Today, I spent several hours brainstorming and working on creative things. As my business has grown, I find myself getting pulled away from those things more and more.  I have to solve problems, review contracts, be on conference calls, stay on top of my e-mail, reconcile accounts and make sure the business side of things is running smoothly.  With each creative endeavor that is launched, more business comes with it.

Thankfully, I have an amazing team of people who make me look really good.  They cover everything from branding, managing MMSMP retailers, distributing products, technical stuff, social media and more. They all play such a key part in my business and I don’t know what I’d do without them. I’m learning, though, that I need even more help creatively.  I need a fresh way to look at my products and I need help executing some of the creative projects I have on my list.  I can sometimes be a bottleneck as everyone else on my team waits for me to create!

Enter Kriste…

(Photo credit – Autumn Kern Photography)

I met Kriste at a women’s conference I spoke at almost two years ago.  And then she took my slipcovered Ikea couch off my hands when we got a new one.  And then she helped out at the Lucketts Market this year.  And then, a few weeks ago, she became my online shop manager.  I’ve watched her work…carefully wrapping packages in brown paper and tying them in blue & white baker’s twine, taking pictures of products and editing them, always doing a little extra and taking initiative.  She showed she understood my branding and how important the details are.  I knew it was time to ask her to do more.

So, I asked for some creative input…  and, boy did I get it!

We had a brainstorming session today and I was so impressed with her fresh perspective and all of her ideas.

A conversation that started at my dining room table over ipads and laptops and notebooks ended in the basement with us mixing custom colors for the MMSMP European & UK color lines. It was an exciting day.  A day away from the business side and the creative boost I was craving.

So, get used to this pretty face…

…because you’ll be seeing her around.  (Or hearing about her at least!)  Kriste and I have some really fun projects and inspiring ideas to share and I can’t wait to get started on them next week.

When did Mondays get such a bad reputation?

If you’d like to get to know Kriste better, you can follow her on her blog, Rosemary & Thyme.  You won’t want to miss the story of her husband’s surprise proposal on the “Anne of Green Gables bridge” and her side of the “hey, do you want to work with me on more creative stuff” conversation we had.

Oh, and speaking of the online shop, earlier in the post, anyway, it’s stocked full of some new things.  Kriste has listed bread boards, ironstone, antique transferware and some odds and ends I’ve found in my house as I’ve been cleaning and sorting.

And, more details to come, but I am making a pretty large pile for a yard sale I’ll be having next Saturday (August 9, 2014.)  If you’re local, stay tuned for details on that…