little of home life documented. 

It is a FUN, crazy business, sometimes dirty-messy-dusty. I log a ton of hours in my car every week. I think that might be surprising to people. I probably spend 2-3 hours everyday in my car. I have built up a really fun network of places I visit to pick up pieces, I consider them friends. I go to the hardware store, craft stores, recycling center, my pillow supplier, visiting my friends shops and of course my shop. 

I wrote in my last post how I was going to be working less shifts at the shop. The reason is I want to be out in the field way more. Creating and finding amazing pieces for the store. 

I am there everyday no matter what though. I bring in new pieces almost everyday the store is open. I am super hands on with knowing what sold and to whom. I LOVE merchandising and making sure it looks fresh. 

I like to sit and chat with whoever is working. I love having a super tight team. I have no idea what they think of me, lol! They probably think I am super goofy. Who knows, I try to keep things professional but what I really want is for everyone to feel appreciated. I also want everyone to know how we should appreciate how lucky we are to do what we do. Super big life lessons I have learned this year. I am going to be 40 in November, I guess this is the time to recognize! 

So this week I had some amazing pieces already in my studio ready for me to work on. Normally I don't have a ton of backstock. I buy it, I paint it {hence why I am in the car picking everyday}. I think it is wasted money sitting in my studio waiting for paint. I buy a piece and immediately plan a design for it in my head and start on it immediately. 

This week I knew I wanted to do some colors I hadn't done in a while. 

This petite armoire is so flipping cute I wish I had a place for it. It will be such an amazing statement piece for someone. 

I painted it in Grassy Fields by Benjamin Moore. It is a color I have used a lot. 

{picture in my house, front entry}

My absolute go to paints are General Finishes and Benjamin Moore. If you want a clean look, minimal or no distressing, both paints are amazing.  

I got this paint mixed in an eggshell finish in the Aura {primer already in paint} formula. 

It took three coats and I did minimal distressing with a sanding block. 

I didn't wax or put a top coat on the piece. 

I looked at it and figured it looked lovely in eggshell and if I waxed and buffed it, it would be too shiny with the green.

I also painted a petite buffet in General Finishes Lamp Black, distressed, added Java Gel Stain with a rag and wiped it way back. It just made the black a bit richer with more dimension. I then sealed with General Finishes Liquid Wax. One of the best products I have ever ever ever used. It is like magic.

{picture in my paint studio}

I also painted a sweet empire with mirror.

I then had a blast the next day styling it with Karla in the shop. I can't tell you how much it means to me to leave the shop in Karla's hands when I am not there. She is a rock star. Plus we keep in touch all day long through phone calls and texts. I always know what is going on at the shop.

 Molly and I are the same way on Sundays {Molly works now on Sundays}. Molly is my dear friend and when we are good, we walk several times a week in our neighborhood. I try not to talk too much shop with her, because we are friends for years but it does creep in. I appreciate her so much. 

I spent yesterday evening with my dear friend Amanda of Ferpie and Fray as she dropped off this gorgeous piece.

{seen below}

I swear when I tell Saint {my dear husband} that I am meeting Amanda, he knows not to expect me home for a few. We sit and talk about everything. I adore her. We are totally in sync with how we feel about the business and how we do business. Plus we are just crazy and funny together. We even have funny painter names for each other Rita and Maxine.

Friday I brought in more furniture, went over the new barcode system that Karla and I are working on,  merched in a ton more pillows, redid the front of the store, and then I headed out to go junking with Michelle of Blue Roof Cabin. 

She brought in this gorg headboard!

I was on the hunt for cool carriage doors for the front entry. We struck out, but had a really fun lunch together. I am mad about hanging with Michelle of Blue Roof Cabin. She has a really great sense of humor and a way about her that makes you feel like you can just be yourself. I feel lucky to have her as a friend.

I am now home getting ready to make 200 paper flowers for the shop after I make dinner for my family. 

Tomorrow I work, and in the evening we will hold our first paint class. Amanda is running the show and I am there to help. It will be a 12 hour day.

Sunday I deliver a buffet 30 miles away, then hop on a ferry to my parents for Mother's Day with my family.

I think this will be a fun thing to do every Friday, I might just do it again next week! 

t i m i n g

I spent the last 3 1/2 years working the front house of a shop and the back house. The first two and a half were the warm up to this year. 

Last year at this time, I would have never thought I would be here. 

I wasn't sure of my place in this business and I seriously considered leaving it. I hadn't found my place in it yet. I had spent the 8 months prior to this new shop, praying about what to do. Seriously, praying about it, everyday. I have a degree, I have professional experience. I would have been ok leaving this job. I would have missed painting furniture, but I could do it for myself- like I have been doing since I was 13.

It wasn't until the day I saw the current shop. I called Saint and then my mom, then my friend Kathy within minutes of leaving. I knew I needed to take the leap. The people that knew me the best, knew that I wasn't happy and hadn't been for a long time. They knew the in's and out's of my situation. Last year at this time, I didn't like myself that much. But in retrospect- thinking about it, it was more situational than anything. I can say that now, a year out- because I think that now more than ever, I am happy. I am much more myself, than I have ever been maybe in my whole life.

Not to say that this leap wasn't super duper, duper scary!

I can safely say that the last two years I have learned so much about myself. Before this year, who I didn't want to be. And this year, a total clean slate.

Every single day I get an email, I am not kidding -It always goes something like this-

 "I love the group you have at your shop, I follow all of you, I love that you all seem so happy! How do you do this?"

I never really know how to answer this question but in my head I have thought about it a lot.

It came to me just about a month ago, why this group works so well. 

We don't really need each other. 

How do I explain this...everyone is strong on their own. We don't need each other. We are all ok on our own but we like working together.

People there is so much freedom in this! As artists, standing next to each other, appreciating one another but not depending on one another! 

 I love the group at the store. I am thoughtful about it.

This brings me to "timing".

This isn't a typical shop. We don't don't order everything. 80% of what is in the store is found and recreated by artists. And because the store is The Modern Cottage Company, most of it needs to be done by me. 

But, I can't be at the store-find-buy supplies-pick up-fix-paint-market-merchandise this scale of a shop. It is not possible. Especially how busy it has been. Like blow my mind busy.

So I am stepping back a bit and taking another leap. 

I won't really work at the shop anymore.

{at least I am going to try this approach for a while}

AH!

Well, I am there several hours everyday anyway.  I will still be in charge of buying, merchandising, marketing and the overall look of the store. But there is no way I can work the "front of the house, and the back of the house" anymore. At least in busy season.

Did I ever mention I have two young kids? 

Enough said.

So I am going to focus way more on buying trips, the website, my blog, painting, the windows of the shop, maybe doing some staging, and classes with Amanda. This is more than a full time job in itself.

The timing is right. 

I could not ask for a better group at this shop. I am so thankful that we all get to do what we love and have fun doing it.

{photo source whitelightsandlatenights via Pinterest}