Guest Post: Mandie of Moxie Mandie

Today I'm so excited to have Mandie of Moxie Mandie guest posting. I love Mandie's style and her incredible eye for beautiful fabrics. I know you'll love hearing a little bit about her crafty journey and how she started her shop.

Thank you SO much for sharing with us, Mandie!
____________________________________

Hi there. I'm Mandie, & I run a shop & blog called moxiemandie. I'm a girl that loves fabric (amongst many other things) and decided to do something about it. You see, I've had a designing eye & inspired mind for quite some time, but didn't have an outlet. I tried to pick up sewing 2 years ago, but for some reason, it just didn't *click*. I had ideas floating around my head, with no realistic way of executing them & was frustrated.

Fast forward a bit of time, and my life had shifted a bit- my hubby was laid off & went back to working nights, so I suddenly had 5 nights a week to myself. Around the same time, I received an email from my old sewing teacher saying that she was starting up a weeknight class & would I like to join? Things were slowly (or not so slowly) settling into place for a new thing to happen, and I was having fun.

I learned how to install a zipper before anyone told me that it was supposed to be tricky or hard (thank God!), and began making little zipper pouches out the wazzoo. I signed up for a craft show, and brought as many little zipper pouches as I could turn out with, and moxiemandie was born.

Since last fall, my shop has evolved a lot and several products have already run their course. I began with zipper pouches, and now sell nothing (at this time) with a zipper in it- my shop is almost exclusively home accessories now. I knew very little about anything business related when I opened last October, and to be honest, it's definitely not my strong suit yet. However, I hit the ground running, or I guess in my situation, sewing, and have had a blast. There have been disappointments, and I'm sure there will be more, but I can say that it's been one of the best experiences of my life, and that through all of this 'shop stuff', I've learned more not only about who I am, but who I'd like to be and what it may take to get there.

I'd like to encourage you to start- anywhere- with what your dream is and run with it. It's not going to be easy, most likely, and it won't happen in one day, but honestly, & I know this is so cliche, but the journey really is where it's at. :)