Pondering the last couple years.....& all of my blessings
March, 2011, after consulting some of my wonderful handmade friends for advice, I decided to try making a few items for my own personal use. My thought being, that due to loss of income, I couldn't afford to purchase items like I would like to do. I also thought eventually I would also make some things for my family.
I made a couple bracelets- & going back to look @ them, I get a laugh... but I was oh so proud of them @ the time. A very good FB friend saw them & asked me to make something for her. OK, sure! Then it happened again.... & by then the wheels started turning in my head. I contacted my handmade friends, & said ok- well.... do you think I SHOULD even attempt to make a shop from this? Much to my delight & surprise I received loads of encouragement from these awesome ladies!
My next step was to choose a name... I had people make suggestions, & then vote- Junie's Trinkets was the winner by far.
March 14th, 2011.... Junie's Trinkets was born. I was excited, scared, nervous, thrilled, so many emotions all @ once! I remember it was after 8pm by the time I got my page set up. Immediately those fantastic friends who had encouraged me, liked my page, then did me the huge favor of putting the word out. Within 5 days I had over 100 fans, within 6 weeks over 500 fans!! Come July, I was stunned my page had grown to over 1,000 fans. To say you could have knocked me over with a feather is a HUGE understatement!
Some wonderful friends joined me in the celebration & we gave away 18 prizes!!! Less than 4 months from start to over 1,000 fans. AMAZING & Blessed by God, that is all I can say.
Fast forward a bit, so many things have happened, I cannot remember them all. My oldest son left home, my health declined, I made many wonderful friends, lost my sister, became the sickest I have ever been in my life last fall.... so many things.
One thing that has been a HUGE part of my page, is connecting with others with disabilities. It matters not to me if someone has a physical limitation, or a psychological condition, they are still wonderful people. Usually the most giving people I have had the pleasure to meet. Several friendships have come about just by talking to these ( usually ladies) folks, letting them know I understand, since I myself deal with chronic pain & severe limitations on my daily life. If I can get 1 single message across- it would be this. There is life after disability. So many times people get caught up in all they have lost, which is very understandable! It doesn't matter whether something happened suddenly, or it's been a progressive disability like mine has been, it is certainly life changing. I listen, I empathize, & I encourage them. I tell them that yes, life is not what we hoped or planned for @ this stage, & some of those plans/dreams have had to change or be lost... but life is not over! It's more important to take stock of all that is going RIGHT. Whether it is now you have TIME, something you wouldn't have working full time, or it is making NEW GOALS. Perhaps it's meeting people with similar issues as yours, & having that empathy you otherwise could not have- if you hadn't experienced this. Maybe it means you can try a new hobby, or volunteer @ something that means a lot to you. Some days it is as simple as being thankful to be alive. Yes, pain may be ever present. Yes, I wish I could run & play with my kids. Yes I wish I had the energy to run around like others my age.... of course! At the same time, I can honestly say, I am thankful I have been able to be home with my boys, to watch them grow up, something a lot of moms miss. I am thankful that although there are things I cannot do, like others my age, I can do some things. Making jewelry has been a HUGE part of that for me. I have touched others with my craft. To me that is a gift! Whether it's a bracelet for mom or grandma with all of the children's birthstones, that I know will mean so much to her, or an awareness item to commemorate someone's battle with cancer, or to remember a loved one who fought & is no longer here, to just making something a favorite color, or with a special charm, because that person wants it, or wants a gift for someone they care about. That is what jewelry making is to me... sharing my love with my customers. Sharing their accomplishments, their pain, their memorials to loved ones.
Last September I became gravely ill. What started off as a small infected place within days became one of the biggest battles I've faced. ( I say this as a person who in 2008, lost my husband @ age 41 to a brain aneurysm, then had 4 surgeries from Aug to Dec 2nd due to plaque clots- the last was a femoral bypass @ 34 yrs old.) I spent most of 2 months unable to do much more than exist. (You KNOW you are sick, when you are too ill to even log onto the pc, or phone to check in on FACEBOOK!) lol.
I did lose several fans during that time, but I also had the best support group I could have ever asked for! Besides my kids, my family, my church, my fantastic facebook friends & fans prayed for me, asked about me, wrote me messages, & let me know they cared, & looked forward to my return. Those comments, messages, etc mean so much to me still, several months after, & will continue to for a very long time. I appreciated it so much!!
When I started getting better, & slowly made my way back to being able to be online some, & bead once in a while, things had gotten so slow... I thought perhaps my page was dead. I was absolutely heartbroken. Facebook had made more changes, & because there had been no real activity, my posts weren't getting out to my fans. Next I saw about having to pay for posts to make it to my fans, it really irritated me, as well as my handmade friends. Most of us are very small pages, limited resources, & cannot afford the pay as you go world.
Thankfully I was wrong. My page had just gotten very slow.... that's what happens when you can't be online to engage with fans. Come November, things picked back up, & I wound up having almost more than I could do for Christmas orders. :) I also had the pleasure of helping a few families for Christmas as well. I have to admit, that was the best part! I worked all the way until Christmas eve for a local family, & by doing so, they had Christmas. I felt & feel so blessed to be a part of that.
Tomorrow I will celebrate 2 years since Junie's Trinkets was born. My baby, my little piece of Facebook. I am very proud of how my technique has grown, of all I have learned, but mostly of all the friends I made along the way. Thank you all so much for being part of my life! I wouldn't be here, ( my shop) without all of you.
God Bless!! <3
posted by Junie @ 6:57 PM
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