Growing up in a small town, I lived a very modest and simple life. I didn’t experience many aesthetically pleasing settings apart from what I watched on HGTV or TLC. From a young age, I always wanted to make everything around me beautiful. I fell in love with art and the creative process, whether it was painting murals for prom backdrops or hand-drawing run-through signs for football games. I never turned down an opportunity to create.
My grandmother, who was very involved in my upbringing, has always had a green thumb and a passion for reviving discounted or unwanted plants. Her gardens have always been a place where I find inspiration and joy. To this day, you’ll still find me clipping bridal veil spirea, peonies, and clematis from her bounty.
As much as I’ve always known the things I’m passionate about, I never knew I could monetize them. Fast forward through graduating from hair school and college, and multiple jobs, to when I discovered that creating for a living could be an actual job; everything clicked and fell into place. I’ve never looked back.
Now that my business and marriage are 10 years in, and my babies Carver, 8, and Hildie, 6, aren’t really babies anymore, I’ve really been able to take time to invest in things that fuel my creative drive. Whether that’s a workshop or visiting a place I’ve never been, I find that it makes me so much better all around and much more passionate about what I’m creating. Traveling has been the best gift I have given myself and my family. You only know what you know, and you can only draw so much inspiration from the things you haven’t actually seen or experienced. Traveling has given me so much perspective on design styles, lifestyles, and everything in between. Producing that inspiration for my clients is so life-giving, and it’s a full-circle moment with every wedding that passes.