Hey all!
Happy Monday! Once again I have a lovely guest blogger! Today I'm excited to introduce Dain!hi. my name is dain and this is my little story.
i've been making art/crafting my whole life. which is weird because my family isn't very crafty, but somehow i just got the gene. maybe from my grandmas ... they both were really interested in art and design. i always loved rearranging my room, painting, making jewelry, scrap-booking, collaging, etc. i went to college for art therapy but changed halfway thru and ended up minoring in art. i still never thought i'd have an "art career", it was always just a side project that i did for my sanity. for a while i started getting in to event planning .... which i still somewhat do. i also started working in the music industry for some independent musicians so i was always working on projects and events for that, all the while creating art on my own, just for myself and friends (cards, etc). well, at some point i happened upon the blog world, and from there i just got sucked in (even tho i HATE computers with a passion).
last winter (dec 2008), i got really sick. i was misdiagnosed by my doctor until the spring (april 2009), had broken up with my bf of 7 years, and quit my job. without any income (let alone, 2 incomes), i had to move out of my condo, since i couldn't pay the mortgage. i was pretty much in a huge slump, just feeling terrible about everything.
one afternoon i went to hang out with the ladies at my favorite local scrap book store (paper tales) and i was playing around with this vintage velvet ribbon flower brooch that one of the ladies who works there showed me, and i was like, umm, this would be SO CUTE on a headband. the ladies all laughed at me because i ALWAY wear headbands and think that anything would look cuter attached to a band. but when i got home that night, i was really stuck on the idea of making something similar. i had some black and cream maya road ribbon laying around from a scrapbook kit (might have even been the last red velvet art kit that rachel used to do?) and i just sewed it up, attached it to a headband that i had laying around, and was in love. i brought it back down to paper tales the next week and the ladies loved it and totally encouraged me to start making them to sell. what did i have to lose? i was unemployed, living back home with my mom, and getting over a 6 month plus illness. next thing i know, it's 3 weeks later, i have a seller's permit, an etsy shop, a business name, logo, business cards, have scheduled a photoshoot and booked models, and i'm wearing my own designs everyday.
making the headbands gave me a sense of purpose, and really gave my something to focus on and have fun with. during this time, my friends and family were so encouraging (even if they don't QUITE understand it, haha) and now, almost a year later, here i am, still trucking. i have SO SO SO much to learn, but i feel pretty proud that i've stuck with it so far, even when i've been discouraged and sad. i've had two professional photo shoots, am in the process of my website being designed (should be launching around the year mark of starting! yey!), am reaching out to more brick and mortar stores, and am expanding my goals and dreams.
i still think EVERYTHING (ok, well, not EVERYTHING) looks cuter on a headband, and i'm always playing with new color schemes and textures. i feel honored to get to share my story with you - at the end of the day i would love to be able to help inspire other people to do something they love, to create, to experiment and follow their dreams.
you can find out more about me and see what i'm up to at
www.daintydainjb.blogspot.com or on facebook at
www.facebook.com/daintyhandcrafted
***all photos by kate daigneault
xo,
Dain
I hope you guys have a really wonderful week and I'll see you tomorrow!
Muah!
Meaghan @ Urban Farm Designs
