How I survived the Christmas madness

How I survived the Christmas madness

I hate to admit it but I’ve gotten caught up in the busyness of the season. My sister and I are entrepreneurs after all and it’s very hard to take a breather and slow down. We’ve written about this topic before here,  here,  here, and here but every time we go through it, it seems to feel different.

This week-end we are doing a very merry Etsy Pop Up Market (my sister is the Victoria Etsy lead). Today is the first day and we are here for 2 more days right in the core of downtown. We are at 547 Johnson Street Dec 18th-20th. The hours are Saturday 11-6pm and Sunday 11-5pm. If you are local pop by and say hi, we’d love to see you.

This time of year there is always something pulling at us or begging for our attention. It’s like that all year long but leading up to Christmas it’s especially busy with last minute orders, wholesale accounts, managing 3 online stores and doing local markets 6 months a year. This 3 day week-end is our last venue and we are longing for a day of rest. My sister and I joke that a vacation for us is a day at Costco which is a mere 25 minutes away. It’s really not a joke because that often is a real treat and holiday for us. So yes we’ve been caught up in the back backing stress leading up the holidays. There is always one more order to fill or one more errand to run and while we are extremely grateful we are longing to slow down just a little bit to recharge and renew our minds.

Tonight while walking to get a cup of tea I marveled in the beauty of the Christmas lights in the city. For a few moments I let myself get caught up in that moment and a smile crept across my heart and I felt happy to be right where I was and in a city I’ve grown to love.

My advice for this crazy season is to enjoy every moment and appreciate those around you and the beauty that is everywhere.  In fact the other day I walked outside and saw a tiny little daisy coming up from the grass. 

It was delicate and pretty and....continue here.

Hi, I'm Michelle the artist, visionary, creator and designer of Two Blooms Design Studio. I moved from a big city to Vancouver Island and fell in love with the west coast. My world is surrounded by beautiful scents, on trend design and endless possibilities.

I thought this running class was for couch potatoes

Photo Credit:  holdosi

I thought this class was for couch potatoes.

 

You may remember the first post I did about running here.  So we go to the first class and we figure it will be pretty laid back. I wear a sweat shirt, jogging pants and a black puffy coat. I don’t look amazing but I figure we will do some light exercising. We step inside and head to the counter to ask where to go. The man motions us to sit next to some girls waiting to go inside. This was my first clue that I should run out of there. The two girls next to use were thin and looked very much in shape. A few minutes later we see the teacher and she is slim as well. The class begins and every one in there looks fit and in shape.  It was like high school all over again. We were the odd people and that felt uncomfortable.

The teacher asks if anyone hasn’t run before? Yup just Caron and I put up our hands gingerly.  We get the run down on the stance, posture etc.  Then we do a bunch of exercises and these were not easy at all. I was exhausted after 10 minutes. Then the teacher says okay we are heading out for 20 minutes. The first group would be 1 minute walking then 2 minutes of running. We were in the very back and were the only ones at the end doing 1 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking. Caron and I were in shock. There was a woman
assigned to use the stragglers. We panted and could barely catch our breath during this time period. My chest was pounding and I said to the lady shadowing us there is something wrong with your title “Sofa to 5K”. Where are the couch potatoes I asked? She said something about there were some out of shape people in the class but I didn’t see them at any time. She sweetly told us to wear a light breathable top and then a shell over top. I guess she saw my mammoth coat and hoodie.

The clue should have been when the lady told us we would be so sore the next day and how we should take a bath in salts. I think the frustrating part was being in a class that wasn’t for newbie runners.

Have you ever run for exercise?

Keep up with all the bloom worthy news here.

Hi, I'm Michelle the artist, visionary, creator and designer of Two Blooms Design Studio. I moved from a big city to Vancouver Island and fell in love with the west coast. My world is surrounded by beautiful scents, on trend design and endless possibilities.

Thank you for 30 days of blogging

Thank you for 30 days of blogging

 

 

Nothing has prevented me from this challenge. As I was harping on my sister to post this blog that I'd written 2 hours earlier the power went out. Just as we were about to head out the door to head to a nearby wifi coffee shop the power came back on.

Thank you.

On behalf of the academy I’d like to thank you all for your support over these last 30 days :).  I’d like to thank Donna Maria for coming up with this brainchild of blogging for 30 days.  During our busiest time of year, she made it sound so exciting, so alluring that I literally threw caution to the wind and jumped in with both feet so excited to be a part of this challenge.  You are a good leader Donna Maria and I am proud to be a part of your online family.

To my sweet sister (aka Little Bloom) who dutifully helped me with the blog every single day when I would manage to do something to crash the screen.  Or the days I would wail and moan and explain to her why we simply could not continue on with the blog.  She never complained, she’d ply me with tea and cookies and help me with ideas and suggestions.  She knew she couldn’t write for me, but her job was to walk alongside and encourage when she could and at other times stay far away from me while I plunked on the keyboard :).

And most importantly to this amazing community of makers that took the time to send comments and answer questions.  To those of you that took the time to click ‘like’ you will never know how on some days it was a lifesaver to continue.

I learned that I love to write and express myself, it is my favorite way to communicate.  The mere discipline of putting my bum in my seat every day had the crossover effect of bringing discipline to other areas of my life.  Because I had to write every single day it meant that I had to be organized in other areas of my life.  Suddenly the desk that was piled sky high with papers could not be tolerated another day so I organized it.  No time for exercise? Not true, there was always a pocket of time that could be found.

So thank you, I am a better person because of these 30 days, I feel like I’ve opened a door to a creative side of me that I didn’t have time to explore.  #grateful

To keep up with the Two Blooms see our blog home.

Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

Home is where your memories are

Home is where the memories are

 

 

I longingly read a magazine article that recalled the author going to their childhood home for Christmas and tucking their young family into the beds that they slept in as children.

“Does that still exist in this transient society” I thought?  What about the friend who told me she returned to visit her childhood home and found a highway there instead.  Upon inquiring with the neighbours, she found out her childhood home had been bulldozed down to make room for progress.

What about military families who may have had their young families in a far off country that would be too far away to return for a visit?

My mother brought us back to her family home that was now owned by someone else.  Standing on the sidewalk, staring up at the building she started to cry as she recalled her parents now long gone.  The owners of the house saw her tears and kindly opened their front door for her to see the entrance once again.  We didn’t see her bedroom nor would she be able tuck us into her childhood bed.

Do some family homes bring back painful memories that no one wants to return to?

How many of us can return to our family homes to show our families our childhood bed?  Would you want to?

We all know that home is where the heart is.  If we are unable to return to our childhood home,  perhaps we can make new memories?  Is that even possible?  In our house, food is the memory.  We will sit around in the afternoons enjoying tea and the conversation will quickly revolve around food.  Today we started talking about these Italian cookies my grandmother made, we called them ‘Clara’s Bows’.  A pencil width pretzel shaped cookie that was fried, drizzled with honey and dusted with powdered sugar.  Then my aunt’s Italian desserts that she made with ricotta cheese and chopped up mint, they weren’t my favorite but she’d always put powdered sugar on top and we’d eat them up with her big, brown betty tea pot in the middle of the table.

Blessed are the story tellers, for they can pass down stories and traditions that will linger long afterwards, even when there isn’t a house to visit.

Stay up to date with all the bloom worthy news here.

Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

When you just can't

When you just can't

   

 This has been a power week.  We’ve gotten two runs in, long walks and sugar consumption has been low. Yesterday I was up at 6am working away and went until 11:30 at night.  Lists were made, plans were set and the Christmas market was a mere two days away and I was on fire with productivity.

Woke up this morning and it has all gone terribly wrong.  I am sick, flu or cold or some horrible virus has invaded my body.  My energy level is lower than a dust mite and yet the list sits on my desk, begging to be done.  Set up is tonight at 7pm and I doubt I’ll be up much longer, I can do one small chore and then I have to lay down for a nap.

WHO PLANNED THIS?  Not I, not me Miss Type A+, this was not in the schedule.  I MUST get another run in today, I MUST get all packed up and I MUST invent the cure for cancer as well.  But I can’t, I don’t want to and worst of all, I don’t care.  The Little Bloom is running around trying to get it all in and I'm watching her, flipping through Facebook is all I have the energy for.  Now what?

Here’s my plan for the day: look at my list and pick out the essentials.  Slow way down in my head and just breathe.  Drink lots of water and hot tea and make time to sit and read a magazine.  Dress warmly and go out for a 20 minute walk, if I feel like little bursts of running I will, the goal is to get out the door.  Make a list of what brings me joy, in fact I am writing it down this minute and have lavender essential oil in my little diffuser.  Feeling better already, we can do this people, we are in this together.  And this 30 day blog challenge has made me realize that we are not alone, so thank you friends, I’ll be bringing you along with me this weekend.  Hugs.

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Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

When Pigs Fly

When Pigs Fly

 

Driving back and forth I could see the sign out of the corner of my eyes, but I didn’t bother to look at it.  Every day there it was and I’d smile driving just a little bit faster to get away from it.

Then, stopped at a corner waiting for the light to change I forgot to avert my eyes and I started to read.  “Couch to 5km in 6 weeks”.  HA!  I thought to myself, this is the busiest time of year for production/shows, there is absolutely no possible way I could do that.  (Notice I am not telling you that my fluffy frame would hate me forever :)

But it kept coming back to me.  I honestly kept hoping that the sign changer would hurry up and find something new to taunt me with, but it is still there.  So I called last week to ask about the class and OH HAPPY DAY, they were full.  No problem I assured the nice lady on the phone, I’d look into it next year (when pigs fly I might as well said).  So when she said “well, I’ve got your name here, so I’ll put you on the wait list, but its pretty full as well”.  Oh sure, no problem, that would be great.  Exercise nightmare averted, lets make some popcorn to celebrate that near miss – WOOOHOOOOOO.

Then one night, the phone rang.  It was HER, the terribly lady from the rec centre.  She cheerfully explained there had been cancellations and she’d love to sign me up.  In shock I agreed and hung up the phone.  Every time I look at the calendar I can hear the music from Jaws sounding its impending doom to Monday night.  And what did she tell me just before she ended the chirpy phone call (I bet she was eating celery sticks while she chatted to me).  BRING A HEADLAMP BECAUSE YOU’LL BE RUNNING AT NIGHT.

Seriously?  I don’t run.  I may walk quickly if chased by a bear, but I haven’t run since 1979.  This could all go terribly wrong.  So if you don’t hear from me tomorrow know that my headlamp probably fell off, I swerved into a tree or a ravine and I am consoling my tomfoolery attempts with my boyfriends Ben and Jerry while Mr. Fudge brownie whispers sweet nothings to me.  Peace out.

Want to keep up with the Two Blooms? Find our more here.

Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.
 

Outstanding in your field?

Outstanding in your field?

 

This afternoon found me at yet another winter craft market, I am always trying to be on trend and wanted to see what other crafters were up to (notice I am purposely using the word ‘crafter’ since that’s what was advertised).  Not a lot of new or different but I did find some exceptional artisans scattered throughout the venue.

What’s the difference?  I’ve participated in farmer's markets for over a dozen years, before that I was in craft markets.  This year I had the honour of being the Etsy City Lead and produced an Etsy Made in Canada Market with 65 artisans.

Lets look at the definitions and see if that helps:

Crafter: skill in doing or making something, as in the arts, proficiency.

Artisan: A person that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods.

How would your designate yourself?  Artisan? Crafter?  As usual, I am seeing a LOT of bath and body vendors at these events.  Prices range all over the place, todays were the lowest price points I’ve seen for soap, lotion, sprays etc all hand made presumably.

What makes any of them stand out?  Hard to say, display and first impressions of course.  A personal preference is to have price tags, I don’t really like having to say over and over and over again ‘how much is this’?  If there is any hesitation, I always wonder if the next person asking will get a different answer.

The last few markets I’ve visited, no one stands out.  They’re all saying the same thing “all natural, no chemicals, I make this for my children with rashy skin”.  Please hear me, I am not putting any of these people down, but rather I am seeing myself in a whole new light. What makes me different?  How do I stand out so when you want to make a purchase, why would you shop with me?

Your turn?  What makes you stand out from the crowd?  Yes, I know you are unique and there is only one of you, but how do you make a difference in this over crowded market of crafters/artisans?

Make yourself at home at our new blog.

Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

 

Safety in the Manor House

Safety in the manor house

   

 

Today is day 13 in our second 30 day blog challange. Caron is posting this time around.

All settled in the coffee shop I sipped my tea and started to write this blog.  To my left sat two lovely ladies each nursing coffees and reminiscing.  Ideas weren’t coming to me as quickly as I had hoped so I stopped to listen to Annie and her friend Sophia retell stories of adventures they had lived years ago.

It seems a dance tutor had cancelled right before the start of a performing arts, six month school in Stanton By Dale, England.  Annie, living in Canada at the time, was available to step in at the last moment.  A threat had been posted at all the major airports and she would be flying into Heathrow (one of the target airports).  She wasn’t the least bit alarmed seeing fully armed personnel sitting on the plane and more armed soldiers, rifles at their sides guarding Heathrow when they landed.  Fortunately for her, the threat did not materialize and she was safe.

Upon arrival, the large Manor House would be her home for the next six months while students from around the world would go through the disciplines of mime, choral, piano lessons, drama anddance culminating in a tour around England with performances in many venues.

Annie immedialey fell in love with England and the students.   Her first venture out to the post office was a garage converted into a candy store where she could buy stamps and mail letters.  E-mails had not yet arrived on the scene (nor had computers for that matter). While purchasing some stamps she was greeted with “Ah you must be the dance tutor” and was pleasantly surprised realizing word had circulated around this quaint town that someone new had arrived.

During Easter Break, another staff member and Annie had chosen to remain in the Manor House while students went home for the two week break.

These two ladies soon realized that their front kitchen window faced the street and since their bedrooms were on the second and third floor, if someone broke open the window in the night they would not hear the burglar.  The town was perfectly safe of course, but they needed more assurance.  They devised a plan to prop large cookie sheets against the window and hang frying pans from the top of the window so if someone did come through the window in the night, they would be heard.

Every morning when the ladies went down for breakfast they would laugh as they looked at the booby trap assembled.  Their sleeps were peaceful and the barricades came down before the students returned from holidays.  We never did tell them we were afraid of a break in.

Just as I was getting so involved in their story telling, Sophia quickly looked at her watch and realized she had to go and get her granddaughter from school.  I was loathe for them to separate because I wanted to hear about more of Annie’s adventures.  Hoping if I go back tomorrow, I’ll hear part 2.

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Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

What do you do?

What do you do?

Margarite and I were sitting across from each other at a community held event, in the midst of the games and airshow.  Some wise soul had decided to erect a giant circle tent right in the middle of the festivities, fill it with tables and chairs, string proper buntings up and have cups of hot tea available with packages of biscuits.

We had shown up at the ‘Tea Party’ quite by accident, it was advertised for children and young families and its not something we typically visit.  An air show was the main attraction and so we parked miles away and walked into the event.  Soon we heard the squeals of happy children and saw the flying tea cup rides and settled on the beach to wait for the planes.

Meanwhile, I noticed this giant white tent and went to explore and there I found Margarite sitting in the midst of a midway, sipping tea from a tiny china teacup, seemingly oblivious to the pandemonium mere steps away.  So I stood in line to buy my cup of tea and chose a packet on biscuits and sat down opposite of Margarite.  We sipped our tea in companionable silence and when I went to refill my cup of tea, Margarite spoke up.  “Could you refill my cup as well” and I took her cup and returned with fresh, hot tea. “Thank you, my name is Margarite, what is your name?”  We quickly exchanged names, where we lived and then came the question “what do you do”.  I smiled and answered that I was an entrepreneur and worked for myself.  Yes, she smiled but ‘what do you do’.  Again I explained my company, social media coach, organic apothecary creator etc’.  And still it wasn’t quite connecting with her.  So instead, I asked her what she did and this brought peals of laughter.  She regaled me with tales of her marriage, her children and grandchildren and before long our second cups of tea were emptied and it was time to go on my way.  Just as I got up to go, Margarite patted my hand and said ‘you go Girl Boss, I am proud of you!’.  She got her walker straightened up and walked away and left me smiling, girl boss indeed.

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Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

The artisan show adventure

The artisan show adventure

By February of every year we set our winter market schedule.  We typically do our favourite three markets and stick with that schedule.  One year we did every craft show we could find filling every Saturday/Sunday between November 1st and Christmas – you can imagine the good times had by all.

This year we were sensible, only sticking to the three with the thought that perhaps if one juicy show came up and we got in, we’d take it.  Last week at our outdoor market this sweet, very, very old lady ambled up to our table.  With a sweet wrinkly face and beautiful smile she stood back and exclaimed in a perfect Downton Abbey type British accent, "oh girls, what a lovely table you have".  We melted, we swooned, we kept her talking just to hear that accent.

And so began the story.  Did we know about the craft sale at St Luke’s and all his Angels Hospital?  Well, she only had three tables left and the soap maker who does brilliantly at it had to cancel this year and we would be the only ones.  And she’s talked to Sarah the artist over there and she’s coming and Laurie the jam maker over there is coming, did you want the very last table?  She clutched the application in her hand, the very last one that she was offering to us.

"YES YES" we exclaimed, gushing our appreciation, of course we know the location, oh thank you for thinking of us.  She even bought a bottle of our hand lotion to seal the deal and we were enthralled with our new friend.  She told us where to bring the application back and with the fee and we listened attentively while she scribbled down her phone number in case we had questions.

The following day we drove down to the location (I had completely confused it with another place so no idea where we were going).  Found the entrance and sent the little bloom in with the application and fee since there was no parking.  15 minutes passed and just as I was considering going in, the little bloom returned looking flustered.  The entrance was rather maze like and while dozens of patients sat entranced at a giant tv, no one was able to offer her directions.  Upon finally finding the right office to hand the application in, there was great discussion on who it should actually go to, from there others were brought in for consultation and the little bloom was finally able to leave.  What no one bothered to mentioned was the little trick to get OUT of the door.  Despite pushing the out door repeatedly it wouldn’t budge.  No other exits were seen and the little bloom started to panic thinking she’d be stuck in the hospital with all the other patients.  Finally, a small plaque near the door advised that there was a code to punch in but you had to punch it in backwards!  The little bloom quickly punched it in and ran out to find me and honestly, I haven’t stopped laughing.  We’ll let you know how the actual show turns out.

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Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.

6 Men and 2 Blooms

Photo Credit:  tiffanysavion.com

Today is a guest post by the other bloom Caron.

We were meeting a friend for coffee (and in our business, that’s considered a vacation :) and we were relaying a recent disappointment. He listened intently, bought us coffee, gave us a hug and tried to help.  We loved him for it and at the end of our time he said, “you need to come to a group I meet with every two weeks”.

Sure enough, two weeks later an invitation comes to a local restaurant for a breakfast meeting at 7:30am.  The morning of I was thinking of excuses why we couldn’t possible attend.  But the other bloom was up and getting dressed so I figured we could do this.

We get to the restaurant and 4 men were sitting over coffee laughing, too late to make a run for it we grabbed coffee and sat down.  Soon a copywriter and a government employee sat down and we were surrounded.  Awkward.  Where could we go?  How could we get out of this?  

Soon enough the leader started engaging us, what did we do, how long had we been doing this and soon enough we had 6 men completely immersed in our story.  They asked intelligent questions, they laughed at the right times and offered wise counsel and guidance.  By the end of the hour we didn’t want them to go.  They had looked at our business from a completely different perspective and given us advice that was golden.  Things we had been struggling with they dismissed kindly and told us to move on to what we were doing right.

Later that day the facilitator send us some materials that were spot on – we were in love!  And grateful that 6 men put aside their own agenda that morning and helped us see the other side of things.

Our takeaway - look for people not at all related to your business or even in your field and ask them what they think.  You might be surprised at the results.

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About Caron                                                                                                                                                             Caron is one of the blooms of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.