That night I came home and cried. I was discouraged. The week before I received an e-mail from someone on Facebook asking if I would be interested in selling my items in her seasonal holiday store. I sent her a nice e-mail and declined because I didn't have the time or the stock. I knew I was going to work the upcoming craft show and I was sure I would sell most of my stock. When discussing with Ryan why I was crying, he mentioned the woman with the store. I told him I couldn't go crawling back to her, begging her to let me sell my things in her store.
Late that night, I checked my phone and saw this on Facebook:
Another long day getting the store ready! When I'm done, I'll post before and after's but the before's are kinda scary so I want to AMAZE you :) Listen guys, I reallly, really, REALLY want Regan's Sweat Shoppe to be a vendor in the Manhattan store! I found her on etsy and she's in Kansas so head over to her page and check out her super FAB items and while you're there....tell her to BRING IT to Manhattan :)
I couldn't sleep. I spent the rest of the night thinking and praying and realizing a few things. When I started my Etsy shop I asked God to allow it to be fruitful. I really like to sew, and I would love to do it full time someday when the kids are in school. I would like it to help provide for our family. I went to the craft fair without God. I never once prayed and gave it to him. I was so sure that I could do it on my own. He used a very hard lesson to show me that it wasn't about me.
I decided two things overnight (well, beyond the huge lesson that God was teaching me). #1- I wasn't going back to day two of the craft fair. The weather was supposed to be bad, I really needed to help my husband prepare for Kellyn's birthday party that night, and God didn't support my participation in that particular craft show. #2- I was going to contact the woman from Facebook and ask her to meet with me. I had questions and I wanted to see the place where the store would be located.
I met with her the next day. Ryan and I had made a list of some specific requirements that we were looking for if I were to agree to be a vendor. When I met with her, she mentioned everything on my list without me having to tell her what we would like as our terms. I came home, prayed about it and really felt a peace about the whole endeavor. It's not easy to trust that everything will be alright, but I truly believe that God put this plan into motion.
Last Saturday was the open house for Fab Finishes. The store is cute, still a bit of a work in progress, but that's okay. I was told that I sold a little over half of what I needed to, to break even this month. I'm okay with that. I believe God is in control of this.
My Etsy shop is currently pretty bare, but that's okay. I plan on putting it in vacation mode soon after I finish a few custom orders. After the holidays I plan to revamp it and offer some new items. I'd like to do more made to order items like these:
For now I'm adding a few new items to take over to Fab Finishes, working on custom orders, Christmas gifts, and trying to keep photos updated on my Facebook page of the items that I have and can make for people. Beyond that I'm just trusting God that he has all of this in control.
No comments:
Post a Comment