If you follow me on instagram you might of noticed my posts slowed down a bit. This year has been SO CRAZY FULL of change. I moved halfway across the country (which that in itself has about 1094398439483948394.6987 changes), moved into a (new to me) house that we have been remodeling, have had to make new friendships and establish a new normal. What else. Oh yeah, I GOT ENGAGED. Best. Year. Ever.
I talk about New York City a lot, but I lived there my entire adult life and it is just...part of you. I have always been an artist, a maker. I entered local art shows growing up, took art in high school and college, and always found myself drawn to color and detail. Even though I was born with a love for it in my heart, my jobs in NYC and the insanely talented people I was lucky enough to work for are what and who really watered that little seed and made it grow into a giant beautiful tree.
When I left NYC last September, midwest bound, I knew this was a time for me to really start to debut my own talents. Not under another's name or brand, but my own. My grandmother's roses and camellias and the time we spent together when caring for them is what initially made me fall in love with flowers, but the designers I saw, the events I attended, the crazy amount of research and design classes I took were like "aha!". My Meme passed away almost a year to date of me leaving the city. I felt like all things combined it was fate or serendipity or whatever you want to call it. Flowers were a way for me to launch my own brand and follow my own interests.
In my first 6 months of living in a new state I built a website and booked 8 weddings, 2 styled shoots, 6 pop-up shop events, 4 charity events, and even received an award as Volunteer of the Year with the Boys & Girls Club for donating the event design and florals for their annual auction. I did not know a soul when I stepped foot on that Indiana soil. I built a brand is what I did, a good one. However, I started to realize I didn't like the direction it was going. I did not want to grow my flower business in a way that I would have to hire people and have others fulfill my orders and miss weekends with my fiancé and friends. I didn't want to constantly be on Instagram and comparing myself to other people and what their pictures looked like and what scissors they used to style the image. What I wanted changed and you know what? That is ok. I worried that by pulling back and taking time to figure out what I wanted to do with Southern Sky people might think I failed when in reality I was in full speed to success. Then I realized, who cares what people think. Authenticity shows and means so much more than anything.
As we started planning our wedding ( and after many therapy sessions with my irreplaceable girl boss friends Christina and Heidi - plug, check out their biz's) and I got to dive into all the details of that, I realized I can't live without design. I literally breath it. From paper and texture to textiles and cabinet pulls, I need it in my life. That being said, maybe it doesn't have to be how I make a living for now. Maybe it's something I get immense joy out of and get to pick and choose what projects I work on and who I work with. Lightbulb.
I have so many fun projects to share and I am so excited that I have this space to do so. Don't worry - I am still offering floral design services, but I am focusing on small intimate gatherings along with other design ventures that I will share as they come and as I feel compelled to. A'int it a wonderful thing when we can choose joy?
If you're still with me, thank you. I hope this resinates with someone and that you all go and spend the night with someone you love or doing something you love, not caught up in those little picture squares.
