Launching my business

I am very proudly married to the military; well, to my husband who is in the military. But for those who don't have a spouse in the military, this is the best way for me to explain. The longest we have lived anywhere in the past 17 years is 3 years. To most that would be slightly crazy, but to me it is normal life. I'm also a stay at home mom to 2 very beautiful teenagers daughters. To keep myself busy I have always done one craft or another. About 4 years ago I was walking through Michaels and stopped at the bead section. Why had I never looked here before? All the colors and textures!! I had to try it; I was running out of other crafts to try.

I have always been one of those that just wing it. You know the type..."What directions??" Yes, that is me alright. I bought a couple magazines and an arm load of beads and things to string them on and went to work. I admit I seemed to have an affinity for it. Wow! I finally found my niche. I was getting compliments left and right, and was very happy making pieces for friends and family. My ever business minded mom almost fell over when she found out I was just giving all the things I was making away for free. So, being the ever obedient daughter...cough, cough...I started to charge and do craft fairs. I did fairly well, but it just wasn't quite doing it for me. After awhile I had a couple ladies ask if I could possibly teach them how to make a wire wrapped bracelet. I had nothing to lose, so there began my jewelry teaching career.
Needless to say I found something I liked to do even more then making jewelry. It was fantastic! I loved teaching so much that I started teaching at Michaels and at a private bead store out in town. Things were going great. I had a large student base and a growing customer base. Then my husband got orders to move to Camp Lejeune, NC. Talk about being mad! But that is the way of military life. For the first time in our married life I was devastated to move. And not only were we moving, but as soon as we got here my husband was due to deploy to Iraq.

The house we moved into didn't have any room for me to set up my supplies let alone any room to teach. Talk about depressing. Here comes the part where I admit my biggest obstacle. This is even bigger then starting over with new clients and new students. In 2005 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. For those who don't know what MS is, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is the best place to find out: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx. This is a physical and sometimes mental disability. I never know when I might have a good or bad day. I won't go into details, but to say this is an obstacle is to put it mildly. Thankfully I have a wonderfully supportive husband. I even got him to string a couple beads for me!

We finally moved into a house that has room for my stuff. I'm still not as busy as I used to be, but we all get older and we all slow down. I will admit my disease has played a major role in my slowing down, but I still have a passion for designing and an even larger passion for teaching. I want to thank all the ladies who have encouraged me and helped me along the way. Even if I never sell one piece of jewelry, I have met some amazing people through my jewelry.
 

Advice for others

I would like to think that I can encourage people to take chances. So many people are scared to take a chance. We are taught from a young age that what others think should be more important then what we think of ourselves. You never know what life will hand you from day to day. I was dealt a pretty bad hand with my MS, but I refuse to let that stop me. My neurologist once told me that she would love for me to talk to some of her other MS patients about positive thinking. On the days that I feel my worst, well, those are the days I go all out. I spend extra time doing my hair and picking my outfit. I go out of my way to talk to people. It's not easy, but I have found that after a while my bad day isn't so bad. There is always someone worse off then you. I still have my loving family and friends. What more could a person ask for?