Hello, friends. I hope that this finds you well and that you had a nice weekend. This weekend, we were in a local craft show and celebrated Mother's day with my folks. What did you do over the weekend? If you are a small shop and would like to be featured in the Meet The Maker blog series please email me for more information.
I really enjoy getting to know other small handmade shops. Our Follow Friday activity has to be one of my favorite weekly events for our Instagram feed. I love meeting these new shops and then giving them the opportunity to be featured on our Instagram feed and here in our blog. Recently during one of our Follow Friday feature contests, the winner was Tom and Crystal Huesman from The Roosters Relics. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit about them and their handmade shop.
Tom and Crystal are from Baltimore County, Maryland. They moved to Red Lion, PA about 2 years ago. Crystal shared with me that Red Lion "is a smallish town about 30 minutes from Lancaster, PA."
Crystal shared that she has been crafting for her whole life in some way. Here is a fun story that she shared with me. "I have always loved walking around old towns with my grandparents admiring the architect and watching my father build in his basement workshop on the weekends. I remember watching him build me a dollhouse with a doorbell and electricity, while he worked and went to college. I guess he has been my inspiration all these years. Working hard and staying humble is his mojo."
Crystal what drew you into this particular craft? "I grew up wanting to be an art teacher or join the Military to be a pilot, but ended up taking a more 'practical' career path of auditing and quality control. When I was about 23 I started to have severe migraines and I used painting and decorating as stress therapy. This was also when Shabby Chic became popular and I loved it, but being a young mom I had to be creative with decorating on a budget. Of course, my friends were not so keen on my style back then, they thought it was for "old people" lol. Thanks to HGTV they have changed their tune:). Then in 2008 about the time I met my husband, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. So some days I can make and others I just design." Thank you for sharing all of the ups and downs of your path to this point. I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis of MS. I too struggle with a chronic illness. It can be hard some days and easier on others. Thank you for persevering and crafting through the good and bad days.
What brought you to sell online? "I use to give away my painted furniture to Veterans and homeless shelters only, until about a year ago after several friends begged me to start a business page. From then my hobby blossomed into selling items, staging stores and decorating homes for those on a budget. Everyone says I sell my stuff too cheap, but my philosophy is to price things that are budget friendly. If I know of someone else that can make the item better, I will refer my client to them. Not that they will return the favor....but hey that's good karma right :)" Thank you for being so generous. What a blessing you are to those around you.
Crystal continues to sell by keeping this in mind. "I always keep in mind the thankfulness and tears of joy I witnessed when decorating for folks moving from homeless shelters to their own homes."
Something that helps keep Crystal keep going is this, "Over the past few months we have grown to a group of 7 makers, all friends here in PA and MD. We all work full-time jobs as well in various public service positions. They each have amazing design skills varying from painting, decorating and building. I am beyond happy to be able to showcase their work. We like to have fun and get our business from referrals. We do not post professional pictures or pay for marketing. I utilize my friends Amy, Dana, and Melanie to bounce ideas off of when designing. They are hilarious, supportive and honest."
Crystal what is one of your favorite pieces? "I do not think I can pick one favorite piece. I guess if I had to it would be the first Barn door my husband made for our home. He is so talented and has gone several days with minimal sleep to build items for families when I can not."
What is one thing you would share with others interested in going into business? "One thing I would like to share with others in the business is to trust your instincts and do not let people take advantage of your kindness. Just because you can or love what you are doing, make sure those you work with are sincere."
Crystal what hopes do you have for the future for your business? "My hopes for the future of our business is continuing to help others. I spend hours each day just answering client questions because I love to help. When a client is excited it fuels my creativity, which happens to be late at night lol. Yay for coffee to get me through the day. Oh and of course have fun! All of my friends are begging me to get a go pro so they can witness some of the funny things that happen or I do." Thank you for sharing about yourself and your small business. I wish you all the best in your endeavors.
You can find The Rooster Relics Online at these web addresses:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theroostersrelics/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRoostersRelics/
email: theroostersrelics@comcast.net
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