welcome to the bookerie II

So August 2nd of this year I opened a second shop. I know, crazy. But after uh, two minutes of going to work with my then 7 week old son at our matchbox sized original store I knew the writing was on the wall. Either I quit working in the store completely and just made stuff at home (which was the scenario I opened the first shop to avoid originally) or I needed a new place that was more constant-companion friendly. Like the Tardis. But I digress. I started looking for a space when I was about 5 weeks postpartum and the building owners I talked to were all like, "You just had a kid and now you want to do what?" Crazy, I know.

But after a surprisingly short search, I found a space that was perfect. It was the right size, had an open back room for dedicated studio space, and a little corner nook room to be the little guy's own special playroom. The price was right, the landlords are a darling couple excited to see me succeed, and everything seemed to be laid out right in front of me. The sweet, sweet lady that covered my maternity leave was willing to take over management of our Tulsa store (which has so many wonderful and loyal customers we knew we didn't want to close it unless absolutely necessary) and so that settled it. Baby and I would be the new owners of a shop in small town Oklahoma - Sapulpa, to be exact. 

Above is our front window reading space and below are snaps of the rest of my space. I am so in love with it. I will be posting a studio tour soon too!

back from obscurity

Good morning!

So a year of silence. Unintended but necessary. Turns out that I found out I was pregnant the day of my last post - August 28, 2013. I was initially planning to keep blogging, but much sooner than I like to admit all my clothes stopped fitting, the holidays ramped up at work, and I just fell out of the habit.

My life got complicated, and it is only more so now that I have a 4 month old munchkin in tow. This 4 month old munchkin to be exact:

And though he is crazy adorable and such a good natured kid, life is still a little, well, complicated. In a fit of what some would consider insanity I also opened a second shop this summer so that baby boy and I could have space to go to work together, which is what we do now five days a week. So when I am not trying to fix his currently horrible sleep schedule or entertaining during tummy time, I am managing a growing company, making two stores worth of handmade product, and trying to save a remnant of sanity.

And that is part of the reason I am coming back to blogging, but the focus of my blog is going to change. I don't really intend to become a "mommy blog," but I am a mom now, so some of that is bound to get in here somehow. I find myself wanting to share my experiences as a working mom, small business owner, artist, and crafty person on a budget trying to lose some baby weight and help my family eat healthy. But most of all, I want to starting writing again because all the people I love have been telling me that I should.

I find myself constantly faced with questions about what I should do in the hard situations I find myself in as a business owner, wife, and parent and the answer always comes back: you need to favor the brave. Do the hard and right thing.

So I am going to try this again. I am going to once again favor the brave.