February | 2015 | burlapandlace3

My children and I give full credit to my husband for being a man of great “one liners”. In fact, one day I may just write a book of his “themes” that are handed down to us as wisdom statements.

Over and over this past month, his words have stung my heart as they floated past my ears. “Connie, just do one thing, and do it well.” He knows my passion for expanding my business, and my ability to let things take on a life of their own. To me, expanding my business meant being in more than one location. But I have learned that in such a small town as we live in, that simply doesn’t lend itself to anything but exhaustion!

I have attempted to house Burlap & Lace in multiple locations across this small town I live in, thinking that was “the answer” to expanding my business without having to drive 40 miles to keep and maintain a second booth space. But because of the uniqueness of Brevard and its shops, I realized that to grow in this manner would actually necessitate diversifying the type merchandise I offered in order to be more unique in the different locations, and that totally went against the grain of the fabric of my business.

My ultimate dream has been to own my own business….to stroll to the quaint little doors of a downtown shop before sunrise on any given morning, slip the key to my shop into the keyhole and walk through the door of a place “all my own”….where once the lights were turned up and the sun gave way to a new day, those passing by might stop to gaze excitedly through the windows and then hurry inside to see what treasures they might scoop up before the next person beat them to the find.

Imagine, then, my enormous delight when the owners of Main Street Market Shops called me one Sunday afternoon and said, “Connie, we want you to take our window space. We love your style and the way you create. Are you interested?” Are you kidding? Am I interested? YES!!!!! I am interested!

God has a way of fulfilling our dreams and delighting our hearts in ways that are not quite as we imagined, but are oh so much better than we could have dared to dream. Really. So much better….

So let me introduce you to Main Street Market Shops, the new home of Burlap & Lace. Main Street Market Shops is located on Main Street in downtown Brevard, directly across from Mayberry’s and next door to Gravy and Fox Hollow Gifts. Owned by the same gentlemen that own Fox Hollow Gifts, you will be greeted with some good ‘ol Southern charm when you enter their doors!

Let me give you a preview of my new space…..with entertainment being the “theme” this month…

As I finished setting up my space last week, the sun was setting and my heart was questioning if I had done the right thing. This was a big step for me and it was going to require me to make some more changes…significant ones. I turned to leave the shop, and my eyes fell on this in my newly created window….

God let the last rays of daylight seep through the window and onto a canvas I had painted, giving me a message my heart desperately needed to hear. I embraced the moment.

So what about Country Creations? Ah….

Sheila, Christy and Candace have been amazing to me. The last year (and then some) has been full of fun, friendships and sharing life with these ladies. I pray those days continue even though my business is finding a new home. I will close my booth space at Country Creations on February 28th. What that means is a great big SALE through the end of February! Begin to look for mark-downs on merchandise that is there through the end of this month. And then please come find me at Main Street Market Shops! I’m not gone…I’ve just changed locations. And not because they haven’t been amazing to me at Country Creations, but because God is fulfilling yet another dream of mine.

Coming in March…..I’m going to have a GARDEN PARTY and you are invited! You will not want to miss this … Main Street Market Shops …

March 1-31.

Until then, blessings.

~Connie

Meet Beth.

She’s probably the single greatest reason I love home decorating the way I do, though I’ve likely never told her so.

Beth and I were college roommates, and being the home economics major that she was, her love for sewing and cooking was contagious enough that I wanted to ‘watch and learn’ from her then, and still do! Today I credit her with the reason I have a blog, for when I got hooked on reading hers, I decided to start my own and she was instrumental in helping me do just that by answering a dozen questions flung her way. So hats off to you this month, Beth, for inspiring me to dream big, and to achieve more than I could have ever imagined! This blog’s for you!

Two things are especially noteworthy this month for Burlap & Lace – (1) the continuation of my heritage as lived out through the remembrance of my grandmothers and (2) expansion (finally!) into a new location that I can’t wait to share with you!

My grandmothers were two very different women with two very definite and differing personalities. One sparked energy, artistic ability, and a love of the outdoors while the other was quiet, proper and very unassuming. As a young girl growing up around both women, I bounced nearly every weekend from painting with watercolors to playing games of Old Maid to hitting golf balls in the back yard to sitting quietly in a room with a china teacup perched on my lap. Featured this month at Burlap & Lace are remembrances of my wonderful grandmothers and what they have taught me.

My art work boasts of things that remind me of both women and of days gone by. Flowers were a favorite of both grandmothers and put a smile on my face as well, so you will see a lot of those this month both in the art, and in other uses and forms. There will be more of a mix of color mingled in as well, as I could not possibly limit a color scheme to either grandmother (though they both loved yellow and they both loved pink).

One grandmother knitted and crocheted, so I wanted to be sure to include these baby caps handmade by my daughter-in-law. These would be the perfect baby gifts for that special someone in your life! And making February even more special this year is that my daughter-in-law is expecting her first baby (my first grandchild!) this month as well!

In keeping with the celebration topic comes news of the expansion that I spoke of earlier. This month, I have opened my second shop located at Main Street Market Shops (next door to Gravy) in downtown Brevard. I am VERY excited about this opportunity for expansion and hope you will drop in to either Country Creations or to Main Street Market Shops to see what you may find! I have only just begun to set up at Main Street Market Shops, but let’s take a peek preview….