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Gift biz unwrapped episode 333.

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The look on her face just had me hooked.

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I just thought quilting is the thing.

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This is what I need to be doing.

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Attention. Gifters bakers,

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crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

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Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.

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Now you are in the right place.

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This is gift to biz unwrapped,

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helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

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Join us for an episode,

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packed full of invaluable guidance,

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resources, and the support you need to grow.

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Your gift biz here is your host gift biz gal,

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Sue moon Heights.

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I there and happy Saturday,

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surprised to see me here instead of on Mondays,

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I'm doing a switch up of the air dates of the

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show. This is the second week we're publishing on Saturdays and

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Wednesdays instead of the traditional Monday,

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Thursday. Why to see if this is better for you?

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I'm thinking there may be more listening time over the weekend.

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Given many of you have nine to five or other part-time

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jobs. Of course the shows are available to you already come

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Monday. If that's what you prefer,

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isn't it nice to have options.

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If you have thoughts or comments on this,

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I welcome your input.

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Just direct message me on Instagram over at gift biz unwrapped.

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Within the past week,

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the Philadelphia candy show has been canceled and I'm just waiting

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for a couple others to fall in line it's because of

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the uptick of COVID cases.

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Of course,

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it looks like we're not through with this pandemic yet.

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I think we saw it coming,

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but this brings up the question of holiday sales.

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Doesn't it?

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I mean,

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I remember last year,

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a number of people had to make changes at the last

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minute because holiday craft shows were also canceled.

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May be the case this year,

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too. So definitely start thinking about alternatives towards that end.

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Let me remind you that I sponsor the at home craft

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and gift show and it's happening again this year from December

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4th through 15th,

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to hear more about online shows and why the at home

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show is so different.

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Reference episode 304 right here on gift biz on wrapped.

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Of course,

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I'll be talking about this more as it gets closer,

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but this is a good time to look at alternatives and

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backup plans before you're in a panic about where you're going

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to show your holiday product and get those sales for this

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year. Today's show is one I'm really excited for you to

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hear for a couple of reasons.

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Brandy's story is so uplifting and full of twists and turns

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and just fabulous feel good moments.

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When she started her creative business,

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she was an active firefighter.

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I know we have a lot of people who listen here

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who are in the medical field,

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but firefighting,

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I believe is a first you'll hear how she merged that

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into her love of fiber arts.

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It really brings home the point that you never know how

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a career you may have today will serve you in the

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future too.

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The second thing I want to point out to you is

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when Brandy talks about creating her business,

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her way,

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she met with a lot of resistance because she wanted to

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do things differently.

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Limited thinking came her way in all sorts of directions.

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And I'm so happy.

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She didn't listen to it.

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If she did,

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she wouldn't have the quilting empire that she does today.

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Let's dive deeper into this by hearing about it from Brandy

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directly, Amy today is Brandy Maslowski of quilter on fire.

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Brandy is a quilt art teacher speaker,

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judge, and author of Christie's quilt.

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Her business quilter on fire explores the texture color and boundless

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possibilities of fabric with her passionate quilting community.

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Randy also travels the world to educate,

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speak, and ignite creativity with a tagline,

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more joy,

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less overwhelmed.

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She also hosts her weekly podcast sharing the stories of inspiring

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quilt professionals.

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Brandy, welcome to the gift is on wrapped podcast.

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Hi Susan,

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thank you so much for having me.

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This is going to be super fun.

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This will Be fun.

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And I think you're the second quilter I've ever had on

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the show of all these seven years.

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So that's really exciting before we get started,

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I wanted to go into what is a traditional question of

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mine and that is your motivational candle.

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So if you were to share with me a candle that

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you would create that speaks all to you,

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Brandy, what color would your candle be?

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And a quote or a motto that would be written on

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the candle?

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Oh, I love that this question,

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Sue. I just think that my candle color would be a

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pale butter yellow,

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and rather than sort of a nice fluffy motivational quote that

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would lift me up and bring me joy.

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I think I would want something right in front of me

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that just hits me in the face.

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And so the quote that I think I would choose would

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be what are you waiting for?

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Because day in and day out,

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I tend to gravitate towards things I love or do something

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that's volunteer or do something that's for other people when really

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there's a task I just need to do in my business.

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So my beautiful little fine smelling motivational candle would say,

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what are you waiting for?

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Do something amazing.

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That's going to make your business.

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Oh my gosh.

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I think the tendency to do things for everybody around us

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and then not take advantage of things that are in our

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heart. We really want to do is something we can all

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resonate with.

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Yes. And I think there's something that happens.

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I don't know if it's a female entrepreneur thing,

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but when I'm about to make waves in my business or

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bring in a bit of income for the first time,

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I often tend to go over to the side and do

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something for someone else volunteer,

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sabotage myself slightly.

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So the,

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what are you waiting for?

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Quote is really a good one for me.

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It kind of smacks me in the face and says,

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Hey, listen,

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lady, this is time to take action and make a move

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in your life.

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So would You say you use it as an excuse?

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You stay busy because it's comfortable to do versus doing the

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thing that you know,

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in your heart,

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you'll be so proud of when you've actually accomplished.

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Yes, absolutely.

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Like I don't know why,

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but my house is spotless.

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When I have a big thing I need to do in

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my business,

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I will run and clean a bathroom to keep the busy

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work going when really I just have one great big thing

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I need to tackle that morning.

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So that's something I work on every single day.

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I have to forgive myself for going off and doing some

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other thing and get right back to business.

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But you know what?

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You recognize that that's by nature,

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what you do.

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So recognizing it as the first step to really just overcoming

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that and getting done,

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what you know,

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you really want to do.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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All right.

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Let's dive into your story.

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Like I said,

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I'm so excited.

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I was a quilter.

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Well, I still am a quilter,

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I guess when to have the skills you always do.

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Right. But I have not quilted for quite a while.

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Business kind of took over and to your point about your

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candle, but talk to us about quilting,

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how you got interested in it and the very start.

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Well, I was 12 years old when I took my first

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stitches and it was at a local flea markets.

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The rage at that time when I was at young age

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was cabbage patch kids.

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And so I was at this table at a flea market

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and I saw this female creator.

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She had cabbage patch,

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doll clothes all over her table and I just gravitated towards

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it. I wanted to buy some,

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but I didn't have the money.

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And every week I showed up milling around her table.

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And finally she said,

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have a seat and let me teach you how to stitch.

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So she taught me how to hand stitch.

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And I did that every single Sunday for the entire season,

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until the end of the season.

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She gave me a bunting for my cabbage patch kid.

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And I had made a shirt over the season myself by

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hand. And that really was my intro to handcraft and the

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great feeling that comes from creating something yourself.

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And from then,

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as I grew,

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I was sort of a voracious crafter.

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After that I did all kinds of craft shows and stuff.

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And one day when I was working at a craft store,

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friend of mine came along and said,

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you're kind of crafty.

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Can you make me a quilt?

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I want a quilted wall hanging for my grandmother.

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And her 80th birthday is coming up or may have been

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a great grandmother.

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And I said,

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you know what?

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Yeah, why not?

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I've never made a quilt,

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but why not give it a try?

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And not only was it a patchwork quilt,

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but it was also a photo quilt.

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So it had all these elements to it that were difficult

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to knew,

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but I gave it a try.

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It took me forever to do I procrastinated a bit.

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I pulled it off at the last minute.

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And when I brought it to that birthday party and she

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gave it to her grandmother,

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the look on her face just had me hooked.

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I just thought quilting is the thing.

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This is what I need to be doing.

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So that's really how my story got started and was the

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whole thing.

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Hand-stitched back at that point,

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I was using my mom's old singer sewing machine and I

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was piecing and chopping and turning things and trying to make

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them fit.

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It was using ribbon and lace and sashing and I was

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iron photo transfer.

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It was crazy.

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And the binding was just a big old wraparound of the

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backing to the front because I didn't really know how to

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do a binding yet.

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So there's all kinds of crazy things going on in that

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quilt. But looking back,

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I was pretty proud of that.

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I really couldn't believe I pulled it off.

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It worked out really well.

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Talk about A serious challenge as your first project.

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It could have gone either way.

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You could have been so frustrated and said,

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I'm not ever doing this again.

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It could be gone very badly,

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but she was quite specific in what she wanted.

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She wanted floral,

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she wanted lace.

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She wanted the photos in there and the photos are really

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the feature because it was her grandmother,

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a picture of her as a child doing the splits in

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the center of the quilt and pictures of her and her

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family all the way around in a big circle.

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So you couldn't really go wrong cause it had such a

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heartwarming element.

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It sounds amazing.

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Oh my gosh.

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Okay. And so what happened from there?

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So from there where I went to university and I got

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an English degree and I didn't know what I wanted to

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do. And I ended up seeing something in the newspaper that

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said apply to be a firefighter.

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And I thought this is active.

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This would be different every day.

267
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This would be great for the community.

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I think I'm a giver.

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And my father is a firefighter.

270
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My uncle is a firefighter.

271
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My great-grandfather was a firefighter.

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So it really ran in the family.

273
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And I think I just launched right into the idea that,

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yeah, this is a good thing for me.

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So I became a firefighter over the next year and I

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started to use stitching handcrafts quilting as my creative escape.

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Firefighting is difficult as you can imagine.

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And there are a lot of things that you see that

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you need to deal with.

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So stitching ended up being my reprieve from all of that

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difficult stuff that you see.

282
00:10:54,050 --> 00:10:56,450
So I really just dove into quilting.

283
00:10:56,450 --> 00:10:59,120
I've been quilting for 30 years now and it has always

284
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been my creative escape.

285
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It's been the thing that has kept me whole and brought

286
00:11:03,500 --> 00:11:06,500
me back to calm my mind and grounded me.

287
00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:09,350
So I've always used quilting as sort of a healing process.

288
00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:12,350
And So what were you doing with your quilts?

289
00:11:12,650 --> 00:11:15,260
Because at some point you run out of friends and family

290
00:11:15,410 --> 00:11:16,370
to give quilts to,

291
00:11:16,940 --> 00:11:19,970
I ended up gravitating into fiber art.

292
00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:20,960
So first of all,

293
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I was selling little holiday Christmas tree quilts,

294
00:11:23,090 --> 00:11:25,130
and I was always making everything up myself.

295
00:11:25,430 --> 00:11:27,200
I've rarely ever bought a pattern.

296
00:11:27,470 --> 00:11:29,960
And so I just kind of was randomly making things.

297
00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,630
And I had this one great craft sale where I sold

298
00:11:32,630 --> 00:11:34,940
about 30 little Christmas wall hangings.

299
00:11:35,270 --> 00:11:35,720
And I thought,

300
00:11:35,750 --> 00:11:37,370
oh, this could really be a business.

301
00:11:37,370 --> 00:11:38,810
I could really get into this.

302
00:11:39,110 --> 00:11:41,300
And mostly throughout my quilting career,

303
00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:44,630
I have sold my art quilts at craft sales and in

304
00:11:44,630 --> 00:11:46,610
little coffee shops and art galleries.

305
00:11:46,910 --> 00:11:48,110
And so that's primarily,

306
00:11:48,110 --> 00:11:50,270
but everyone in my family pretty much has a quilt.

307
00:11:50,510 --> 00:11:53,980
I actually just received a call about two weeks ago that

308
00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:55,300
I have a grand niece.

309
00:11:55,300 --> 00:11:57,130
Great-niece a new little great niece.

310
00:11:57,340 --> 00:12:00,130
So my nephew had a baby girl and he has a

311
00:12:00,130 --> 00:12:02,140
new relationship with this wonderful woman.

312
00:12:02,140 --> 00:12:04,750
And they have a little boy as well that his step

313
00:12:04,750 --> 00:12:07,210
son. So all of a sudden I'm making two quilts at

314
00:12:07,210 --> 00:12:09,400
once because I've never made him a quilt either.

315
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,410
So every child in my family has a quilt.

316
00:12:11,620 --> 00:12:13,180
So that's where all my quilts go.

317
00:12:13,540 --> 00:12:16,150
And I do love making quilts for quilts of valor as

318
00:12:16,150 --> 00:12:18,880
well. Quilts of valor is really big up here in Canada

319
00:12:18,910 --> 00:12:20,200
as it is in the states.

320
00:12:20,530 --> 00:12:24,070
And I just really enjoy challenging my listeners to make quilts

321
00:12:24,070 --> 00:12:25,030
for quilts of valor.

322
00:12:25,330 --> 00:12:27,910
And I'm a really big supporter of that organization.

323
00:12:28,530 --> 00:12:30,540
Anyone Who's listening who doesn't know what that is,

324
00:12:30,540 --> 00:12:32,120
why don't you give a little clip for that?

325
00:12:32,550 --> 00:12:33,540
Oh, absolutely.

326
00:12:33,540 --> 00:12:36,630
So quilts of valor is a program that makes quilts for

327
00:12:36,630 --> 00:12:38,370
injured and ill soldiers.

328
00:12:38,610 --> 00:12:39,390
So in Canada,

329
00:12:39,390 --> 00:12:43,980
it's called the Canadian armed forces and when people have PTSD

330
00:12:43,980 --> 00:12:44,880
or injuries,

331
00:12:44,910 --> 00:12:47,730
the comfort of a quilt can just make a huge difference

332
00:12:47,730 --> 00:12:48,300
in their life.

333
00:12:48,330 --> 00:12:51,930
And I had the sort of honor of working with Cozza

334
00:12:51,930 --> 00:12:54,390
valor as on their marketing for a couple of years.

335
00:12:54,690 --> 00:12:55,710
And I was able to listen to,

336
00:12:55,710 --> 00:12:58,530
into some of the meetings and what they do at the

337
00:12:58,530 --> 00:12:59,160
board meetings,

338
00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,730
as they read the letters from the soldiers who get these

339
00:13:02,730 --> 00:13:05,760
quilts. And I can just tell you that the tears are

340
00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,730
flowing. If you ever want to make something for charity,

341
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,370
quilts of valor is the way to go because the feeling

342
00:13:11,370 --> 00:13:12,270
of giving this away,

343
00:13:12,300 --> 00:13:15,750
the soldiers say things like you have no idea that when

344
00:13:15,750 --> 00:13:17,640
I wrap myself in this quilt every day,

345
00:13:17,670 --> 00:13:19,590
it keeps me here on this planet.

346
00:13:19,890 --> 00:13:22,920
And so it's an amazing thing just to know that someone

347
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:24,510
made this quilt for you out of the goodness of their

348
00:13:24,510 --> 00:13:26,340
heart, not even knowing who you are,

349
00:13:26,340 --> 00:13:27,750
they just know that you needed it.

350
00:13:28,020 --> 00:13:29,700
So it's a wonderful organization.

351
00:13:29,940 --> 00:13:30,990
That's amazing.

352
00:13:30,990 --> 00:13:31,770
And I know,

353
00:13:31,770 --> 00:13:32,190
you know,

354
00:13:32,190 --> 00:13:34,590
this working so intimately with the community,

355
00:13:34,590 --> 00:13:36,930
but anyone who's a maker is such a giver.

356
00:13:37,230 --> 00:13:39,630
And so to be able to do that for somebody where

357
00:13:39,630 --> 00:13:41,850
it's so important is so significant.

358
00:13:42,060 --> 00:13:43,290
So thank you for sharing that.

359
00:13:43,740 --> 00:13:44,010
All right.

360
00:13:44,010 --> 00:13:45,750
So you started and like,

361
00:13:45,750 --> 00:13:48,900
I'm looking at the evolution of how everything merged into a

362
00:13:48,900 --> 00:13:50,910
business. So as a child,

363
00:13:50,940 --> 00:13:53,700
and isn't it interesting how lots of times the things that

364
00:13:53,700 --> 00:13:56,460
bring us joy when we're so innocent are things that we

365
00:13:56,460 --> 00:13:57,540
gravitate back to,

366
00:13:57,540 --> 00:13:59,640
or hang on to as we get older.

367
00:13:59,940 --> 00:14:02,190
That's what I'm hearing within your story here too.

368
00:14:02,540 --> 00:14:05,190
So then you started selling at craft shows,

369
00:14:05,190 --> 00:14:08,430
which is awesome because you're seeing that people are really interested

370
00:14:08,430 --> 00:14:09,360
in what you're making.

371
00:14:09,420 --> 00:14:11,850
So how great does that feel?

372
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,090
Right. And then did you have a formalized business at that

373
00:14:15,090 --> 00:14:19,830
point? I started my business in the early two thousands and

374
00:14:19,830 --> 00:14:21,750
it was called Brandy Lynn designs.

375
00:14:22,050 --> 00:14:24,360
And one of my struggles at the beginning was I really

376
00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:25,560
wanted to start teaching.

377
00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,470
I really wanted to start doing lectures and trunk shows.

378
00:14:28,470 --> 00:14:30,090
We call them in the quilting industry.

379
00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:31,500
So I started to do that,

380
00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:35,940
but I started to run into some struggles with the sort

381
00:14:35,940 --> 00:14:37,290
of who do you think you are?

382
00:14:37,290 --> 00:14:39,300
Mentality? Because I was young.

383
00:14:39,300 --> 00:14:42,480
I happened to be maybe a decade younger than the average

384
00:14:42,510 --> 00:14:44,520
quilter at the time in my thirties.

385
00:14:44,820 --> 00:14:47,460
And I would even just bring in three different color ways

386
00:14:47,460 --> 00:14:48,540
into a Guild meeting.

387
00:14:48,540 --> 00:14:49,290
And someone would be like,

388
00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:51,150
you can't put red with pink,

389
00:14:51,170 --> 00:14:52,100
with orange.

390
00:14:52,130 --> 00:14:53,180
Who do you think you are?

391
00:14:53,180 --> 00:14:55,310
Was kind of like this overriding notion.

392
00:14:55,310 --> 00:14:56,210
And I was thinking,

393
00:14:56,270 --> 00:14:57,110
I love this.

394
00:14:57,170 --> 00:14:58,400
I want to do this anyway.

395
00:14:58,850 --> 00:15:00,920
And so I really started to think,

396
00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:01,400
well, you know what,

397
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:02,030
I can do this.

398
00:15:02,030 --> 00:15:03,320
I'm going to start a business.

399
00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:05,720
I'm going to start teaching and I'll start with the basics.

400
00:15:05,750 --> 00:15:07,220
And it really moved into fiber art.

401
00:15:07,220 --> 00:15:09,500
And it was kind of a different thing than the average

402
00:15:09,530 --> 00:15:10,400
quilter is doing.

403
00:15:10,670 --> 00:15:13,010
So I was taking people a little outside their element.

404
00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,610
So I started to teach and I really found a passion

405
00:15:16,610 --> 00:15:17,270
for teaching.

406
00:15:17,270 --> 00:15:20,540
I love catering to my students and lifting them up.

407
00:15:20,570 --> 00:15:23,990
And I had this sort of ideal in my business that

408
00:15:23,990 --> 00:15:25,670
no one suffers in silence.

409
00:15:25,670 --> 00:15:27,560
And so I really started to have some fun with the

410
00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:28,970
teaching and I just went for it.

411
00:15:29,410 --> 00:15:32,320
You Weren't worried about the opinions of others that didn't affect

412
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:33,340
you. You just decided,

413
00:15:33,340 --> 00:15:33,790
okay, well,

414
00:15:33,820 --> 00:15:35,440
if they have different thoughts than me,

415
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:36,100
that's okay,

416
00:15:36,130 --> 00:15:37,600
I'm going to still go and do my own thing.

417
00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:40,570
Well, I can't really say that it didn't affect me,

418
00:15:40,570 --> 00:15:42,250
but over the 30 years,

419
00:15:42,250 --> 00:15:45,670
I grew to understand why people might do that and how

420
00:15:45,670 --> 00:15:46,900
to sort of overcome it.

421
00:15:47,170 --> 00:15:49,780
And that is one of the biggest struggles I've had throughout

422
00:15:49,780 --> 00:15:53,650
my quilting career is encountering the naysayers.

423
00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,070
And there's all kinds of different reasons why someone may say,

424
00:15:57,100 --> 00:15:59,170
oh, that's not really that great.

425
00:15:59,170 --> 00:16:01,540
Or who do you think you are being a quilt judge?

426
00:16:01,540 --> 00:16:03,820
Or who do you think you are putting your stuff in

427
00:16:03,820 --> 00:16:06,160
an art gallery or anything that you might do?

428
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,160
Who do you think you are teaching precision piecing when art

429
00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:09,760
quilter earth,

430
00:16:09,790 --> 00:16:11,740
there's all kinds of things that people,

431
00:16:11,740 --> 00:16:14,140
I don't know if they accidentally say it out loud and

432
00:16:14,140 --> 00:16:15,970
don't realize what they sound like,

433
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:17,260
but they actually do it.

434
00:16:17,590 --> 00:16:20,620
And so you want to sort of like everything that I

435
00:16:20,620 --> 00:16:22,270
do when I do my lectures,

436
00:16:22,300 --> 00:16:25,660
I'm talking to women about who do you think you are

437
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:27,160
in a positive way,

438
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,140
let's turn that saying,

439
00:16:29,140 --> 00:16:31,030
or that notion on its head.

440
00:16:31,330 --> 00:16:32,500
And instead of saying,

441
00:16:32,530 --> 00:16:33,610
oh, I'm not really a quilter.

442
00:16:33,610 --> 00:16:34,540
I'm just kind of try and say,

443
00:16:34,570 --> 00:16:36,460
I'm a quilter because I'm doing it.

444
00:16:36,670 --> 00:16:39,040
I'm an art quilter because that's what I love.

445
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,290
And even if I've only tried it or I'm making my

446
00:16:41,290 --> 00:16:41,920
first one,

447
00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:43,330
or I'm just diving into it,

448
00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:45,790
that's who I am and I can be whatever I want

449
00:16:45,790 --> 00:16:46,000
to be.

450
00:16:46,270 --> 00:16:49,360
And so this is sort of the theme through my trunk

451
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,930
show. I talk about firefighter to fiber artists and all of

452
00:16:52,930 --> 00:16:54,370
the struggles in firefighting,

453
00:16:54,390 --> 00:16:55,900
all the struggles in the quilting world,

454
00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:56,740
along the way,

455
00:16:56,980 --> 00:16:58,690
there was a time in the quilting world.

456
00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,390
And when a few quilters really came down on me in

457
00:17:01,390 --> 00:17:02,200
a harsh way,

458
00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,990
and I was kind of booted out of a little sort

459
00:17:04,990 --> 00:17:07,750
of guilt that I was in because I was like starting

460
00:17:07,750 --> 00:17:08,290
a business.

461
00:17:08,290 --> 00:17:08,530
And like,

462
00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:09,610
you're doing a business,

463
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:11,440
like we're just doing this because we love it.

464
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:13,120
And we think quilting should be,

465
00:17:13,120 --> 00:17:14,350
if you're doing your passion,

466
00:17:14,350 --> 00:17:15,340
you should do it for free.

467
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,700
And so I was kind of missing them because I loved

468
00:17:18,700 --> 00:17:19,540
them in the first place.

469
00:17:19,540 --> 00:17:20,740
They were amazing mentors,

470
00:17:20,740 --> 00:17:22,570
but then they didn't believe in what I was doing.

471
00:17:22,570 --> 00:17:25,240
And so I didn't quilt for a whole year after that.

472
00:17:25,300 --> 00:17:28,630
And I backed away and it was a really harsh challenge.

473
00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:32,680
And I just really let them define me for a while.

474
00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:34,210
And I was sad about the whole thing.

475
00:17:34,210 --> 00:17:37,180
And then I kind of realized I'm missing my passion.

476
00:17:37,300 --> 00:17:38,920
I'm missing what heals me,

477
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:39,850
what lifts me up.

478
00:17:40,030 --> 00:17:42,310
I'm just going to dive back in and go for it

479
00:17:42,550 --> 00:17:46,150
in that whole process of forgiving them and moving on from

480
00:17:46,150 --> 00:17:49,230
that and defining myself and taking my own path.

481
00:17:49,260 --> 00:17:52,140
I realized that other people don't have a say in what

482
00:17:52,140 --> 00:17:53,340
I'm going to do in the future.

483
00:17:53,340 --> 00:17:55,410
And it's up to me and I can be a quilt

484
00:17:55,410 --> 00:17:56,970
judge. If I want to be a quilt judge and I

485
00:17:56,970 --> 00:17:59,400
can charge my patterns and my lectures,

486
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,620
if I want to charge and I don't have to have

487
00:18:01,620 --> 00:18:02,670
it really cheap either.

488
00:18:02,670 --> 00:18:06,090
I can really value myself and charge what I deserve.

489
00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:07,770
So I really learned along the way,

490
00:18:07,770 --> 00:18:09,750
if there was a lot of lessons and a lot of

491
00:18:09,750 --> 00:18:11,040
trials and tribulations,

492
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,920
but I really stood up for myself in the end.

493
00:18:14,190 --> 00:18:17,430
And now I try to bring that notion to all the

494
00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:18,900
cultures who listened to my shows.

495
00:18:19,130 --> 00:18:20,330
Well, it's a powerful message,

496
00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:22,130
just claiming your course.

497
00:18:22,340 --> 00:18:25,070
And I see this a lot that people feel like if

498
00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:25,880
a certain way,

499
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:27,470
it's not done the right way,

500
00:18:27,710 --> 00:18:30,800
but what you're talking about is paving your own path,

501
00:18:30,830 --> 00:18:32,060
which makes you different.

502
00:18:32,060 --> 00:18:35,570
Number one allows you to fulfill whatever your vision is,

503
00:18:35,810 --> 00:18:37,640
and it doesn't have to be the same vision as the

504
00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:38,750
person that's next to you.

505
00:18:39,050 --> 00:18:39,500
In fact,

506
00:18:39,530 --> 00:18:42,290
it's probably better than if that it isn't because then you're

507
00:18:42,290 --> 00:18:45,890
different and you're special and you are sharing with the world,

508
00:18:45,890 --> 00:18:48,050
something new that they may not have seen before.

509
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,840
And isn't that what art is all about onto itself in

510
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:51,470
the beginning?

511
00:18:51,740 --> 00:18:52,640
Yeah, absolutely.

512
00:18:52,910 --> 00:18:57,230
Okay. So talk a little bit more about how you formed

513
00:18:57,260 --> 00:18:59,930
the different elements of your company and like you had your

514
00:18:59,930 --> 00:19:03,350
quilt. Was it always teaching or were you also selling supplies?

515
00:19:03,860 --> 00:19:07,910
It started off kind of really spread out in different directions.

516
00:19:07,910 --> 00:19:10,940
And this is probably a good message for people new to

517
00:19:10,940 --> 00:19:11,660
starting a business.

518
00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:15,350
I started as Brandy Lynn designs and I had the Canadian

519
00:19:15,350 --> 00:19:17,150
quilt talk podcast back then,

520
00:19:17,150 --> 00:19:19,040
I think it was 2014 is 2013.

521
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:19,760
I started that.

522
00:19:20,030 --> 00:19:22,910
And then I had my explore fiber blog and it was

523
00:19:22,910 --> 00:19:23,780
brand new and designs.

524
00:19:23,780 --> 00:19:25,040
I had all these different names,

525
00:19:25,070 --> 00:19:27,050
all these different business parts and directions.

526
00:19:27,050 --> 00:19:28,850
And I think I was confusing my audience.

527
00:19:28,970 --> 00:19:31,610
And then as I grew in the business and I started

528
00:19:31,610 --> 00:19:34,340
to bring in some products that went with my patterns and

529
00:19:34,340 --> 00:19:36,770
I created a few patterns and I started to bring in

530
00:19:36,770 --> 00:19:40,400
products that went with my workshops and I had three lectures

531
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:41,750
now instead of just one.

532
00:19:41,750 --> 00:19:44,120
And I had a dozen workshops now instead of four or

533
00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,070
five. So it was growing quite well.

534
00:19:46,340 --> 00:19:50,030
I really realized that I needed to rebrand and be consistent

535
00:19:50,030 --> 00:19:52,310
across all platforms and just be one thing.

536
00:19:52,310 --> 00:19:55,160
So I kind of gathered up the people who are closest

537
00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:55,400
to me,

538
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:56,000
my friends,

539
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:56,480
my family,

540
00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,910
and I chatted with each of them about how this could

541
00:19:58,910 --> 00:20:01,670
look and my best friend I was talking about,

542
00:20:01,670 --> 00:20:01,820
you know,

543
00:20:01,820 --> 00:20:04,610
I just have this passion for quilting and I just really

544
00:20:04,610 --> 00:20:07,370
want to make a transition from the fire industry over to

545
00:20:07,370 --> 00:20:10,370
quilting. When I moved across Canada in 2010,

546
00:20:10,430 --> 00:20:12,920
I left with fire career after 15 years,

547
00:20:12,950 --> 00:20:14,630
but I became a private consultant here.

548
00:20:14,630 --> 00:20:16,160
So I still teach fire safety.

549
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,660
I help people prepare their properties for wildfires,

550
00:20:18,660 --> 00:20:19,820
so they don't lose their home.

551
00:20:20,090 --> 00:20:21,050
And so still,

552
00:20:21,050 --> 00:20:24,050
I actually have an exit plan coming up for next spring

553
00:20:24,050 --> 00:20:25,760
that I'm going to be quilting full-time.

554
00:20:25,790 --> 00:20:27,860
But I was talking to these people about what should I

555
00:20:27,860 --> 00:20:28,820
do in my business?

556
00:20:28,820 --> 00:20:29,720
What should I call it?

557
00:20:29,990 --> 00:20:31,250
And my best friend said,

558
00:20:31,250 --> 00:20:33,410
you just have this fiery passion.

559
00:20:33,410 --> 00:20:35,240
You're like the quilter on fire.

560
00:20:35,300 --> 00:20:36,530
And I'm just like,

561
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:37,280
oh my gosh,

562
00:20:37,310 --> 00:20:39,110
I can't believe that that is such a great,

563
00:20:39,110 --> 00:20:40,010
perfect name.

564
00:20:40,010 --> 00:20:42,920
And I had heard of the entrepreneur on fire and I

565
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:44,480
had listened to all of his podcasts.

566
00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:45,380
I absolutely love him.

567
00:20:45,380 --> 00:20:48,280
And he actually did a podcast where he was talking to

568
00:20:48,310 --> 00:20:51,520
someone who I think was a accountant and he encouraged him

569
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:53,020
to be the accountant on fire.

570
00:20:53,290 --> 00:20:55,480
And he had this notion that there's true for everyone in

571
00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:55,930
the world.

572
00:20:55,930 --> 00:20:57,790
It doesn't matter how many people are on fire.

573
00:20:57,790 --> 00:20:58,810
They should all be on fire.

574
00:20:59,110 --> 00:21:01,660
And I just thought he likely gave me permission there to

575
00:21:01,660 --> 00:21:04,300
use that name and not worry that similar to his name.

576
00:21:04,330 --> 00:21:05,440
And it worked out really well.

577
00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:07,990
So now every platform everywhere I am,

578
00:21:07,990 --> 00:21:09,250
it's all quilter on fire.

579
00:21:09,250 --> 00:21:10,570
It's easy for everyone.

580
00:21:10,570 --> 00:21:13,900
And it really has made my business more visible to the

581
00:21:13,900 --> 00:21:16,410
public. I think JLD is so generous.

582
00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:17,880
He's the one who got me into podcast.

583
00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:21,570
Yeah. And I actually got the opportunity to speak to him

584
00:21:21,570 --> 00:21:22,590
on clubhouse once.

585
00:21:22,590 --> 00:21:23,910
And I told him that story.

586
00:21:23,910 --> 00:21:24,180
I said,

587
00:21:24,180 --> 00:21:25,200
I've been following you forever.

588
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:26,160
I've been listening forever.

589
00:21:26,370 --> 00:21:28,950
Here's my little story about why my name is that name.

590
00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:30,780
Thank you for giving me permission.

591
00:21:30,780 --> 00:21:31,470
And he's like,

592
00:21:31,470 --> 00:21:33,840
you go into the world there's room for everyone.

593
00:21:34,470 --> 00:21:38,940
Lily, I'm really enjoying your story because it is different than

594
00:21:38,970 --> 00:21:40,170
what I often hear.

595
00:21:40,230 --> 00:21:43,740
Someone who's a quilter could have the tendency to start by

596
00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:47,550
selling the quilts that they make versus helping people develop a

597
00:21:47,550 --> 00:21:51,120
passion or an elevated skill within quilting itself.

598
00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:54,600
Did you ever think about doing it the other way first?

599
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,110
Well, I've thought of selling like large quilts and quilts that

600
00:21:58,110 --> 00:21:58,530
I made.

601
00:21:58,530 --> 00:22:00,060
I gradually went into fiber art,

602
00:22:00,090 --> 00:22:00,420
but you know,

603
00:22:00,420 --> 00:22:04,650
I kind of found that it's not that lucrative to sell

604
00:22:04,650 --> 00:22:08,400
a quilt because there's so much cost involved in the product

605
00:22:08,460 --> 00:22:11,280
and the time you put into it can be six months.

606
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,890
So you're going to be having to sell a king-sized quilt

607
00:22:13,890 --> 00:22:16,980
for 40 just there's so much time that goes into it.

608
00:22:16,980 --> 00:22:17,640
It's ridiculous.

609
00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:19,980
So I kind of really felt that how can I bring

610
00:22:19,980 --> 00:22:21,480
my value across to people?

611
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,940
The thing I love in my business right now that I

612
00:22:23,940 --> 00:22:27,300
do it for content is I bring my podcast to people

613
00:22:27,300 --> 00:22:31,140
and that's how I bring value to my community and the

614
00:22:31,140 --> 00:22:34,380
teaching and speaking and judging is just an extension of that.

615
00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:38,400
It brings me so much joy to travel and see quilting

616
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,010
all over the world and do these things at events and

617
00:22:41,010 --> 00:22:42,660
meet the people that are in my community.

618
00:22:42,900 --> 00:22:45,660
Sometimes I'm giving away a prize to someone who lives in

619
00:22:45,660 --> 00:22:48,900
Peru and I'm connected with people all over the place that

620
00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:49,350
are just,

621
00:22:49,380 --> 00:22:50,820
they might even speak a different language,

622
00:22:50,820 --> 00:22:52,500
but we're watching the same YouTube video.

623
00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:55,170
So it's really a lot of fun to connect with everyone.

624
00:22:55,410 --> 00:22:56,820
So has the evolution,

625
00:22:56,910 --> 00:22:59,340
well, I know you sold products in the very beginning when

626
00:22:59,340 --> 00:23:01,350
you were younger and the craft shows,

627
00:23:01,350 --> 00:23:02,010
et cetera.

628
00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:06,180
And then you started more providing information and sharing what you

629
00:23:06,180 --> 00:23:09,690
love about the quilting industry through your podcast and your blog.

630
00:23:09,930 --> 00:23:11,850
Yeah. Then you started with your pattern.

631
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:15,510
Yeah. I started with my patterns when it was still Brandilyn

632
00:23:15,510 --> 00:23:18,270
designs. And I really only have a few patterns because I

633
00:23:18,270 --> 00:23:19,920
am an art quilter through and through.

634
00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:23,310
So the patterns that I've created are generally for a purpose.

635
00:23:23,550 --> 00:23:26,190
So the first big pattern I created was four quilts of

636
00:23:26,190 --> 00:23:29,370
valor. And that's been my best selling pattern of all time

637
00:23:29,370 --> 00:23:32,550
because I challenged my followers to create a quilt of valor.

638
00:23:32,790 --> 00:23:33,750
And then a friend of mine said,

639
00:23:33,780 --> 00:23:35,010
oh, I can't wait to see what you're going to make

640
00:23:35,010 --> 00:23:35,460
it. And I thought,

641
00:23:35,490 --> 00:23:36,090
oh my goodness,

642
00:23:36,330 --> 00:23:38,970
if I'm challenging thousands of people to make a quilt of

643
00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:40,590
valor, I guess I better make one myself.

644
00:23:40,830 --> 00:23:43,650
So I ended up making this pattern and it has been

645
00:23:43,650 --> 00:23:44,760
such a best seller.

646
00:23:44,820 --> 00:23:46,490
It selling well for two or three years.

647
00:23:46,490 --> 00:23:49,490
And then it was Canada's 150th birthday.

648
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,700
And this pattern is a huge contemporary maple leaf.

649
00:23:52,970 --> 00:23:56,300
And so people just went crazy for it in 2017.

650
00:23:56,300 --> 00:23:59,840
And I sold out my first 1500 patterns over a couple

651
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:00,290
of weeks,

652
00:24:00,590 --> 00:24:03,440
and then I Republic and I've sold that out as well.

653
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,240
So I've sold over 2,500

654
00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,600
of that pattern and it's just such a wonderful Canadian vibe.

655
00:24:09,050 --> 00:24:12,110
I feel so honored to be associated quilts of valor because

656
00:24:12,140 --> 00:24:13,820
some of 10% goes to them.

657
00:24:13,820 --> 00:24:15,740
And so that was my first pattern and I got a

658
00:24:15,740 --> 00:24:16,520
taste for it.

659
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,880
So I created a couple other patterns that introduced fiber art

660
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:21,410
and art quilting into pattern.

661
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:25,130
And then the recent patterns that I've made have been because

662
00:24:25,130 --> 00:24:26,630
I teach on cruises as well.

663
00:24:26,630 --> 00:24:29,060
So every time you teach on a cruise,

664
00:24:29,060 --> 00:24:31,670
you need to make an original project for them to do

665
00:24:31,670 --> 00:24:32,270
on the cruise.

666
00:24:32,270 --> 00:24:34,730
So the last one is called Zen ocean waves,

667
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:36,260
and it's a big ocean quilt.

668
00:24:36,500 --> 00:24:39,140
So my patterns tend to be big quilts,

669
00:24:39,170 --> 00:24:42,890
but my own personal work is smaller works of arts that's

670
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:43,580
for the walls.

671
00:24:44,020 --> 00:24:44,590
Oh my gosh.

672
00:24:44,650 --> 00:24:45,430
It sounds amazing.

673
00:24:45,430 --> 00:24:46,210
And these cruises,

674
00:24:46,210 --> 00:24:49,270
are they coming specifically to make a quilts?

675
00:24:49,570 --> 00:24:51,130
Is that the theme of the cruise?

676
00:24:51,460 --> 00:24:53,890
Absolutely. So if the quilting cruises are like,

677
00:24:53,890 --> 00:24:56,170
so the first cruise I did was to Hawaii and it

678
00:24:56,170 --> 00:24:59,290
was a 15 day cruise and I took 50 women with

679
00:24:59,290 --> 00:25:00,640
me and it was so fun.

680
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:03,760
We did eight full days of workshops at sea and it

681
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:05,590
was overwhelming and a lot of work,

682
00:25:05,590 --> 00:25:06,490
but it was really,

683
00:25:06,490 --> 00:25:07,030
really fun.

684
00:25:07,330 --> 00:25:09,250
And the last cruise that I did,

685
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,250
Zen ocean waves sword was actually canceled due to the pandemic,

686
00:25:12,490 --> 00:25:14,680
but that cruise was going to be so fun.

687
00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:16,510
It was going to be to the Caribbean and we were

688
00:25:16,510 --> 00:25:21,160
making this beautiful ocean gorgeous Aqua quilts to go with just

689
00:25:21,190 --> 00:25:23,520
sort of as a memory of the wonderful trips.

690
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,690
So we're planning to do that cruise again,

691
00:25:25,690 --> 00:25:26,230
coming up.

692
00:25:26,260 --> 00:25:27,670
I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull it off

693
00:25:27,670 --> 00:25:28,450
in 2022,

694
00:25:28,450 --> 00:25:29,800
we'll see how the company goes.

695
00:25:30,010 --> 00:25:31,750
And it might be a 20,

696
00:25:31,750 --> 00:25:32,110
23 trip,

697
00:25:32,110 --> 00:25:34,660
but I do definitely want to use that quilt for that

698
00:25:34,660 --> 00:25:36,670
cruise because Caribbean is kind of ocean.

699
00:25:36,730 --> 00:25:38,650
And you just want to have that memory.

700
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:39,670
Yeah. Oh my gosh.

701
00:25:39,670 --> 00:25:41,230
That sounds absolutely amazing.

702
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:43,780
I remember when I was part of a quilting group,

703
00:25:43,780 --> 00:25:45,280
we would go away for weekends,

704
00:25:45,310 --> 00:25:46,720
but not a whole cruise.

705
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:48,400
And I would be so up for that,

706
00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:49,600
for sure.

707
00:25:50,110 --> 00:25:50,590
My quote,

708
00:25:50,620 --> 00:25:53,050
travel destinations are just such a blast.

709
00:25:53,050 --> 00:25:55,600
You connect with people in a way you never imagined we

710
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,450
all have the same passion and you're seeing another part of

711
00:25:58,450 --> 00:25:59,050
the world,

712
00:25:59,080 --> 00:25:59,260
you know,

713
00:25:59,260 --> 00:26:01,840
it opens your eyes to the textiles and where they come

714
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:02,680
from. And yeah,

715
00:26:02,830 --> 00:26:03,880
I love quilt travel.

716
00:26:04,270 --> 00:26:06,400
And did I see you're going to Japan next year?

717
00:26:06,670 --> 00:26:07,180
Yeah. Yes.

718
00:26:07,180 --> 00:26:10,150
I am going to Japan in June,

719
00:26:10,450 --> 00:26:14,050
2022. And then we're also doing the Birmingham England show in

720
00:26:14,380 --> 00:26:15,250
August and yeah,

721
00:26:15,250 --> 00:26:17,080
I love cult travel destination.

722
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:18,550
So I'm doing all these trips.

723
00:26:18,730 --> 00:26:21,280
I love these ones even more than the cruises and only

724
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:22,930
because I'm not having to teach,

725
00:26:23,170 --> 00:26:23,920
I love teaching,

726
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,350
but I'm more like the happiness factor on these ones.

727
00:26:26,350 --> 00:26:27,910
So it's really a tour.

728
00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:29,440
There is a tour guide in Japan,

729
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:30,970
obviously, because I don't speak the language,

730
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:32,020
but we go to a show.

731
00:26:32,020 --> 00:26:33,190
If there's a show at that time,

732
00:26:33,220 --> 00:26:35,110
we have our fingers crossed that there will be a show,

733
00:26:35,350 --> 00:26:35,830
but yeah,

734
00:26:35,860 --> 00:26:39,580
it's so much fun because it's really comforting to have someone

735
00:26:39,580 --> 00:26:42,130
plan your trip for you and then you just get to

736
00:26:42,130 --> 00:26:42,670
show up.

737
00:26:42,670 --> 00:26:45,540
And then there's a leader who makes sure everything's going well.

738
00:26:45,540 --> 00:26:47,220
And you have a lot less stress.

739
00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:48,170
I'm sure.

740
00:26:48,170 --> 00:26:49,400
Also with the cruises,

741
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,700
you feel somewhat responsible for making sure that their project turns

742
00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:53,180
out well,

743
00:26:53,180 --> 00:26:55,100
too. So there's that extra layer there.

744
00:26:55,370 --> 00:26:55,670
All right.

745
00:26:55,670 --> 00:26:56,540
So, oh my gosh,

746
00:26:56,540 --> 00:26:57,440
you're doing so much.

747
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,170
I could dive into any of these with a million questions,

748
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,780
but let's keep it really relevant to the people who are

749
00:27:02,780 --> 00:27:04,100
listening with us right now,

750
00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:08,240
too. I love the honest point that you bring up and

751
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:09,410
this isn't just for quilting.

752
00:27:09,410 --> 00:27:11,990
There are other types of products that are the same way

753
00:27:12,020 --> 00:27:15,050
that if you wanted a business out of something that you

754
00:27:15,050 --> 00:27:18,320
make and the product that you make takes a long time

755
00:27:18,740 --> 00:27:21,440
or the elements to the product are really,

756
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:22,460
really expensive.

757
00:27:22,460 --> 00:27:24,410
So you're limiting your audience,

758
00:27:24,410 --> 00:27:26,780
which there's no problem with that at all.

759
00:27:27,050 --> 00:27:28,010
That's what you love to do.

760
00:27:28,010 --> 00:27:29,150
You should be doing that.

761
00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:31,610
But if you are trying to make it like a life

762
00:27:31,610 --> 00:27:33,080
supporting business,

763
00:27:33,110 --> 00:27:36,560
possibly these types of things that you add on top of

764
00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,340
it, Brandy are what others could do to fulfill their dream

765
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,190
of still doing what they love to do in their passion,

766
00:27:43,190 --> 00:27:47,630
but taking it in different angles that can be financially rewarding.

767
00:27:47,900 --> 00:27:51,230
So what would you say to someone who's now thinking about

768
00:27:51,230 --> 00:27:54,170
that? How would you get started?

769
00:27:56,900 --> 00:27:59,600
We'll pause for a quick break to hear from our sponsor.

770
00:27:59,660 --> 00:28:01,460
And then Brandy is going to share with us,

771
00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:05,480
her ideas about how to layer on other types of services

772
00:28:05,780 --> 00:28:07,040
on top of your product.

773
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:12,620
Yes, It's possible increase your sales without adding a single customer.

774
00:28:12,860 --> 00:28:16,310
How you ask by offering personalization with your products,

775
00:28:16,550 --> 00:28:19,700
wrap a cake box with a ribbon saying happy 30th birthday,

776
00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:23,150
Annie, or at a special message and date to wedding or

777
00:28:23,150 --> 00:28:25,610
party favors for an extra meaningful touch.

778
00:28:25,730 --> 00:28:29,000
Where else can you get customization with a creatively spelled name

779
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:29,930
or find packaging?

780
00:28:29,930 --> 00:28:32,390
That includes a saying whose meaning is known to a select

781
00:28:32,390 --> 00:28:35,090
to not only are customers willing to pay for these special

782
00:28:35,090 --> 00:28:38,270
touches. They'll tell their friends and word will spread about your

783
00:28:38,270 --> 00:28:39,560
company and products.

784
00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,130
You can create personalized ribbons and labels in seconds,

785
00:28:43,250 --> 00:28:46,550
make just one or thousands without waiting weeks or having to

786
00:28:46,550 --> 00:28:49,820
spend money to order yards and yards print words in any

787
00:28:49,820 --> 00:28:50,810
language or font,

788
00:28:51,020 --> 00:28:51,770
add logos,

789
00:28:51,890 --> 00:28:53,660
images, even photos,

790
00:28:53,900 --> 00:28:54,950
perfect for branding,

791
00:28:54,950 --> 00:28:58,550
we're adding ingredient and flavor labels to for more information,

792
00:28:58,550 --> 00:29:00,680
go to the ribbon print company.com.

793
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,130
Well, I would say the thing It's worked best for me

794
00:29:04,130 --> 00:29:07,190
in my business is to just take one step.

795
00:29:07,430 --> 00:29:09,410
So just take one step forward.

796
00:29:09,410 --> 00:29:10,700
So about getting over that fear,

797
00:29:10,700 --> 00:29:12,380
right? So if you're thinking,

798
00:29:12,380 --> 00:29:14,000
okay, I have a business and I have an idea of

799
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,730
what I want to do instead of just doing the one

800
00:29:16,730 --> 00:29:17,720
thing you want to do,

801
00:29:17,750 --> 00:29:20,570
think about what are 5,

802
00:29:20,570 --> 00:29:23,510
10, 15 ways that I can bring in income doing that

803
00:29:23,510 --> 00:29:26,300
one thing I want to do so I could do a

804
00:29:26,300 --> 00:29:29,120
course and I could have a membership and I could be

805
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,120
an affiliate for the wonderful companies that I love and use.

806
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:36,050
And you want to have all these different ways that the

807
00:29:36,050 --> 00:29:39,020
same thing can bring value in multiple different ways.

808
00:29:39,020 --> 00:29:41,290
It's like using your content in multiple different ways.

809
00:29:41,290 --> 00:29:42,340
You want it on your blog.

810
00:29:42,370 --> 00:29:43,620
You want it on your podcast.

811
00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:45,370
You want it on your social media.

812
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,520
You're doing one solid thing that brings great value,

813
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,770
but you're spreading it out in different areas.

814
00:29:51,010 --> 00:29:53,530
So there's a couple of different elements there and I'm trying

815
00:29:53,530 --> 00:29:55,630
to do it all I'm growing as I learn.

816
00:29:55,870 --> 00:29:58,180
The other thing I would mention if you're starting out that

817
00:29:58,180 --> 00:30:00,910
has really worked well for me in the last year is

818
00:30:00,910 --> 00:30:03,820
to put yourself out there on video because I did a

819
00:30:03,820 --> 00:30:07,150
three minute video that changed the face of my business.

820
00:30:07,390 --> 00:30:09,220
So in August of 2020,

821
00:30:09,220 --> 00:30:10,810
I put out a three minute video.

822
00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,590
This is what I offer on zoom and it exploded.

823
00:30:14,620 --> 00:30:17,200
And I have done over 36 lectures.

824
00:30:17,230 --> 00:30:21,640
I've done over 40 workshops and I've done two hour workshops,

825
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:22,630
half day workshops,

826
00:30:22,630 --> 00:30:23,470
full day workshops,

827
00:30:23,470 --> 00:30:24,370
all on zoom.

828
00:30:24,370 --> 00:30:27,220
And it created a business for me that now had the

829
00:30:27,220 --> 00:30:30,040
income where I beat that income threshold,

830
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:31,570
where I can now apply for grants.

831
00:30:31,870 --> 00:30:35,500
So I recently received a grant because I made over 30,000

832
00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:36,070
in one year,

833
00:30:36,070 --> 00:30:36,640
for instance,

834
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,770
you can apply for a new level of grants.

835
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:40,330
So I got a $10,000

836
00:30:40,330 --> 00:30:41,350
grant for my website.

837
00:30:41,350 --> 00:30:44,620
So you really want to bring in lots of multiple streams

838
00:30:44,620 --> 00:30:45,220
of income.

839
00:30:45,250 --> 00:30:47,740
Like just try all the things and see what really works

840
00:30:47,740 --> 00:30:48,460
well for you.

841
00:30:48,700 --> 00:30:50,260
You might love Patrion,

842
00:30:50,260 --> 00:30:53,140
or you might like to have a membership and really connect

843
00:30:53,140 --> 00:30:53,950
with your audience,

844
00:30:53,950 --> 00:30:56,110
or you might like to do the podcast,

845
00:30:56,140 --> 00:30:57,310
but have advertisers,

846
00:30:57,310 --> 00:31:00,190
or instead if you don't want advertising on your podcast,

847
00:31:00,190 --> 00:31:02,230
then have affiliates and things like that.

848
00:31:02,230 --> 00:31:05,530
So just explore everything and really see what works for you.

849
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,840
And that is what I'm in the process of doing right

850
00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,540
now. And so that one video really made a difference for

851
00:31:10,540 --> 00:31:12,580
me and the grants also,

852
00:31:12,580 --> 00:31:12,910
I mean,

853
00:31:12,910 --> 00:31:16,030
grants are a big deal because if you're a female,

854
00:31:16,030 --> 00:31:19,120
small business types of different grants out there in the U

855
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:20,080
S and Canada,

856
00:31:20,230 --> 00:31:20,980
just for you,

857
00:31:21,010 --> 00:31:22,630
and if you don't apply for them,

858
00:31:22,630 --> 00:31:23,740
you don't get them for sure.

859
00:31:23,770 --> 00:31:24,940
But if you do apply,

860
00:31:24,940 --> 00:31:27,820
you're opening up the possibility that for instance,

861
00:31:27,820 --> 00:31:29,320
my grant for my website,

862
00:31:29,380 --> 00:31:30,790
it's a $10,000

863
00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:33,370
project and I'm going to have a new website in the

864
00:31:33,370 --> 00:31:34,150
middle of August.

865
00:31:34,420 --> 00:31:36,040
And so 7,500

866
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:38,650
comes from the grant and I need to invest 2,500,

867
00:31:38,650 --> 00:31:41,770
but it's a win for everyone because my e-commerce has been

868
00:31:41,770 --> 00:31:43,630
my biggest struggle since 2016.

869
00:31:43,630 --> 00:31:46,900
And now I'm actually solving that problem just because I took

870
00:31:46,900 --> 00:31:47,590
a chance.

871
00:31:47,590 --> 00:31:50,020
I put myself out there and I applied for that grant.

872
00:31:50,290 --> 00:31:52,270
So if there's any advice I would give,

873
00:31:52,270 --> 00:31:52,780
it would just be,

874
00:31:52,780 --> 00:31:54,670
take that one step forward,

875
00:31:54,700 --> 00:31:55,930
especially if you're afraid,

876
00:31:55,930 --> 00:31:58,900
because that fear probably means that you're going in the direction.

877
00:31:58,900 --> 00:32:00,130
That is really exciting.

878
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,170
And So the video that you put it on YouTube and

879
00:32:04,170 --> 00:32:05,850
talked about your zoom classes,

880
00:32:06,030 --> 00:32:06,660
is that Right?

881
00:32:06,870 --> 00:32:08,460
Yeah, it actually is on YouTube,

882
00:32:08,490 --> 00:32:10,590
but I just want to tell you about this unique opportunity

883
00:32:10,590 --> 00:32:12,900
I had in the quilting world and any quilter can do

884
00:32:12,900 --> 00:32:16,110
this. There's a new company in the U S called global

885
00:32:16,110 --> 00:32:17,310
quilt connection.

886
00:32:17,580 --> 00:32:20,520
It started by lyric canard and Sue BLI Weiss.

887
00:32:20,550 --> 00:32:22,680
And they created this online,

888
00:32:22,770 --> 00:32:23,190
I guess,

889
00:32:23,190 --> 00:32:27,000
website to connect quilt teachers with quilting guilds.

890
00:32:27,330 --> 00:32:30,570
And I just thought it was such a great idea.

891
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,090
And I dove in head first when it was still free.

892
00:32:33,090 --> 00:32:33,450
And I said,

893
00:32:33,450 --> 00:32:34,680
yes, I'll do a video.

894
00:32:34,740 --> 00:32:35,580
I tried it out.

895
00:32:35,610 --> 00:32:37,350
And I was one of the very first people to get

896
00:32:37,350 --> 00:32:38,220
my video in there.

897
00:32:38,220 --> 00:32:40,670
And now it's probably like maybe $50 a year.

898
00:32:40,670 --> 00:32:42,140
It's really no big cost.

899
00:32:42,140 --> 00:32:43,010
It's so worth it.

900
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:46,640
And you can get your information out there to the masses.

901
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,800
It's just such a wonderful opportunity.

902
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,780
And I really appreciate those guys for doing that.

903
00:32:50,780 --> 00:32:52,910
So that made a big difference for me and my business.

904
00:32:52,940 --> 00:32:54,680
And it's on my YouTube channel now.

905
00:32:54,910 --> 00:32:58,780
So The YouTube video went to a quilting viewership,

906
00:32:58,810 --> 00:33:00,280
so it was a very directed,

907
00:33:00,310 --> 00:33:00,700
oh my gosh,

908
00:33:00,730 --> 00:33:01,420
that's fabulous.

909
00:33:01,420 --> 00:33:04,900
And I would imagine that other types of creative industries have

910
00:33:04,900 --> 00:33:07,960
something similar because we often talk about doing video and how

911
00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:10,480
you should put it up on your website or jump over

912
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,910
and start a YouTube channel because there's so much you can

913
00:33:12,910 --> 00:33:15,130
share in terms of training and teaching and all of that,

914
00:33:15,340 --> 00:33:18,400
but you've taken it one step further and really directed it

915
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,730
specifically through quilters through this global quilt connection.

916
00:33:21,970 --> 00:33:24,790
Yeah. And you can do that in knitting or crocheting,

917
00:33:24,820 --> 00:33:26,020
any industry that you're in,

918
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,140
you can find a local magazine that has a blog,

919
00:33:29,170 --> 00:33:32,260
or if you can find someone that has that audience first,

920
00:33:32,260 --> 00:33:34,390
you want to figure out how can I bring them value

921
00:33:34,450 --> 00:33:36,970
and then see if they're willing to do something for you

922
00:33:36,970 --> 00:33:37,600
in the end.

923
00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:39,910
And I found that once I created that video,

924
00:33:39,940 --> 00:33:42,940
now every time I get a request from a quilting Guild,

925
00:33:42,940 --> 00:33:43,360
like, oh,

926
00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:44,500
I like your podcast.

927
00:33:44,500 --> 00:33:45,910
And I would love to hire you.

928
00:33:45,940 --> 00:33:48,250
I send them that video and they instantly know,

929
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:50,770
oh, this is the 12 courses she has available.

930
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,570
These are the three lectures she could do.

931
00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,600
And then they're able to choose from looking at the video

932
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,240
rather than trying to go to my website and find what

933
00:33:58,240 --> 00:33:58,720
I do.

934
00:33:58,990 --> 00:34:00,160
They don't have to do any work.

935
00:34:00,190 --> 00:34:02,230
They just click and they've got three minutes and they've got

936
00:34:02,230 --> 00:34:03,100
it all there.

937
00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:03,910
Love it.

938
00:34:03,910 --> 00:34:06,310
And The thing that stood out to me from your story

939
00:34:06,340 --> 00:34:08,230
is that when you saw the opportunity,

940
00:34:08,260 --> 00:34:08,620
you said,

941
00:34:08,620 --> 00:34:09,370
yes, right away,

942
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:10,270
you didn't think about it.

943
00:34:10,270 --> 00:34:11,050
You just said yes.

944
00:34:11,050 --> 00:34:13,330
And then you figured out how to get that video done

945
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,520
and what you were going to put in the video afterwards,

946
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,380
but you committed yourself right away.

947
00:34:17,650 --> 00:34:19,090
Oh, it goes back to what are you waiting for?

948
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:19,930
Right. All right.

949
00:34:19,930 --> 00:34:22,060
So this is a great tip in terms of making sure

950
00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:25,120
that you put your message in the place where the most

951
00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:27,190
people who would be receptive to it,

952
00:34:27,190 --> 00:34:28,000
hang out.

953
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,550
So for you inside a quilting community,

954
00:34:30,790 --> 00:34:33,700
but how else are you getting attention and visibility to the

955
00:34:33,700 --> 00:34:34,540
things that You offer?

956
00:34:34,750 --> 00:34:36,850
But when I do my podcast,

957
00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:40,780
I invite guests and whether they're famous or not,

958
00:34:40,820 --> 00:34:42,010
doesn't really matter to me.

959
00:34:42,010 --> 00:34:43,600
It's their story that I want to share.

960
00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:47,500
So I'm sharing the story of quilt professionals and superstars in

961
00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:48,220
the quilting industry,

962
00:34:48,220 --> 00:34:50,260
all the way down to the mom who made a coat

963
00:34:50,260 --> 00:34:52,210
of many colors for her two year old,

964
00:34:52,210 --> 00:34:54,010
because their two-year-old loves Dolly Parton.

965
00:34:54,250 --> 00:34:58,030
So I treat the average quilter like a superstar,

966
00:34:58,030 --> 00:35:00,190
and I treat the superstar like my best friend.

967
00:35:00,190 --> 00:35:03,640
I kind of try to really just focus on the story

968
00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:06,010
and how am I going to bring the listener from here

969
00:35:06,010 --> 00:35:07,960
to there what's the value for them.

970
00:35:08,230 --> 00:35:10,840
And so this is sort of the unique thing that I

971
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,690
bring to the table is that you can go ahead and

972
00:35:13,690 --> 00:35:17,080
throw your earbuds in and start quilting away and listen to

973
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:17,940
my podcast.

974
00:35:17,940 --> 00:35:20,380
And all of a sudden you've made like five blocks in

975
00:35:20,380 --> 00:35:22,690
a quilt and you've listened to the whole podcast and you're

976
00:35:22,690 --> 00:35:23,830
just in your zone.

977
00:35:23,830 --> 00:35:25,330
And so that's my goal for people.

978
00:35:25,330 --> 00:35:26,950
That's how I bring them the most joy,

979
00:35:26,980 --> 00:35:27,370
I think.

980
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,500
And even when I'm in the classroom,

981
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:30,730
I tell my students,

982
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:32,080
no one suffers in silence.

983
00:35:32,110 --> 00:35:34,210
This is just not something that happens in my class.

984
00:35:34,210 --> 00:35:36,340
So you need to reach out to me if you're struggling.

985
00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,510
I once a quilter who we were taking apart shirts,

986
00:35:39,510 --> 00:35:41,520
and we were quilting all over the front of the shirts

987
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:42,900
and putting the shirt back together.

988
00:35:42,900 --> 00:35:44,190
It was a super fun class.

989
00:35:44,790 --> 00:35:48,090
And she was sitting there struggling and struggling.

990
00:35:48,090 --> 00:35:50,910
And I came over and she couldn't see the black and

991
00:35:50,910 --> 00:35:53,340
black stitching just to rip the stitches on the side.

992
00:35:53,370 --> 00:35:56,970
So you always really have to stay connected with your community

993
00:35:56,970 --> 00:35:59,760
and your audience and your students in a way that really

994
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:00,570
supports them.

995
00:36:00,570 --> 00:36:02,040
And it makes them think,

996
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:03,210
okay, I can ask her,

997
00:36:03,210 --> 00:36:05,190
this is not too dumb of a question.

998
00:36:05,190 --> 00:36:06,480
No, question's too small.

999
00:36:06,510 --> 00:36:07,530
I can just go ahead and say,

1000
00:36:07,530 --> 00:36:09,900
listen, I'm struggling with this and I want to keep up,

1001
00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:11,990
well, that's the nature That you bring to the brand,

1002
00:36:11,990 --> 00:36:14,300
to the feel and the community.

1003
00:36:14,300 --> 00:36:14,660
And all,

1004
00:36:14,870 --> 00:36:17,810
I also think a lot of quilters quilt on their own

1005
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:19,450
either they're confined to their homes.

1006
00:36:19,450 --> 00:36:23,510
So could never unfortunately do a cruise or go out to

1007
00:36:23,510 --> 00:36:25,460
weekend groups or whatever,

1008
00:36:25,490 --> 00:36:28,550
but having the podcast brings in a sense of community for

1009
00:36:28,550 --> 00:36:31,130
them within what they're able to do as well.

1010
00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:32,000
And let's face it.

1011
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,010
We all can't go out on a cruise every week either,

1012
00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:36,710
but we might be quilting at home many nights a week

1013
00:36:36,710 --> 00:36:38,390
too. So if that's our passion,

1014
00:36:38,660 --> 00:36:40,610
take us a little bit behind the scenes.

1015
00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,310
You probably have a team now with all the things that

1016
00:36:43,310 --> 00:36:43,940
you're working on.

1017
00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:47,120
Well, I am for the first time getting podcasts editors.

1018
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:48,530
So I'm really excited about that.

1019
00:36:48,530 --> 00:36:49,520
Actually, I have a meeting with him,

1020
00:36:49,850 --> 00:36:51,080
oh, it's a game changer.

1021
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:53,780
Brandy. You could probably give me some advice on that.

1022
00:36:54,050 --> 00:36:56,270
I've been spending four hours on every episode,

1023
00:36:56,270 --> 00:36:57,650
editing myself in the past.

1024
00:36:57,650 --> 00:36:59,360
So now I am ready to move on.

1025
00:36:59,570 --> 00:37:02,330
I have an accountant and bookkeeper.

1026
00:37:02,370 --> 00:37:04,760
This is the most important part of my team.

1027
00:37:05,030 --> 00:37:05,690
I swear.

1028
00:37:05,690 --> 00:37:07,280
I struggled for years and years.

1029
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:08,750
And then I finally bit the bullet.

1030
00:37:08,990 --> 00:37:11,870
I also have sporadically hired virtual assistants,

1031
00:37:11,870 --> 00:37:13,490
which has been just a godsend,

1032
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:15,200
but I just hired them once in a while to help

1033
00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:16,280
me get back on track.

1034
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,890
Sometimes my email gets out of control or certain things,

1035
00:37:18,890 --> 00:37:21,350
and then they help me or they help me batch create

1036
00:37:21,350 --> 00:37:22,940
some content and things like that.

1037
00:37:23,180 --> 00:37:24,470
So that has been really good.

1038
00:37:24,470 --> 00:37:25,670
But for the most part,

1039
00:37:25,670 --> 00:37:27,350
I do almost all of it myself.

1040
00:37:27,620 --> 00:37:29,060
And to be honest with you,

1041
00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:31,400
because I have a day job in the fire industry,

1042
00:37:31,430 --> 00:37:33,710
I've got my fire job down to four hours a day.

1043
00:37:33,710 --> 00:37:35,090
So I'm thrilled about that.

1044
00:37:35,330 --> 00:37:38,360
I'm moving into a plan to leave my fire job altogether

1045
00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:39,050
in the spring,

1046
00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:41,690
but I spend long hours in my studio.

1047
00:37:41,690 --> 00:37:43,970
And the thing that kind of keeps me grounded there,

1048
00:37:43,970 --> 00:37:47,750
like sometimes I'm in my studio from 9:00 PM till midnight

1049
00:37:47,750 --> 00:37:49,610
is because I love it so much.

1050
00:37:49,610 --> 00:37:52,430
And I'm the kind of person who can accidentally quilt all

1051
00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:54,560
night. And my husband will come down in the morning and

1052
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:55,670
say what's going on,

1053
00:37:55,700 --> 00:37:57,710
but I know that it's okay because I'm still building.

1054
00:37:57,710 --> 00:37:59,030
And once I'm done with the fire,

1055
00:37:59,060 --> 00:38:01,070
I'll be able to keep much more regular hours.

1056
00:38:01,340 --> 00:38:04,970
And I really can tell when I'm exhausting myself too much,

1057
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:07,820
I love to spend after work an evening time with my

1058
00:38:07,820 --> 00:38:08,660
husband and son.

1059
00:38:08,690 --> 00:38:11,300
So that's why I'll do like the 9:00 PM till midnight,

1060
00:38:11,300 --> 00:38:12,260
little stint there.

1061
00:38:12,260 --> 00:38:14,090
And I love to get up early in the morning too.

1062
00:38:14,300 --> 00:38:16,700
So I have to be very careful because I'm an early

1063
00:38:16,700 --> 00:38:18,680
bird and night owl at the same time.

1064
00:38:18,710 --> 00:38:21,050
So sometimes I only get four or five hours of sleep,

1065
00:38:21,500 --> 00:38:23,810
but I know that I'm getting really exhausted when I start

1066
00:38:23,810 --> 00:38:26,180
to feel depleted and my energy gets low.

1067
00:38:26,210 --> 00:38:27,020
And then I just make sure,

1068
00:38:27,020 --> 00:38:28,910
okay, I've got a plan a little better and get a

1069
00:38:28,910 --> 00:38:30,440
lot of sleep for a while.

1070
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:31,820
And then I'm back on track.

1071
00:38:31,820 --> 00:38:34,790
So my sleep and my energy really kind of dictates if

1072
00:38:34,790 --> 00:38:35,950
I'm a little too much.

1073
00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:37,000
Well, It sounds like,

1074
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:37,180
I mean,

1075
00:38:37,180 --> 00:38:38,410
you're living your dream,

1076
00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:39,160
which is,

1077
00:38:39,220 --> 00:38:40,330
if you love what you're doing,

1078
00:38:40,330 --> 00:38:41,650
you don't work a day in your life.

1079
00:38:41,860 --> 00:38:42,010
You know,

1080
00:38:42,010 --> 00:38:42,580
there's a quote,

1081
00:38:42,580 --> 00:38:45,040
some spin off of what I just said there,

1082
00:38:45,310 --> 00:38:47,800
but you also have so many variations,

1083
00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:49,540
right? From speaking to judging,

1084
00:38:49,540 --> 00:38:52,840
to traveling and teaching and designing and quilting.

1085
00:38:53,110 --> 00:38:55,660
So it's all these different facets that all spin off that

1086
00:38:55,660 --> 00:38:56,950
nucleus of your love,

1087
00:38:56,950 --> 00:38:57,820
which is quilting.

1088
00:38:58,090 --> 00:39:02,320
Are there any systems or programs that you're using that you

1089
00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:04,360
would suggest to everyone who's listening here?

1090
00:39:04,740 --> 00:39:05,310
I Think,

1091
00:39:05,310 --> 00:39:07,620
I don't know if I would be able to live without

1092
00:39:07,620 --> 00:39:11,010
Trello. Trello is it's like my organizer.

1093
00:39:11,250 --> 00:39:14,760
I use Trello for business and I have a quilter on

1094
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:16,260
fire sales funnel,

1095
00:39:16,290 --> 00:39:16,920
for instance,

1096
00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:17,670
in Trello,

1097
00:39:17,670 --> 00:39:20,340
where every time a Guild reaches out to me,

1098
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:22,260
I create a card for them.

1099
00:39:22,260 --> 00:39:25,830
And it goes from new leads to pending,

1100
00:39:25,830 --> 00:39:27,450
to contract in place,

1101
00:39:27,450 --> 00:39:30,300
to booking and then complete and paid and that kind of

1102
00:39:30,300 --> 00:39:31,920
thing. So I can have,

1103
00:39:31,950 --> 00:39:32,970
like right now,

1104
00:39:32,970 --> 00:39:35,670
if I just take a glimpse at my Trello for my

1105
00:39:35,670 --> 00:39:41,400
bookings, I literally have probably 83 bookings in different stages of

1106
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,850
completion. And can actually look in there to count if I'm

1107
00:39:44,850 --> 00:39:46,380
applying for a show or something,

1108
00:39:46,380 --> 00:39:46,710
they'll say,

1109
00:39:46,710 --> 00:39:48,480
how much have you taught in the last year?

1110
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:48,810
I can say,

1111
00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:49,680
oh, 87,

1112
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:52,740
whatever. I can count how many I know who's paid and

1113
00:39:52,740 --> 00:39:53,340
who hasn't paid.

1114
00:39:53,340 --> 00:39:55,740
So Trello has really been wonderful for me.

1115
00:39:55,740 --> 00:39:56,070
I just,

1116
00:39:56,070 --> 00:39:57,630
I got into it quite early on.

1117
00:39:57,630 --> 00:39:59,490
I fooled around with it and had fun with it.

1118
00:39:59,580 --> 00:40:00,510
It's so easy.

1119
00:40:00,510 --> 00:40:01,620
A monkey could use it.

1120
00:40:01,650 --> 00:40:03,270
And so it's perfect for me.

1121
00:40:03,270 --> 00:40:04,350
I just have a lot of fun with it.

1122
00:40:04,350 --> 00:40:06,630
So that's a good organization tool that I love.

1123
00:40:07,290 --> 00:40:09,150
It's also perfect because now you're set up if,

1124
00:40:09,150 --> 00:40:10,890
and when you add team members,

1125
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:13,290
they can jump in and work on the processes you already

1126
00:40:13,290 --> 00:40:17,430
have. I haven't often heard people starting with either Trello or

1127
00:40:17,430 --> 00:40:20,580
I use a sauna when they're the only person doing it.

1128
00:40:20,580 --> 00:40:23,460
But I think that that's brilliant keeping track of everything and

1129
00:40:23,460 --> 00:40:25,560
knowing where everything is at any given point,

1130
00:40:25,620 --> 00:40:26,100
et cetera.

1131
00:40:26,460 --> 00:40:27,270
Yeah. And I mean,

1132
00:40:27,270 --> 00:40:28,980
you can even go in there and like,

1133
00:40:28,980 --> 00:40:31,500
let's say I'm doing a holiday cause my son just graduated

1134
00:40:31,500 --> 00:40:32,580
and we're going to go to Bali.

1135
00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:35,100
I can jump into Trello and I can plan the entire

1136
00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:37,920
trip. Everything goes in there from the flights to everything that

1137
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:38,520
you're planning.

1138
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,250
It can be used for business and home and everything.

1139
00:40:41,250 --> 00:40:41,880
So it's great.

1140
00:40:42,150 --> 00:40:43,140
Oh, that's Fabulous.

1141
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:43,530
Love it.

1142
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:45,360
Okay. Talk with us a little bit about your book.

1143
00:40:45,660 --> 00:40:46,920
This is such a fun story.

1144
00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:50,820
So my book is called Christie's quilt and the whole goal

1145
00:40:50,820 --> 00:40:53,280
of this book is to share the heritage of quilting with

1146
00:40:53,310 --> 00:40:56,850
children. And so back when I lived in the prairies of

1147
00:40:56,850 --> 00:40:58,800
Canada, before I moved to the coast here,

1148
00:40:58,860 --> 00:41:01,560
I went to a quilting retreat every year for about six

1149
00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:02,190
years in a row.

1150
00:41:02,490 --> 00:41:05,040
And the last time I went to that quote retreat,

1151
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:06,120
before I moved away,

1152
00:41:06,180 --> 00:41:07,650
we really noticed Christie.

1153
00:41:07,650 --> 00:41:08,730
There she's a young,

1154
00:41:08,940 --> 00:41:10,590
she was 10 or 11 at the time.

1155
00:41:10,980 --> 00:41:12,930
And she was always wandering through the tables,

1156
00:41:12,930 --> 00:41:13,710
looking at her quilts.

1157
00:41:13,710 --> 00:41:15,870
And she was the daughter of the lodge owners.

1158
00:41:16,140 --> 00:41:18,990
So she really got involved in just enjoying the process of

1159
00:41:18,990 --> 00:41:19,650
what we were doing.

1160
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:22,140
And the next year we came back and she had a

1161
00:41:22,140 --> 00:41:24,630
sewing machine set up and she was all ready to go

1162
00:41:24,630 --> 00:41:25,680
and make her own quilt.

1163
00:41:25,710 --> 00:41:25,980
It's the,

1164
00:41:25,980 --> 00:41:27,240
we were so excited.

1165
00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:28,920
It was such a heartwarming story.

1166
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:31,710
But the thing that happened was that the person who had

1167
00:41:31,710 --> 00:41:34,490
promised to teach her to quilt was ill that year.

1168
00:41:34,550 --> 00:41:35,720
And she wasn't able to come.

1169
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:37,640
So Christie said,

1170
00:41:37,670 --> 00:41:38,660
where's Wendy.

1171
00:41:38,660 --> 00:41:39,260
And we said,

1172
00:41:39,290 --> 00:41:40,460
oh, Wendy's not coming.

1173
00:41:40,490 --> 00:41:43,070
And so she was devastated because she didn't have fabric or

1174
00:41:43,070 --> 00:41:44,030
thread or anything.

1175
00:41:44,060 --> 00:41:46,910
And we were in a very remote lodge in the wilderness.

1176
00:41:47,270 --> 00:41:50,570
And so everybody banded together and we all pulled any fabric

1177
00:41:50,570 --> 00:41:52,310
that looks like children's fabric.

1178
00:41:52,310 --> 00:41:54,830
And we all gave her thread and everyone took turns,

1179
00:41:54,830 --> 00:41:56,930
teaching her a different element of how to quilt.

1180
00:41:56,930 --> 00:41:58,010
And in one weekend,

1181
00:41:58,010 --> 00:41:58,700
in four days,

1182
00:41:58,730 --> 00:42:01,310
she created a quilt from start to finish.

1183
00:42:01,580 --> 00:42:04,820
She did the entire thing herself from cutting to piecing to

1184
00:42:04,820 --> 00:42:08,720
quilting. She even applicate raw edge butterflies on top and she

1185
00:42:08,720 --> 00:42:10,130
bound the quilt herself.

1186
00:42:10,370 --> 00:42:12,500
So it was such an inspiring feat.

1187
00:42:12,530 --> 00:42:12,830
I mean,

1188
00:42:12,830 --> 00:42:15,500
she just took on the challenge and went for it that

1189
00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:17,210
I just had to write a book about it.

1190
00:42:17,210 --> 00:42:20,150
And I got her family's permission and I did a great

1191
00:42:20,150 --> 00:42:21,920
big Kickstarter project back then,

1192
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:22,880
that was so fun.

1193
00:42:22,910 --> 00:42:24,980
And I sold all the copies I needed to make the

1194
00:42:24,980 --> 00:42:27,560
project successful and I've been selling it ever since.

1195
00:42:27,860 --> 00:42:31,220
And my illustrator actually did a really fun thing in the

1196
00:42:31,220 --> 00:42:33,950
book where she added a little mouse on every page.

1197
00:42:33,950 --> 00:42:35,060
So when you're reading the book,

1198
00:42:35,060 --> 00:42:38,060
the children have to find the most and she secretly put

1199
00:42:38,060 --> 00:42:38,750
me in the book.

1200
00:42:38,750 --> 00:42:41,300
So there's this curly haired quilter in there that looks just

1201
00:42:41,300 --> 00:42:41,780
like me.

1202
00:42:42,050 --> 00:42:43,310
And so it was a lot of fun.

1203
00:42:43,310 --> 00:42:44,540
The project was so fun.

1204
00:42:44,540 --> 00:42:45,950
I've been selling it ever since.

1205
00:42:46,010 --> 00:42:48,470
And I just think it's such a great way for quilters

1206
00:42:48,470 --> 00:42:50,510
to connect with their children or grandchildren.

1207
00:42:50,780 --> 00:42:52,550
When you give a quilt to a child,

1208
00:42:52,550 --> 00:42:54,320
of course they absolutely love it,

1209
00:42:54,350 --> 00:42:58,340
but they might not really understand what goes into the making

1210
00:42:58,340 --> 00:42:58,940
of the quilt.

1211
00:42:58,940 --> 00:43:00,740
So this is what they read through in the book.

1212
00:43:00,950 --> 00:43:02,240
Do you know where Christie is now?

1213
00:43:02,510 --> 00:43:03,380
Yes, I do.

1214
00:43:03,380 --> 00:43:05,150
I actually had her on my podcast,

1215
00:43:05,150 --> 00:43:06,020
which is so exciting.

1216
00:43:06,290 --> 00:43:07,970
She is in her twenties now.

1217
00:43:07,970 --> 00:43:10,790
And she's a nurse at such a little inspiring story.

1218
00:43:10,790 --> 00:43:12,890
It was so nice to have her on the podcast and

1219
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:15,620
all of those quilters who are at the original retreat,

1220
00:43:15,650 --> 00:43:17,270
they all reached out to me by email saying,

1221
00:43:17,300 --> 00:43:19,940
oh, it was so nice to hear where she is now

1222
00:43:19,940 --> 00:43:21,650
and hear the story after the fact.

1223
00:43:21,650 --> 00:43:22,250
So yeah,

1224
00:43:22,250 --> 00:43:22,820
I definitely,

1225
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,550
I jumped at the opportunity to have her on the podcast.

1226
00:43:25,810 --> 00:43:27,220
I've got to go listen to that one.

1227
00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:27,550
I mean,

1228
00:43:27,550 --> 00:43:28,380
I can just imagine,

1229
00:43:28,390 --> 00:43:30,940
cause she probably reflects back like the feelings that she had

1230
00:43:30,940 --> 00:43:33,610
at the time and then the whole experience and then having

1231
00:43:33,610 --> 00:43:34,450
a book written like,

1232
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:34,990
oh my gosh,

1233
00:43:34,990 --> 00:43:36,130
that's a dream in and of itself.

1234
00:43:36,580 --> 00:43:38,710
Yeah. And she's been so busy getting educated,

1235
00:43:38,710 --> 00:43:40,870
but she still has made a few quilts since then.

1236
00:43:40,870 --> 00:43:42,700
So it's nice to see that she's kept going.

1237
00:43:42,970 --> 00:43:43,480
For Sure.

1238
00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:47,500
So do you use this book as you're marketing your business

1239
00:43:47,500 --> 00:43:48,880
or has it helped In that way?

1240
00:43:49,270 --> 00:43:52,390
I actually was on clubhouse the other day and I asked

1241
00:43:52,390 --> 00:43:52,930
in a room,

1242
00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:54,700
do you think I should relaunch my book?

1243
00:43:54,700 --> 00:43:59,290
And the resoundingly answer in this book publishing room on clubhouse

1244
00:43:59,290 --> 00:44:00,040
was yes.

1245
00:44:00,070 --> 00:44:00,640
Oh my goodness.

1246
00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:03,040
You should be launching your book multiple times per year.

1247
00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:04,750
And I kind of had the notion that I did the

1248
00:44:04,750 --> 00:44:06,760
book, I had the book and it's just always available on

1249
00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:07,420
my website,

1250
00:44:07,630 --> 00:44:09,850
but I've learned that lesson that if you don't put it

1251
00:44:09,850 --> 00:44:11,860
out there and use it in your business,

1252
00:44:11,890 --> 00:44:13,090
it's just going to sit there.

1253
00:44:13,090 --> 00:44:15,820
So I absolutely that's the next step I need to take

1254
00:44:15,820 --> 00:44:18,370
is to kind of relaunch that book and have some fun

1255
00:44:18,370 --> 00:44:18,730
with it.

1256
00:44:18,940 --> 00:44:20,410
I can use it as a draw.

1257
00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:20,650
You know,

1258
00:44:20,650 --> 00:44:22,660
people will come for the book and then they'll see all

1259
00:44:22,660 --> 00:44:23,710
the other stuff that I do.

1260
00:44:24,130 --> 00:44:26,650
Absolutely. That's giving me some ideas for my book then too.

1261
00:44:26,950 --> 00:44:27,820
I did the same thing.

1262
00:44:27,820 --> 00:44:29,920
It's like that big launch when it first comes out.

1263
00:44:30,220 --> 00:44:31,920
And then if I'm out of shows or something,

1264
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:32,940
I'll have it with me.

1265
00:44:32,940 --> 00:44:34,470
And of course it's available for sale,

1266
00:44:34,470 --> 00:44:36,360
but I never really thought of it in that way.

1267
00:44:37,070 --> 00:44:39,050
You kind of think all my audience has seen this already,

1268
00:44:39,050 --> 00:44:42,530
but my audience has doubled and quadrupled over the years and

1269
00:44:42,530 --> 00:44:44,870
all these new people haven't seen the launch of the book

1270
00:44:44,870 --> 00:44:45,470
and they don't really,

1271
00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:47,510
this might see it on my website if they're going to

1272
00:44:47,510 --> 00:44:48,050
look for it,

1273
00:44:48,050 --> 00:44:49,520
but that's not a good way to do business.

1274
00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:52,070
So you definitely want to get it in front and center

1275
00:44:52,100 --> 00:44:53,540
so that they're seeing what it is.

1276
00:44:53,810 --> 00:44:54,860
Sounds fabulous.

1277
00:44:54,860 --> 00:44:58,790
Perfect. What would you say to somebody who's listening here who

1278
00:44:58,850 --> 00:45:00,560
is in the textiles,

1279
00:45:00,590 --> 00:45:04,760
dealing with fabrics and has the potential to do more,

1280
00:45:04,790 --> 00:45:05,330
but they're like,

1281
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:05,930
I know,

1282
00:45:05,930 --> 00:45:06,040
you know,

1283
00:45:06,070 --> 00:45:07,460
I'm listening to what Brandy's saying,

1284
00:45:07,490 --> 00:45:09,170
but I just don't know if that's me,

1285
00:45:09,170 --> 00:45:10,940
if I could do something like that,

1286
00:45:11,150 --> 00:45:12,830
they have the spark of interest,

1287
00:45:12,830 --> 00:45:14,660
but they're just at that line of,

1288
00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:15,650
ah, do I cross it?

1289
00:45:15,650 --> 00:45:16,100
Do I not?

1290
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:19,250
I would say to find your zone.

1291
00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:21,860
So when you're creating something,

1292
00:45:21,860 --> 00:45:23,060
whether it's crocheting,

1293
00:45:23,060 --> 00:45:23,990
knitting, quilting,

1294
00:45:23,990 --> 00:45:25,130
whatever it is,

1295
00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:27,680
find that thing that is in your zone,

1296
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:31,310
when you could accidentally quilt all night or you could accidentally

1297
00:45:31,340 --> 00:45:33,290
four hours later be thinking well,

1298
00:45:33,290 --> 00:45:34,430
that time went fast,

1299
00:45:34,940 --> 00:45:38,120
find that thing and do more of that and find your

1300
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:41,570
passion, what you love the most about it and throw that

1301
00:45:41,570 --> 00:45:43,670
up on Tik TOK or something and try it out,

1302
00:45:43,670 --> 00:45:46,280
like get out there and get involved in the community for

1303
00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:47,930
what you love to do most,

1304
00:45:47,990 --> 00:45:49,280
if you love quilting,

1305
00:45:49,340 --> 00:45:53,510
but there's this specific one thing like English paper piecing that

1306
00:45:53,510 --> 00:45:55,130
really is your jam.

1307
00:45:55,370 --> 00:45:56,180
Go for it.

1308
00:45:56,180 --> 00:45:58,430
And just dive right into that specific thing.

1309
00:45:58,490 --> 00:46:01,010
I really think the more you niche out the better,

1310
00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:03,680
and this is where I'm moving in my own business,

1311
00:46:03,950 --> 00:46:08,000
I've always done quilting and art quilting and such a wide

1312
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:10,100
variety, trying to please everyone.

1313
00:46:10,370 --> 00:46:12,650
I decided to become a judge because I wanted to learn

1314
00:46:12,650 --> 00:46:14,060
more about traditional quilting.

1315
00:46:14,060 --> 00:46:15,110
Cause I'm so artsy,

1316
00:46:15,350 --> 00:46:19,070
but my niche moving forward is art quilting and fiber art.

1317
00:46:19,070 --> 00:46:21,440
And this is the direction I'm going in my business.

1318
00:46:21,740 --> 00:46:24,170
And it's just what brings you the most joy is what

1319
00:46:24,170 --> 00:46:25,310
you really need to do.

1320
00:46:25,550 --> 00:46:28,070
It's the end of the time to start pleasing everyone.

1321
00:46:28,070 --> 00:46:30,050
And it's the beginning of the time to do what you

1322
00:46:30,050 --> 00:46:32,570
love and just make a difference in that niche.

1323
00:46:32,810 --> 00:46:34,640
Yeah. Become the expert too,

1324
00:46:34,670 --> 00:46:35,840
when you niche down.

1325
00:46:36,140 --> 00:46:38,840
And so when you say you're moving in that direction,

1326
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:40,100
what does that mean specifically?

1327
00:46:40,550 --> 00:46:43,310
I'm really excited about the launch of my new website in

1328
00:46:43,310 --> 00:46:46,910
August. And I'm creating my first online course,

1329
00:46:46,910 --> 00:46:49,160
which is called fiber art fundamentals.

1330
00:46:49,460 --> 00:46:54,140
And from there I'm moving into a huge fiber art project.

1331
00:46:54,140 --> 00:46:56,030
That's going to last a couple of years.

1332
00:46:56,060 --> 00:46:59,240
So I'm really excited about niching out into that because I've

1333
00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:03,080
always spread myself a little thin trying to do scrap challenges

1334
00:47:03,080 --> 00:47:05,300
and blog hops and all kinds of different things that are

1335
00:47:05,300 --> 00:47:07,970
Quilty, but not my specific niche.

1336
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:10,640
So I'm really getting into art quilting now and I'm going

1337
00:47:10,640 --> 00:47:11,330
to go crazy.

1338
00:47:11,570 --> 00:47:12,350
That sounds exciting.

1339
00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:15,470
But would you say that testing the waters in different areas

1340
00:47:15,470 --> 00:47:17,630
helped you really define where you want to Do?

1341
00:47:18,290 --> 00:47:18,680
Oh yeah,

1342
00:47:18,740 --> 00:47:21,410
absolutely. And I'm balancing over people saying,

1343
00:47:21,410 --> 00:47:22,490
who do you think you are?

1344
00:47:22,490 --> 00:47:25,820
And I realized over the years that I shouldn't really be

1345
00:47:25,820 --> 00:47:30,400
teaching precision policing when my passion is messy,

1346
00:47:30,460 --> 00:47:30,850
you know,

1347
00:47:30,850 --> 00:47:31,570
that kind of stuff.

1348
00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:33,730
So I can do it all.

1349
00:47:33,730 --> 00:47:35,110
And I've become a cook judge.

1350
00:47:35,350 --> 00:47:36,910
When I was learning to be a quick judge,

1351
00:47:36,940 --> 00:47:40,240
I would find something like a cathedral window block in quilting,

1352
00:47:40,240 --> 00:47:41,080
and I've never made it.

1353
00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:43,000
So I would have to dive in and learn how to

1354
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:44,530
make that so that I would be able to judge it

1355
00:47:44,530 --> 00:47:44,950
one day.

1356
00:47:45,190 --> 00:47:47,260
But really that wasn't my passion.

1357
00:47:47,260 --> 00:47:49,720
Like I like quilting and all the different blocks you can

1358
00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:52,960
do, but traditional is not the thing that I would create

1359
00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:55,090
as a pattern or do for a friend.

1360
00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:57,940
I would make an art quilt or even a modern quilt

1361
00:47:57,940 --> 00:47:58,810
is more my style.

1362
00:47:58,810 --> 00:48:01,180
And so I've realized over the years that even though I

1363
00:48:01,180 --> 00:48:03,340
want to learn everything and learn all the rules and know

1364
00:48:03,340 --> 00:48:06,010
how to do everything properly now it's time to break the

1365
00:48:06,010 --> 00:48:07,210
rules and do what I love.

1366
00:48:07,480 --> 00:48:08,950
Yes. Break the rules.

1367
00:48:08,950 --> 00:48:09,940
Brandy. All right.

1368
00:48:09,940 --> 00:48:10,740
Well, hi,

1369
00:48:10,740 --> 00:48:12,990
guest episode is going to be going out in August.

1370
00:48:13,020 --> 00:48:16,260
So your website might very well be up at this point.

1371
00:48:16,260 --> 00:48:18,900
If people are listening right the week that it goes live,

1372
00:48:19,140 --> 00:48:20,100
what is the website?

1373
00:48:20,460 --> 00:48:23,460
It's Www.quilteronfire.com.

1374
00:48:24,240 --> 00:48:25,320
Okay. So same name.

1375
00:48:25,590 --> 00:48:26,130
What are you doing?

1376
00:48:26,130 --> 00:48:28,740
Just moving the domain over when the website gets done.

1377
00:48:28,950 --> 00:48:31,140
Yeah. I have a perfectly good website right now,

1378
00:48:31,170 --> 00:48:32,850
but my struggle is e-commerce.

1379
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:35,610
So my e-commerce is going to be amazing and it's going

1380
00:48:35,610 --> 00:48:37,080
to be a brand new look.

1381
00:48:37,110 --> 00:48:39,060
It's going to be just entirely new.

1382
00:48:39,060 --> 00:48:40,590
So I'm really excited about it.

1383
00:48:40,590 --> 00:48:42,300
It will be the same domain in everything.

1384
00:48:42,300 --> 00:48:43,950
You can find everything there right now,

1385
00:48:43,980 --> 00:48:45,330
but it'll just be a brand new look.

1386
00:48:45,660 --> 00:48:46,620
Wonderful. Well,

1387
00:48:46,620 --> 00:48:48,810
so everyone needs to go over there right now and then

1388
00:48:48,810 --> 00:48:50,760
go over again in a couple of weeks,

1389
00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:53,160
because depending on when in August it happens,

1390
00:48:53,190 --> 00:48:54,300
you might see something new,

1391
00:48:54,300 --> 00:48:56,610
but that would also be interesting to see the transition.

1392
00:48:56,850 --> 00:48:57,660
Yeah, absolutely.

1393
00:48:57,930 --> 00:48:59,010
From one to another.

1394
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,740
So fabulous and fiber art fundamentals.

1395
00:49:01,740 --> 00:49:03,600
What's that going to be about when it actually happens?

1396
00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:05,460
Yeah. Fiber art fundamentals.

1397
00:49:05,460 --> 00:49:06,540
I've designed the whole course.

1398
00:49:06,540 --> 00:49:07,530
I've made all the samples.

1399
00:49:07,530 --> 00:49:09,690
I'm ready to record my video.

1400
00:49:09,930 --> 00:49:12,540
So what this class is about is it's a small little

1401
00:49:12,540 --> 00:49:14,490
art project where you learn about color.

1402
00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:16,710
You learn a little bit about design and switching it up.

1403
00:49:16,710 --> 00:49:17,880
So you have a focal point.

1404
00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:20,790
And then you also learn how to create a facing on

1405
00:49:20,790 --> 00:49:21,750
the back of a quilt,

1406
00:49:21,750 --> 00:49:24,240
which is not a common thing that traditional quilters do.

1407
00:49:24,480 --> 00:49:27,450
So you're learning how to create a little art piece.

1408
00:49:27,450 --> 00:49:28,950
It's maybe 12 by 18,

1409
00:49:29,220 --> 00:49:32,490
and you can actually put any kind of fiber art on

1410
00:49:32,490 --> 00:49:33,090
the front of it.

1411
00:49:33,330 --> 00:49:35,310
So it's fiber art fundamentals.

1412
00:49:35,370 --> 00:49:38,370
So you're creating a base for your fiber art project.

1413
00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:40,740
So this will be kind of like the first course anyone

1414
00:49:40,740 --> 00:49:43,950
would take before they start diving into all the different types

1415
00:49:43,950 --> 00:49:46,110
of surface design and fiber arts that you can do.

1416
00:49:46,430 --> 00:49:47,430
Sounds Wonderful.

1417
00:49:47,430 --> 00:49:50,490
And I believe that that seems to tell me there'll be

1418
00:49:50,490 --> 00:49:51,990
extensions to this as well.

1419
00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:53,640
This is course number one.

1420
00:49:53,880 --> 00:49:54,960
Yeah, absolutely.

1421
00:49:55,230 --> 00:49:57,990
So your future Is kind of getting laid out before our

1422
00:49:57,990 --> 00:49:58,890
very eyes here.

1423
00:49:59,280 --> 00:49:59,700
Thank you,

1424
00:49:59,700 --> 00:50:03,540
Brandy. I so appreciate you spending time with us giving a

1425
00:50:03,540 --> 00:50:06,840
peek behind the scenes of what quilter on fire is all

1426
00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:10,020
about all you guys have to go listen to the podcast,

1427
00:50:10,020 --> 00:50:11,100
quilter on fire,

1428
00:50:11,110 --> 00:50:13,860
sit and hear the stories of these wonderful quilts.

1429
00:50:13,890 --> 00:50:15,930
If you're not part of the quilting community,

1430
00:50:15,990 --> 00:50:20,340
it's just always so fascinating to hear what's motivated individual makers

1431
00:50:20,340 --> 00:50:22,800
to create what the story behind the quilts are.

1432
00:50:22,830 --> 00:50:24,150
There's always some story.

1433
00:50:24,390 --> 00:50:27,590
So I'm sure the stories have to be there are plus

1434
00:50:27,590 --> 00:50:28,430
Christie's is there,

1435
00:50:28,430 --> 00:50:29,840
so you got to listen to Chris days.

1436
00:50:30,080 --> 00:50:31,070
Yeah, absolutely.

1437
00:50:31,340 --> 00:50:32,480
Brandy, thank You so much.

1438
00:50:32,510 --> 00:50:34,430
I appreciate you being on the show.

1439
00:50:34,460 --> 00:50:39,950
I love how heartwarming and genuinely caring you are about the

1440
00:50:39,950 --> 00:50:42,920
people that you come in contact with and bringing everybody together

1441
00:50:42,920 --> 00:50:44,030
through the world of quilting.

1442
00:50:44,300 --> 00:50:45,560
So this has been so fun.

1443
00:50:45,560 --> 00:50:47,120
Thanks for letting me share my story.

1444
00:50:50,090 --> 00:50:53,720
One of my favorite things about this podcast is discovering how

1445
00:50:53,720 --> 00:50:58,460
business forms from nothing into a beautiful enriching endeavor.

1446
00:50:59,300 --> 00:51:03,680
Brandies is one such story from firefighter to quilter,

1447
00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:05,240
to pattern designers,

1448
00:51:05,240 --> 00:51:06,380
store owner,

1449
00:51:06,770 --> 00:51:08,750
and traveling workshop director.

1450
00:51:09,530 --> 00:51:13,370
This is what's possible for you and your business to if

1451
00:51:13,370 --> 00:51:14,450
it's your desire,

1452
00:51:15,110 --> 00:51:16,550
that's the best part of all.

1453
00:51:16,760 --> 00:51:19,130
You can create your business to serve your life.

1454
00:51:19,490 --> 00:51:21,860
However you want it to be.

1455
00:51:22,700 --> 00:51:25,400
We're moving from fiber art to leather next week,

1456
00:51:25,820 --> 00:51:30,260
where we'll hear from another fast track business owner as always.

1457
00:51:30,380 --> 00:51:32,000
Thanks for joining me here today.

1458
00:51:32,300 --> 00:51:33,530
If you enjoyed the show,

1459
00:51:33,620 --> 00:51:36,830
make sure to follow the podcast on your app of choice.

1460
00:51:37,130 --> 00:51:39,500
That way you won't miss a single episode,

1461
00:51:39,860 --> 00:51:42,980
especially right now during this air date test,

1462
00:51:43,850 --> 00:51:47,300
also a rating and review would be greatly appreciated.

1463
00:51:47,750 --> 00:51:49,490
It's a way for the show to be seen by more

1464
00:51:49,490 --> 00:51:52,850
makers. And it's also a wonderful way to pay it forward

1465
00:51:53,600 --> 00:51:55,250
and now be safe and well.

1466
00:51:55,520 --> 00:51:58,100
And I'll see you again next week on the gift biz

1467
00:51:58,160 --> 00:51:59,530
unwrapped Podcast.

1468
00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:03,550
I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook

1469
00:52:03,550 --> 00:52:06,070
group called gift is breeze.

1470
00:52:06,460 --> 00:52:10,270
It's a place where we all gather and our community to

1471
00:52:10,270 --> 00:52:11,500
support each other.

1472
00:52:11,950 --> 00:52:14,110
Got a really fun post in there.

1473
00:52:14,110 --> 00:52:15,460
That's my favorite of the week.

1474
00:52:15,460 --> 00:52:18,370
I have to say where I invite all of you to

1475
00:52:18,370 --> 00:52:21,460
share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,

1476
00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:24,880
to show what you're working on for the week to get

1477
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:27,820
reaction from other people and just for fun,

1478
00:52:27,820 --> 00:52:31,450
because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody

1479
00:52:31,450 --> 00:52:35,980
in the community is making my favorite post every single week,

1480
00:52:36,010 --> 00:52:37,390
without doubt.

1481
00:52:38,080 --> 00:52:39,160
Wait, what,

1482
00:52:40,060 --> 00:52:41,680
aren't you part of the group already,

1483
00:52:42,310 --> 00:52:45,730
if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search

1484
00:52:45,730 --> 00:52:49,210
for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.

1485
00:52:49,690 --> 00:52:52,600
Come join us in gift biz breeze today.