1 my life lately in(stagram)

Some snippets from my life lately…

If you’d like to follow along…
@barberry_and_lace
http://statigr.am/barberry_and_lace

2 craft fair shopping bags

For a while now I’ve been going crazy for kraft! Last year I started offering gift wrapping in kraft boxes… tie them off with some lace or twine and they’re adorable! When I started going to markets I wanted to come up with a fun way to up-play some kraft bags, so here they are!

 

And here they are in action! Yay for kraft!

 

1 paleo meatloaf

My mom made this recipe for me a few weeks ago and I fell in love! She got it here. I ventured out and made it tonight, so I thought I’d share. Even if you’re not eating Paleo, you should try it… it’s seriously amazing.

What you’ll need:

• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup cabbage chopped
• 2 Tbs coconut milk (canned, full fat)
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup unsweetened barbecue sauce (optional)

So, first mix everything together except for the meat and unsweetened barbeque sauce …

   

Stir well, add meat (I used beef, but you can use turkey, elk, bison, etc.) and mix together (I use my hands). Form the mixture into loafs (I do 2 so I don’t have to cook it as long). Spread sauce evenly over the loafs. It calls for unsweetened barbeque sauce, but we like to use this organic chili sauce. Combined with the chipotle seasoning, it gives it a nice bite! Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Cover cookie sheet with tin foil and bake for 90 minutes. Viola! Delicious-ness for everyone!

0 my life lately in(stagram)

This is my bi-monthly round-up of Instagram photos! I’m enjoying finding new filters and photography apps! I recently discovered “Afterglow”. What are your favorites?

If you’d like to follow along…
@barberry_and_lace
http://statigr.am/barberry_and_lace

4 my workspace

I can’t really call it a “studio” because that sounds really fancy and legit (which mine is not) and I can’t really call it an “office” because that sounds too official. I just call it my workspace. I love it… which is a good thing because I spend a very large portion of my time here!

  

This is where I keep my completed items… that way I don’t have to make them all to order. It saves me A LOT of time!

And this is my view… it’s so much better when the trees are green and the roses and lilacs are blooming and my potted plants aren’t empty. I’m not complaining though! I do love to look out my window a lot! 
 

So, there you have it! Have you done a post on your workspace? If you have, leave me a comment with the link… I’d LOVE to see it!

1 how barberry & lace was born

*I originally published this post in September, 2011. I’ve updated the photos and where I’m at today, but this is my story.

A little background on myself: when I was little, I used to play games with my brothers like “school” or “grocery store” or “library”. Of course I was always the teacher or store clerk or librarian. When I was a bit older and we were able to buy a computer, I played games like “Zoo Tycoon” and “Sim City”. I was also the QUEEN of lemonade stands in our neighborhood. We didn’t just sell lemonade, we were a full service snack and lemonade stand. I even used to do my brothers’ school fundraisers for them! All of this to say that since the beginning of me, I’ve had a passion for creating and selling. I love to access the creative side of my brain. I get antsy if I can’t create something… anything. At the same time, I love selling things… I’m not a “salesperson” per se ( I could NEVER sell cars or magazine subscriptions), but I get excited when I can offer a product that people want to have. I believe that anyone that wants to have a successful business needs to have both of these attributes, or have a partner (or something similar) that compliments one or the other.

 

How Barberry & Lace came to be: with all the background information in place, you have to know that I have been creating and trying to sell those creations for years. Before jewelry, it was greeting cards. I made a small success with those, selling wholesale to a boutique in the downtown area where I live. It was a great supplement to my other job, but definitely didn’t offer any longevity or significant income. I went to a couple of craft fairs with my cards, but they didn’t go well either, so I went back to the drawing board.

 

I started finding all kinds of adorable charms and fun, vintage findings, so I decided to give jewelry a go. My tastes were starting to change at this time too, so I explored more of the vintage feel. I was a little nervous about dumping a bunch of money into supplies at first as I had just been laid off of work and gotten another job. I didn’t have a lot of cash flow, so I just bought what I needed to make a small inventory. As soon as I got my supplies in, I started making jewelry and fell in love. I had so much fun putting the pieces together to make something that I thought was fun and charming. I took my first batch of jewelry into work with me a few days later and my co-workers bought over half of it. I was stunned. After that, it was a repeat process… buying supplies, making fun pieces and selling them… and let me say, they were selling faster than I could make them while maintaining a full time job.

 

(products currently listed at Barberry & Lace on Etsy; click photos to visit product pages)

 

I started my Etsy shop in September of 2010 and by Christmastime I had to cut back my hours at work. I was having a hard time filling the orders that were coming in and making new jewelry, let alone working 35-40 hours per week at the restaurant. With the success of the holiday sales,  I decided to branch out. I started looking into craft fairs again. I was SUPER apprehensive about them since the events I participated in while selling greeting cards were so terrible. I applied for just one to start out with and, honestly, it was hard to find a venue that I thought would be good for my product. I found a craft market online and decided to give it a go. It was much more expensive than I anticipated, but I decided to bite the bullet. It was FANTASTIC! I did so much better than I ever thought I would, so I started applying for all the craft fairs I could find. I’ve been invited to some and have gone out to find others. Networking within these markets has been priceless. I’ve met SO many amazing women who have been so incredibly helpful in linking me in with other markets… it really has been a wonderful and rewarding opportunity.

 

     

(photos of the mock booth set up in my garage before my first event in May, 2011)

 

And that’s where I am today… I participate in at least one craft fair every weekend from May through November, boutiques in other cities are starting to pick up my product, and online sales are going strong. I was also able to leave my job at the restaurant in May of 2012.

 

That’s the story… thanks for reading! I hope it offers some inspiration to create something yourself! Here’s to success in all your endeavors!