How'd I get here?
Hi there! Many of you may not have heard my story - what led to the beginning of my business. Well, here it is. It's a bit long, but a cool story.
I am a mother of 3; twin boys and a girl, all under the age of 3, and 11 months apart. Crazy, huh? I was anxious to be back in the work force after I had my daughter 2 years ago. I had been out of work since December of '07, when the boys were born, and I was wearing thin! In February of '10, I was hired on at our local library, working 20 hours a week. This was my sanity, my break, my calm. I worked with some amazing ladies and really began to feel like Michelle again. Not the stressed and exhausted mom that I had become. I began to have the strength to be a better mom and wife.
Then, in April of '10, my husband, Josh, began school for his PhD. in accounting. He would be in school while he taught accounting full time at a local college. Life got a little busier, but we were no strangers to chaos! In August, Josh came home from being away for a week at school and broke some sad news to me. He had received his doctorate schedule for August through May '11 and, unfortunately, there would be no time for me to work outside of the home. What?! I have to tell you, I cried. I was so bummed! I'd made some great friends at the library and felt like I was connecting again with adults outside of church and Bible study and it was a huge deal for me!
Josh and I began to talk about ways for me to work from home because I had to have something in my day that would give me a break for my sanity. We prayed for clarity regarding my job at the library and what to do next. Josh come to me on a Tuesday and asked what I thought about framing pictures. My mom has been in the business for a long time and I worked for her in high school and in college and really enjoyed it! But, no, I said, there is no way I can afford all the equipment needed to start a business. I threw out a few numbers, and being the businessman/accountant that he is, he agreed it wouldn't be feasible.
On Friday of that same week, I spoke with my mom and asked for her prayers as we decided what to do. Her response to me was, 'Have you ever thought about framing?' Whoa! Where'd that come from? Neither Josh or I had told her what we had just talked about. So, I shared my concerns about equipment and she offered to sell me her duplicate items very cheap so I could get going. Well, that was a start. But what about the rest of the supplies? She gave me some websites to search for used equipment but I didn't find anything. I hopped on craigslist that night (for those of you who know us, you know how we live on craigslist!) and found a lady in northeast Chicago who had been in the framing businesses for over 27 years and was in the process of retiring. I emailed her that night, and a few hours later I had a list of equipment and prices, great prices, I might add! We called my mom to have her review the offer, and by the end of the next day we had a u-haul trailer hooked on the back of our truck to go pick up my equipment early the following day!
So here I am. A little over a month down the road. My shop is set up. My samples are in. And I am open for business! Part of the fun of working for my mom was to see the different types of art that came in. I saw Picasso's, signed NFL jerseys, antique quilt's, beautiful family portraits and so much more. Now, running my own business, I am excited to see what I will have the privilege to frame!
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