If you build it they will come.

One Spark was a month away, I had to come up with a plan. Mike's sister was so gracious and lent her and Tim's help plus their 3 car garage. Perfect! I was lucky to be given so many wonderful pallets from friends and the idea was born...

It was time for a bath, off to the car-wash I went. It was so much fun to see the transformation. After the second day, we broke out the pressure washer.  A lot cheaper than the timed machine at the car-wash!

   
The boys gave great supervision of course! I think secretly they were wondering what in the world I was doing and what were they getting themselves into!!  

Now that they are looking good it was time to sand them down and put the wall together! I have done plenty of art shows with the white tents and been truly scared that I was going to blow away. I didn't want this bad boy going anywhere!  6 pallets stacked 2 high should do :)

Lay out desired pallets 3 wide and 2 high. Attach each 2 tiered section with two 2x4x8 pieces. Give a quick sand and ready to go...

Corks! So with working in a restaurant, you come across so many corks. Me being a craft hoarder, I had bags full! I have seen so many cork DIY on Pinterest but really didn't want to soak the corks. I had hundreds to cut! .Well, I found a lovely small serrated knife in our drawer and it worked great!...oops...I didn't know it was a $300 serrated knife! Chef's with knives are like seamstresses with scissors.  No wonder the corks cut so nicely :) So for all the cork pinterest diy...a bad to the bone serrated knife will do the job., but not the wisest choice. I found an old bread knife and it worked just fine. A little carpel tunnel action towards the end but it will work for smaller projects.

 

 So with my cardboard letters and mannequins spray painted a metallic silver and an idea in place I was ready to start the arts and crafts section of this project...my favorite part.  I got Salt and Sol in place and started on the Sun. I had my little helper Caden and some good tunes and spent the next two weeks hovered over pallets and hot gluing corks one by one. It sounds tedious but I loved it.

  

Now that the sun is shining, time to set up the booth. We attached the three 2-tiered back wall pieces together with 2 additional 2x4x10's going lengthwise across the back, drilling into the first 2x4x8 braces. We constructed the side walls the same way and attached it to the back wall. We saved one of the best pallets for last and created a table for me to stand behind. We cut one pallet 2/3 the way up for the base and placed the remaining 1/3 on top to create the table top. Braced them with 2x4's and voila!

 Now the clutches needed a home, and an excuse to use the circular saw so I cut the scrap pallets and made some floating shelves to make the perfect home :)

It's starting to take shape and we have a booth! Now for the merchandising part, a little test run and we are ready to go!!

Day 1 of One Spark here we go!!!

I am starting fresh!

For years, I have been wanting to own my own company. Things just never lined up...I had self doubt, confidence issues, laziness and lack of focus. Over the years I lost what I loved to do. I forgot.

I have my fiancé Mike to thank for helping me find myself. I consider myself extremely blessed and fortunate to have him in my life. He has changed mine forever.

I am not here to brag or boast. I want others to know, it's ok to wait until you find the perfect match. I never believed anyone who said when you know, you know. I didn't think someone could be so sure of a decision. Well, the cliché happened to me.

The point is, I am 34 and just now embracing who I am and doing it with confidence. This is me, this is raw and un-cut. I had told myself over and over again, I need to be a designer. Well, I do, but I want to do it differently.

This is my journey...

Let's start with Salt and Sol.

Jacksonville has started a live crowd funding event. It was its 3rd year and I was excited to be a part of it. I signed up for Salty Treasures and was going to showcase my shirts, clutches and jewelry. The usual. While sitting at the kitchen bar, watching Mike cook dinner, we just hang out and talk, this topic was my business and me rambling on about all my ideas. I was chatting about One Spark and he mentioned how he hated the name Salty Treasures. I love his honesty. I didn't like it either. I have never truly fallen in love with all of my names I have had. Dejoc, Nicole DiGiacomo, Bluccello, Salty Treasures. Nothing ever meant anything to me or clicked.

We started racking our brains and spitting out ideas. I was texting our dear free spirited friend who is a decade younger than me asking what she thought was "Hip"!

A string full of ideas, Salty Soul some others, and then voila. Salt & Sol, it made sense. I have gone back to the beginning, instead of my dark hair and trying to straighten the curls, I embraced the blonde craziness. I fell back in love with Jax Bch. Maybe the spring days helped but it was all coming together.

Let the salt and sun guide your heart and soul. I wanted to encompass the love of the ocean and the free spirited lifestyle. I just knew this was the name. It said it all. From growing up by the Florida ocean to the beautiful mountains and culture of Ecuador where my Dad lives. It grouped everything together and my motivation, creativity and drive came back.

To New Beginnings...

I have always been the creative type, my mind just wonders and it doesn't stop. I find myself jumping from project to project but never really succeeding with one particular thing. Handbags to appliqued

onesies, jewelry, screen printed shirts, digital prints...you name it I wanted to create it.

Recently, I have been evaluating myself and really trying to dig deep and find out what would make me happy. I tend to stay on Instagram and Pinterest way to long overloading my brain with ideas and new ventures. I left the restaurant around 6 months ago and so much has happened, (details saved for another day!!) long story short, I ran out of money. I had to go back. I started to think about why I was failing yet again, and why I make so many excuses about why things don't work out. What it really was, was self confidence and maybe slight depression sometimes because you get so overwhelmed and don't know where to put your time, money and effort.  

Love this quote from TheInspiredRoom.net

So, I just kept plugging away at Etsy and lost the passion. I was growing bitter watching all of these Etsy sellers do better than me. Like it was a contest, not a business. It started to not be a fun marketplace to showcase your work. I was consumed with trying to sell things I knew how to make. I know how to screen-print, so I created tons of shirts with designs, truth is, I didn't even like 1/2 of them. I was just trying to sell, sell, sell and have as many products as possible on the site to compete with all of the other shops.

I lost what was important. I lost the love and passion for what I want to do.

After the Etsy realization and one really hurtful review. I was back at the restaurant feeling a little defeated but a bit relieved. I would start making money again and have time to focus on what is going to make me happy. This is my journey to the pursuit of my own happiness.