Tell me a bit about your mommy life:Busy…busy…busy! My little one, Logan Maximus Miller, was born October 2, 2008. I work part time for a non-profit research firm, Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research & Innovation Center as director of the life sciences program there. So, I am blessed to get to spend a lot of time with the little guy, watching him grow and interact with the world around him. There is also a cat and an African Grey Parrot in our home who I suppose claim me as “mom”, too!
Tell me a bit about your shop and your creations:I have a habit of “dabbling”…I’ll see something I like and think- I could do that! So, off I go giving it a try. I am pretty new to Etsy but my prior dabblings have included handmade jewelry and rosaries, tole painting, iris paper folding, quilling, precious metal clay, quilting, mosaics and even lampwork glass making, which I absolutely adore but find too challenging right now with the little guy and a parrot who periodically flies through the house. I picked up most of these hobbies during my
graduate work but decided that the results of my “dabblings” were doing little good sitting upon my shelf or desk. So, as I was doing my graduate research in a cancer center, I decided to donate all proceeds from my handmade items to the local breast care center to help cover health care costs for those who could not otherwise afford them. So far, about $7,000 has been donated. My handmade rosaries are available for purchase at several local merchants (Vittoria & Banks: Art For Your Soul, and Rider Pharmacy). I am hoping that Etsy will allow me to enter a much larger market place, allowing even more to be donated to the breast care center. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Any time saving tips for juggling a business and motherhood? Know your limits and don’t be afraid to gently say “no” to those who inadvertently infringe on what little precious time you have.
Remember your priorities and stick to what is truly important to you!
Fun Stuff:
Coffee, tea or hot chocolate? Tea. In fact, my favorite commercial tea concoction (vanilla chai latte) was discontinued so…here I go again…I decided to make my own. With a little bit of trial and error, and bias of course, I think mine is even better than the original! Although, I must admit, there is little like sipping a good mug of homemade cocoa blanketed with marshmallows in front of the fire place on a cold winter night.
I am addicted to. . . smooching my little guy and playing with his feet- but isn’t every mom?
If you could have one super power….make time stand still.
If I were to catch you grooving it would be to…likely Led Zeppelin, although on any given day you would find Logan and I bouncing around the house to any silly song that makes him smile.