The first one
Welcome, friends, to the inaugural blog post of the brand spankin' new L&W website. I'm sure it's cliche, but if you would have asked me 5 years ago if I thought I would own my own business, I would have laughed directly in your face. But, here we are. I quit my job, a job that I really, truly loved (most days) at the end of July 2019. I kind of had a plan, but really didn't know what I was doing (I still don't tbh) but just dove in head first. It's now January 2020. I'm still doing it, I'm a little more confident, but still scared that I'm going to fail...not sure I'll ever get over that one. Buuuuuttttttt, I'm super excited about some new things that are on the horizon this year. First and foremost, our mobile boutique (aka Big Bertha).
We purchased Bertha (and Golden Girl Blanche aka my truck) in the fall of 2019. We took them out to a few markets and pop ups to kind of get their feet wet. At this point, all we had really done was enclose the v-nose section for storage, and install some slat walls and tin. It did the job, protected us from wind and rain, and was ok, but not exactly super pretty. The floor was pretty beat up and oil stained, the ceiling and lights left a little to be desired, but it was a work in progress (like many things in our life!)
We made it through the rest of the outdoor market season, and moved indoors for the remainder of November and December. After those were all done, we set our sites on finishing up Bertha. She got a new floor, new lights and some new paint inside.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated and we were able to install these vinyl planks a few days after Christmas. Had it been a "normal" winter, we would have had to wait until spring for it to warm up. She still needs an exterior paint job at some point, but for now, I'm happy with her progress. Head on over to our fb & Instagram pages for more photos of her transformation.
Another new thing in 2020 is the addition of a fun new t-shirt line. I'm a huge lover of t-shirts, and still have some dating back to my high school and college days. I'm also a lover of snark, so making a line of somewhat snarky tees just seemed like a no brainer. These are all designed and hand lettered by yours truly and some do have some traditional fonts in them as well, because it's just so much faster (and I still don't love my print!!) Let me know what you think of them! I'm fairly certain I will own at least 2 of every design. Here's a sample of the new line.
Don't mind the headless mother. She doesn't normally ever have to see people and is just #ahotmess on the daily, but she COULD NOT WAIT to put on her new tee and text her husband. I still have a few kinks to work out, but the new line should be up and running soon.
Be on the lookout for upcoming Market dates. We're still getting those scheduled, but our first one coming up is Hobnob Hoopla! Market on March 13 & 14 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Expo Bldg). Hobnob NEVER disappoints and is always a FANTASTIC market!
Thanks for stopping by and listening to my rambling. Much love, A.