Skip to main content

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...

... One is silver and the other gold!

 (If you were singing along, then you were a Girl Scout. That was one of the songs we used to sing at camp.... in fact, I am almost positive that I have a cross-stitch sampler somewhere with the lyrics on it!)

 Anywho, isn't that a good mantra, though? Girl Scout or not -

"Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." 

Or in a more relatable tone: Don't be flaky. Appreciate everyone you know!

 We transition through our lives having friends to different degrees: babies don't have "friends". They, at best, sit next to other babies without freaking out. But once we enter school - friends are EVERYTHING. This continues through college when friends help you gain the freshman 15 and haul your intoxicated butt safely home from parties. Then, in adulthood, we take jobs where sometimes you can't be friends with the people you spend most of your waking hours with. You are either the supervisor or supervisee (not a word, I know) and the idea of friendship takes on new meaning with boundaries, professionalism, blah blah blah.

 And then many of us fall in Looooooove... and now your new (silver) best friend is your roommate and you can't see anything else in the universe! Sometimes old (gold) friends get left in the lurch when that happens.

 Does any of this relate to sewing and business?

 Yes, indeed. I wouldn't have ThreadAbell without friends. Since I don't pay for Facebook advertising, I rely on word of mouth and that beautiful thing called sharing. My local and out-of-town friends have hired me for both big and small projects: always with such creative inspiration. My friend Jessica who owns Goody Tutus was my all-time crafting buddy when she lived down the street (damn you for moving!!!), but has always been gracious to share my business and keep me growing.

 And where would I be without my friends at the local craft stores? I drag my kids into Joann's almost every day... we are such regulars that when I go without the kids, almost every employee asks where "my little ones are." It has been a worthwhile "business investment" to be friendly and kind, because I need these ladies to lead me down the right aisle. Just a few weeks ago, I was nearly in tears because I couldn't find a fabric I needed. I had just sold one of my Rowlf pillows and could NOT find the piano key fabric... I wandered all over until I asked at the cutting counter. She knew exactly where it was and almost scolded me for not asking sooner.

 My point is: treasure your relationships. Promote friends in whatever way you can, share ideas, inspire. When I am ahead of the game, I love to have "Promote A Friend Mondays" on my Facebook page. It's a fun way to congratulate friends on their successes and innovative ideas. Look for it every week!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Hop!

 I feel so honored that I was asked to participate in a blog hop - the post from my friend Kim at Fall Hill Bead and Gem will be hard to beat, but here goes!: What are you working on?    Muppets, Muppets and more Muppets... in my craft room, I have bits and pieces of Animal, Kermit, Fozzie, Rowlf and the Swedish chef cut up and lying in little piles. Sounds morbid, right? But the month of June has been my busiest EVER, especially with my Etsy shop. I was commissioned by a customer to decorate their nursery Muppet-style (is there any other style, really?) and every day is a new order for something amazing!  When I say I have all of those characters in little pieces, I do that because many of my items feature a sewing technique called applique . In the fabric arts, you can create ANY picture you want by deconstructing it and then layering them piece by piece. I use a wonderful quilting book for my designs, which gives detailed instructions for creating many of...

Do You Want to.... Build an Elsa Dress?

 "Do you want to build a snowman?"  Or, more recently, do you want to sew an Elsa dress?  Whether you have children or have listened to the radio in the past 6 months or seen one of million sing-a-long Frozen videos on YouTube, you KNOW that the Frozen phenomenon is huge. No pun intended (really), but the movies' popularity has snowballed  (heh heh) into crazy obsession for both parents and children alike.  I should have known that my friend Noelle would be the first one to ask for an Elsa dress! I wish I were better at staying on top of trends and holidays... but in all honesty, I never have that stuff done in time. I know the *smart* crafter is already sewing Christmas stockings and decorations this time of year, but I am still in that day-to-day, complete each order kind of schedule.  Our search for an adequate pattern at the craft store was frustrating... nothing Frozen. And nothing that could be adapted to look just right. Yes, I am sure Disn...

Five (Million) Easy Ways to Start A Business

Ha!  What's easier than starting a business in a new city, with three small children and a very, very small budget? Many things, obviously! But I have to say that building my Etsy shop and ThreadAbell business from virtually nothing has been probably the most important aspect of success. It was either work hard or fail. And it still is every day.  If this was *easy*, I probably wouldn't be as motivated. I may not be ready to sell my brand to Martha Stewart crafts - but I am busier than I was a year ago. I am growing all of the time and each finished project is a new skill, new marketable item and one more notch in my confidence belt (weird analogy?). We all weird confidence belts, right?  So, yes, I spend many hours challenging my skills in the sewing room. I read frustrating patterns and use many a Youtube video to figure out sewing terms that are simply easier to SEE than to read. But I also have other resources and support that have helped make ThreadAb...