Monday, November 5, 2012

Today, I would like to share our new friend and jewelry designer, Sarah,  of Blue Soul Designs with you.  I stumbled across Sarah, in a sea of jewelry designers while trying to bring in a new line for the store.  Something drew me to her. No glitter, no flashy gems, just a pure, simple quality that kept drawing me back to look at her pieces.  To this day, I can't tell you how we managed to find her- other than countless searches that all lead me back to Blue Soul.  It's a God thing. And I am glad I listened. After the first email, I knew she was a keeper. And so, Sarah and Blue Soul became part of the Farmhouse.  I appreciated her attention to detail, her incredible communication, and her craftsman.  A rare gem to be treasured.  It wasn't until weeks after receiving our order, did she share her story with me. Now, we not only carry her pieces, but we cheer her on, and pray we have many reorders ahead. What an amazing lady, mother, artist, and entrepreneur - inspiring us to dig deep into out suitcases -  to find a way. Thank you Sarah, for sharing your story and having the courage to try on something new.  It makes you sparkle... K
                                                                                                         (Photo by Pink Marmalade Designs)


*********************************************************************************************************Hi!  My name is Sarah and I am the owner of Blue Soul Designs.  I am so thankful to have met Kristen, she's such a sweet heart!  She asked me to guest post today.  I am brand new to blogging, so bear with me!  I make handmade jewelry and it is my passion.  Blue Soul Designs was born in December of last year, after my family and I experienced something extremely traumatic.  

Our family lost our home to toxic mold. We lost everything. My kids cried when they had to let go of teddy bears and toys that were sentimental to them.  I cried along with them. The shock of what happened, plus the financial burden, sent me on a quest to find a way to not only keep my sanity, but try to help provide extra income for medical costs.  

I have always been on the creative side, but not in the traditional Artsy sense.  Mine was always through photography or similar avenues.  Since I love jewelry, I wondered if I could make it. I watched a ton of tutorials, as I am a visual learner.  I do think a certain level of natural skill has to be there.  That, combined with the tutorials and lots of practice got me where I am today.  

I was extremely fortunate to have found a kind Artist on Etsy who has mentored me for an entire year. She has been so patient with answering my endless questions and has helped me if I got stuck on something.  Jewelry is heavily saturated on Etsy, so it has been hard to stand out.  It does take a lot of work, but I have found that there are a lot of kind people out there, willing to help.  A friend of mine is a designer and has an established blog.  She was kind enough to do a giveaway for me when I first started.  And, that led to other giveaways.  There have been many kind Bloggers who have been instrumental in helping me to grow my business and get the word out there.

Another thing that helped is being a part of The Artisan Group.  They are an elite group of hand picked Artists who are given opportunities to gift Celebrities!  They also take part in Official Gift Lounges for events such as the The Emmy's and the CMA's! Because of them, I have been able to gift Vanessa Lachey, Mariska Hartigay, Trista Sutter and I've designed necklaces for the Wardrobe stylists of Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries, to be considered for use on the show! 

It's been a tough year and Blue Soul Designs has been one of my life lines!  It's given me something positive to focus on . My health actually got worse when we moved out of the mold, not better. Our hope is to be able to move out of the area soon, so I can begin to really recover. In the mean time, I love making jewelry and I LOVE hearing from my customers!  I am extremely OCD about the jewelry I make. If I wouldn't be happy wearing it, i'm certainly not going to send it out to my customers.  I think that is something that sets me apart from other shops.  It's so extremely important to give excellent customer service.  I never, ever thought I would be where I'm at today.  I am so very thankful and hope that it continues for many years to come. My goal for the future is to continue to grow my business, and to be able to get my jewelry into shops and boutiques across the U.S.

When I am not making jewelry, you can find me chasing after my kiddos, watching reality tv (I am kinda obsessed with Bravo), or soaking up the beach, when time allows.  We are only 90 minutes away from Panama City Beach!  We try to go 3-4 times during the spring/summer.  The Ocean is the one place I feel absolute peace at, hence the name Blue Soul Designs.  I am both in awe of the Ocean and terrified of it (sharks!)  Back when we first moved here, we had no idea swimming out the sand bar was a no no.  We swam out and when we almost reached the sandbar, saw about an 8 ft. shadow swimming underneath us.  True Story!  Scared the junk out of me!  Needless to say, we have never, ever, ever done that since.  And, I now only go waist deep in the Ocean. ;)

4 comments:

  1. Great post, Sarah! I love that you shared more of your story. Maybe someone can relate, you never know. I'm glad you have this opportunity with Kristen. Love the Kentucky girls shirt.

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  2. Sarah...so interesting how your company got it's name! I didn't know about the mold...that is so sad. Keep up the good work...you are so talented.

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  3. Loved your post, Sarah. I am SO sorry that you lost everything to mold (and that you still got worse). Wishing you even more success with your jewelry and good health. I'm a little OCD about the things I make so I'm happy to meet someone who takes extra extra care in the quality of their work. I just wish I was a little faster about it. Thank you for inspiring. I will check out your shop for Christmas gifts.

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  4. Sarah, I can relate to your mold tragedy, I rented a brick bldg and it was full of black mold only to be hid over 6o plus years of more drywall and spray foam and foam wall board. My husband is also a mold inspector for the State of OR and this man hid it so well but I continued to complain that my husband finally tore a wall down and it was more than awful. I was down to 100 lbs and trying to keep that on was so hard. I ate pudding every night (yes, and entire box) I thought surely this will add weight. He removed the one wall but the smell was still awful and the then he looked into the basement ceiling and the entire ceiling was mushroomed with ick I have never seen before. I closed my shop and when I closed my shop I cried for an entire year about anything and everything and I felt like Eeyour off of Winnie The Pooh. Almost a year and a half later my husband sold his Co. and we have decided to move to Arizona so here I sit in a 3000 sq.ft house with one son left at home waiting to move. It will be sometime early of 2013 (I am praying). We had 3 shops (storages) I had a moving sale, I honestly can not tell you how horrible it was. I had my shop belongings and my husband had his business items in there as well. He had left to pursue a job in Arizona and I was in charge of clearing out the first shop! He was a bit depressed and could not admit it. I told him he would feel that way after he sold his business and he said "no way" I will be so glad, you are right. he said; this is not the time when I want to be told I am right I am telling you I understand how you feel. We are on month 2 of being separated, he took the job in Arizona and now it is just my son and I here waiting, packing, giving away, all of my prized treasures that I have collected. I am trying so hard to pack this huge house - 2 of our children are at College I am thinking; why, I can pack my treasures because they do not live at home any longer! I can justify anything!!! So I have found myself hiding from the world in this great land of depression which I have never experienced. I packed my suitcases and can not open them right now. But reading your story gives me great hope that when we fianlly get to move, I can and will open them again. Being a mom and wife and a creator of everything I could imagine, I can and still will do. I closed my blog as well. I have cried, not wanting to get rid of my posessions because deep inside I am still alive in there and I want to live again, and creating and owning my own business was everything I imagined it could be, yes even through this horrible economy. Thank you for sharing your story, it is nice to know that there are other "real" people out there. I am so glad you are away from the mold (I hope)because it can wreck havic on your body and nobody understands why you are so sick, and you get comments like; don't you think you have lost enough weight, I was not trying to loose weight! We live in a very small town that I am going to throw confetti when we leave! I can honestly tell you that when I closed my shop I began getting better and health and weight is really good now. I pray your kidos are okay, it takes a tole on your immune system. Thank you again for your inspiration. I will use your inspiration to get my life moving again, if there is a will then there is a way.
    Sincerely,
    Deana

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