What is picture perfect to you?
I've been told for years "You guys are the perfect family!", but why? Because we can all look nice for a photo…
Read morePICTURE PERFECT
photo by Kayla Wray Photography
things that make me smile (in style)
things that make me smile
a good simple dress that is casual enough to wear with vans
hat|| @alebyalessandra + @swirlboutique
kicks|| @vans
bracelets|| @stackedcollection
necklace|| @jamesmichelle
a body suit that is sexy AF but you can still wear to school pick up
Shorts|| @oneteaspoon + @swirlboutique
a dress that ties tight enough to show your side boob but no nip slips
choker|| @neckligebyraquel
earrings|| @pamelahannondesigns + @swirlboutique
SHOP THESE LOOKS AT
WWW.TOBI.COM
|| one of my FAV spots to shop online ||
imitation. flattering? or no?
"Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it's not a good business plan"
photo by Style Report Mag
I think this topic of conversation has a been long time coming. It's something most of us small business owners have dealt with first hand, probably more than once or twice.
It's annoying AF when you log on social media and someone who has followed and commented on your photos for the past year changes their name on Instagram to @salvagesoul (mine is @salvagedsoul) and starts hash tagging #momthebuilder. But it is what it is. You vent to your friends about it and move on because first of all you have no idea who this person even is and second of all they are going NOWHERE fast. It's just the name of the game, you cannot gain the same success without doing same the work to get there.
photo by Style Report Mag
"the saddest
thing about
betrayal is that
it never comes
from your
enemies"
Now, it's a whole new ball game of betrayal when that "friend" you once vented to goes and does the same thing, in a different way but same shit. I've contemplated for months and months about opening up on this subject but when I saw the quote at the top of this post I knew it was my time. I'm trying my hardest to not make this some immature venting sesh so please, don't judge. I know this happens to more than just me and I want you guys to know that you're not alone.
When you're my "friend" and ask me to quote a table and decide you want to make your own. I get that and I FULLY support it. I love to see my friends doing DIY projects, it makes me proud. I know first hand how hard it is. Now, when you take DIY-ing your own dining table and turn it into a business. Then start mocking my whole brand. Ummm not cool.
Or how about when I help you start a business from the ground up, like even come up with the name of your business, get you a logo, show you how to build wood frames, and put you in contact with EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON and CLIENT I know that would be interested in your work because I want so badly for my friends to feel that same feeling of self fulfillment and pride in something you created with your own two hands. But then you decide you want to grow bigger and start contacting MY clients who I introduced you to behind my back and offer them the same work I do for them from you but for FREE. Not cool b*tch. Not cool.
Oh, and then there's that friend who's an interior design, one whom you have referred to many clients and even connected her with one of yours for the opportunity to gain her business national exposure on a hit reality show. Her client requests a barn door from me, with a photo of MY DOOR, but she decides that she'd rather start building and selling barn doors from her own company. WEIRD AF. Right?
Crazy thing is I always end up the "bad guy" and it's bulshit because what did I do? Really! It's funny because the outcome of all these situations are the same. That person who I thought was my "friend" falls off the face of the earth and somehow I become the topic of their conversation with everyone around them but they can never find the time to reach out or talk to me about it. Guilty conscious much?
photo by London Light Photography
I can honestly say, I am not mad at these women. Did they hurt me? Yes. But I am thankful for the lessons learned. Ultimately someone I thought was a friend for years was not. Life goes on.
The moral of this post was not to rant about my experiences but to share with you guys what I have learned through them.
BE
YOUR-f*cking-SELF
Business and money take over people in a really sad way. Success from one person will bring out the worst in another. Women need to stop comparing themselves to others. Stop competing with others. Worry about YOU. I have an ongoing competition with myself. I am constantly striving to be a better person today than I was yesterday. A better mom, a better wife, a better friend, a better business owner.
At the end of the day, success breeds copycats. People see a good thing happening and they want a piece of it. It won't last for them and most likely won't be successful at all because I will tell you one thing that builds a solid foundation, originality.
"Success comes from originality not imitation"
Keep your chin upend try to not let these things get to you because chances are they are going to happen again and again. Let it motivate it. Push you to the edge and inspire bigger and better business endeavors.
let's get in her business INTRO!
hey girl hey
The day has FINALLY come & I have decided on a name for this new chapter of Salvaged Soul!
'let's get in her business'
But not in the typical bitchy judgmental way, in a way that we all NEED it! To show our love, support & how much we believe in one another to MAKE SHIT HAPPEN as a women in business!
I want to create a place where the word EMPOWERMENT bleeds, a place where we won't feel alone at night in bed scrolling through all the happy BS while we're stressing out over not being able to make deadlines or how you're going to keep this business alive after a day of everything that could go wrong going wrong. A place to come read about relatable & REAL topics. We've all been there! No matter what phase you're in or going through. Starting a business is hard but running a business is way HARDER. Like way way harder. Especially when you add the dynamic of a husband, children, family, friends, life. The bottom line this we are doing what we love but don't always love what we are doing. If that makes any sense? But at the end of the day we know we are doing what we were put on God's green earth to do. And THAT my friends is why we need each other!
So basically, every week I am going to feature a badass boss babe on my blog. Some weeks it will be a high profile celebrity & some weeks it will be someone you've probably never heard, but obvi should. I will write up a rundown on them, their business, & how they inspire me. There will also be a q&a with each girl, a very beneficial and relatable q&a!
WHO DO YOU WANT TO SEE FEATURED?
I want to give you guys a little back story on me but I will elaborate on a blog post about myself and business later!
How did I start Salvaged Soul?
The short answer to this is...... Well, I just went with it. It was a passion right from the get go. I started DIYing wood framed mirrors. They were selling like hot cakes. SCORE! I had a client ask me if I could make her an end table. Guess what my answer was! "ABSOLUTELY!". Because what did I have to lose? If it turned out like shit I would just give her her money back and call it a day. Well, it turned out AMAZING. I was able to do something with my two hands (don't get an 8th grade thought with that one LOL) that I never thought I could. I will say one MAJOR thing to always remember is YOU CAN DO IT! When YOU believe in YOU, so will everyone else. Passion is contagious & people want to be part of it. Whether it's supporting you or being inspired by you. Anyways, from there the rest was history. Fast forward 4 years & there is not a single piece of furniture I haven't built.
How do I balance being a mom, wife, & business owner?
I don't. I am very aware of the fact that it's nearly impossible & that is exactly why I have no expectations of myself & the word or term "balance". I have accepted the fact that some nights my sink will be overflowing with dishes when I got to bed, my kids will eat their breakfast in the truck on the way to school while doing their homework, & I won't be able to commit to a schedule of any sort because I am running a motha f*ckin business. Balance comes from within, it's not a "real" thing, its in your head. YOU create your own BALANCE. It's not comparable to the "stay home mom" who get's to make mickey mouse pancakes every morning & has dinner on the table at 5. We are a different breed ladies & we are making the world a BETTER place one business at a time! So cheers to that!
Stay tuned for my first feature on TAMRA JUDGE!
good vibes forever + ever
Christa
Design a Space Collab with 'Lyndi in the City', 'EP Designs' & 'Mom the Builder'
Design a Space with #momthebuilder featuring Lyndi in the City & EP Design House
I don't even know where to begin because I am so excited about all the content going into this blog post, content by the amazing Erica Perebijnos of EP Design House of course! Bare with me because I love details. The process of designing a piece of furniture or even a whole space is just as special as the end result if not better. Lyndi, style expert and blogger of Lyndi in the City is a mama on a mission and I knew whatever we would do together would be fab. This collab started out with Lyndi just wanting a piece of furniture made by me, I didn't want to stop there. She had explained how she wanted to do a piece for her patio to give it an outdoor living vibe. Of course my mind keeps going and I get this really cool idea to collaborate on the whole space, but not just that, to have the whole process photographed so we can share our experience and show other woman and mommies out there they can do it too!
Once we had the design inspiration for the outdoor wood sectional we could now decide on cushions, which would result in our inspiration for the rest of the space. Lyndi surprised me with her love for very classic neutral tones. She's always wearing funky colors and prints so I immediately was drawn to those when I started looking for cushions. But she has a very chic and classy neutral with a little bit of rustic home style. Very Restoration Hardware meets Anthropologie. You catch my drift? All that being said we ended up going with light to medium gray tone cushions and Erica was able to put together this Inspiration board for the rest of our design project.
When I got there we chatted about the layout and which direction we wanted everything to be facing. We ended up unloading and deciding once we got the furniture over to the patio area. Which let me tell was not an easy task (up and down many stairs and through small walk ways) but thankfully Lyndi was a trooper and able to help carry these pieces no problem!
We decided on putting the sectional along the wall so it would look out over the park and garden view to keep the space open instead of closing it in.
Cushion time! I found these cushions at World Market for less than $50 each and they could not have been any more perfect for this piece. Not to mention they come in a zillion different prints and colors so you can always change them out with seasons or occasions!
After we got the sectional in it's place and set up it was shopping time. We had World Market, Pier 1, Home Depot, and Home Goods on our radar.
Pier 1 was our first stop. Well, kind of. The World Market near her house was closing down due to relocation so we had no options there (thankfully I already purchased the cushions at another location). Off to Pier 1 we went.
We were on the hunt for some unique candle holders or lanterns so we can set them up on either end of the sectional to give it a chic and romantic vibe. We found some really pretty ones that came in a few different sizes so we can mismatch them on both ends.
But thennnnnnnn! We saw some lanterns hanging in the store and that was it! Our whole design would be based around these lanterns. We hunted and hunted around the whole store and probably touched every single one in there. They were all so beautiful but we decided to keep it classic and chic with a touch of rustic.
We left Pier 1 doing exactly what their bag says to do "find what speaks to you". #lanternhappy
From there we were off to one of my favorites, Home Depot! We needed to get some chain and hooks to hang the lanterns from her 12' outdoor ceiling and some succulents.
When the guy who works at Home Depot doesn't know how to use the chain cutter you gotta do it yourself! And then show your client who's not afraid to learn something new! Right?!
Home Depot had the most perfect pots with the exact look we were going for. We found a chic white collection and fell in love.
There is NO going wrong with succulents. They're perfect in any space especially when they are the "pop of color".
We had one last stop before we could go back to Lyndi's and put this beautiful space together. We were banking on Home Goods to still have the indoor/outdoor rug she had seen the day prior.
Thankfully they did! I also found these awesome remote LED candles for in the lanterns and an amazing little atrium planter that could not have been a better fit for this space! Score!!
After a few hours shopping and running around it was finally time to pull everything out of the shopping bags and do the damn thang!
It must be something about moms with boys man, cause we sure ain't afraid of a little dirt. Succulents are my favorite pop of color in any space. I feel like they added an earthy and organic but modern vibe with all the chicness going on!
Onto placing the rug! Oh and did I fail to mention how perfect this indoor/outdoor rug was for this space? Nailed it! On top of that it was under $100 at Home Goods!
After we laid the rug out it was time to start putting things in place. Everything just went. It was so fun and so rewarding seeing it all come together!
Last but certainly not least it was time to hang those beautiful lanterns. Thank goodness for some construction going on next door because Lyndi's 6' house ladder was not gonna do the trick for hanging these babies from her 12' ceiling!
Lyndi was the perfect assistant. All three holes for the hooks we bought needed to be pre drilled before screwing them into the wood on the ceiling. Thankfully I'm not too afraid of heights haha!
After a long day of being rough and tough, which let me tell you! Never let the size of someone fool you of their strength. I was so impressed with how Lyndi hopped on board and did what needed to be done! This mama is strong but this ladder was stronger! Haha! Thankfully her head had somewhere to go!
A good laugh was the perfect end to our day! After we got everything cleaned up we had designed the most beautiful space that was so functional at the same time! A space Lyndi can sit in and watch her boys skateboard or play in the grass, a place she can have some girl time, or even turn the candles on to make the vibe a little more romantic!
Done & Done!
A day spent with two uber talented and rad mamas while being creative and all contributing was a day well spent! Hope you enjoyed this as much as we did. Showing everyone an end result photo is always rewarding but showing everyone what we did to get there is even better!
Xx Christa
Photography & Creative Directing by EP Design House