I left a corporate job after 13 years. I was worn out physically,spiritually, and mentally. I was long overdue for down time. My stress level was off the charts, so much so I started getting migraines. Debilitating migraines. Migraines at my age apparently are not normal. For months on end, I'd wake up throwing up,blinded by the pain. Multiple ER & urgent care visits. The migraines were starting to periodically be managed by various different means, however not gone. I started to come up for air. At times feeling normal. One "normal" day, I woke up with a head(no pun intended) full of ideas to make headbands. Velvet, cloth, felt, big flowers, bling, sparkles,jewels. However, I am not crafty, but I had to make the headbands that are twirling around in my brain. So I set the plan in motion. Craft store, fabric store, cutting out patterns, glue, lots of glue. I was a women possessed or obsessed. Tomato, tomato. Temporary excitement came over me. For a brief period of time, my hands had become the wands that sprinkled fairy dust over my head & mental state, so the world and all of it's issues disappeared.
I set up my office, my living room. With all of the new "manufacturing goods" spread out on my work bench aka card table, I rolled up my sleeves, pulled in my artisan seat otherwise known as folding chair, and created. Create I did. These headbands gave me a reprieve from the noise between my ears. A bit manic in the creation. It felt like "basket weaving 101" While I was focused on creating, I was not focused on me. In Corporate life I was creative in the solutions I designed, however it never allowed me to tap into certain aspects of the creative. Never fully flowed or developed. Stifled in thoughts and words. I felt alive for the first time in years.I was going to make this happen. I had to make this happen.
Back at the office aka living room I sat, cutting, fitting, creating, and gluing. Ah, glue!!! Glue in the dictionary says: To stick things together. But what the dictionary doesn't tell you is that there are 40 million types of glue, most of which I purchased. Fabric glue, crazy glue, glue sticks, glue for metal,glue to stick metal to fabric, gorilla glue, and the list goes on ad infintinum. To date I still haven't found a "all in one glue" Within 48 hours I had spent a few hundred dollars & six headbands were born. Friends loved them, people on the street asked me where I got them. The next indicated step was to come up with a company name and LaLa was born. Now let's see if they will sell.
It was days before Christmas and a friend offered to put them in her store. Timing is really everything. Not a one sold. The holiday ship had sailed. Most people were not going to buy a last minute headband as a gift. I still have those head bands, they are still adorable, and more will be created. The reality was that those headbands gave me hope. Hope that there was a direction for me to go in other than the one I had been living for years, but I needed more time to heal. I got so much more out of that experience than could have ever begin to fully articulate. All good things come to those that wait. And wait I did.
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