Be Honest: the background

I was an awkward, introverted girl who liked nothing better than spending time as mommy's shadow. My mother, though seen as practical and logical, was actually incredibly ingenuitive and creative. She once took a large faux wicker fan spade and turned it into a one-of-a-kind headboard for my bed. For another project she transformed the crappy, beat up kitchen counters of our rented apartment and turned them into a work of art by covering them with waterproof wallpaper. My childhood consisted of many weekends bent over the kitchen table together creating things like ornaments, home decor, and halloween costumes.

I grew up, I married, had children. My mom died just after my twenty-fifth birthday. But, her essence stayed with me and I passed along many of her life lessons to my children. One of which was the love of crafting. My own daughter and I have spent many hours bent over the VERY SAME kitchen table creating school projects, room decorations, and so many memories.

Kids grow older, work calls, life changes. Creating took a back seat, then stopped all together. Until, that is, my life fell apart. Where I thought I was headed turned out to be a roadblock. I found myself lying in my daughter's childhood bedroom, on the small bed of her youth, surrounded by memories of days past. I was no longer the mistress of the house, as they say. My daughter now resides in the master bedroom as owner of the house.  I laid there feeling small,  alone, wondering how the hell I lost myself and how the hell do I get myself back?

Laying in that bed one night I looked over at my daughter's old art desk. Memories of time together, things created both with my mother and my daughter washed over me. I remembered the excitement of brainstorming a new idea, the thrill of the transformation and the fulfillment of seeing what you created  complete.

How long had it been since I just sat and let myself create? To make something from nothing?  I had always wanted my own business- playing shop with a toy cash register and an old pricing gun as a girl. Could tapping into my creativity be the answer to where I needed be and WHO I needed to be?  I felt a flutter of excitement, of hope for the first time in a while. But how do I turn a love of crafting into a future that represents who I am while also being financially supportive? I wanted something that felt true to who I was: an independent, strong willed, fun loving, family woman who loves nothing better than to laugh at others as much as herself - you know, a Jackass. And that folks, is the moment Be Honest Co was born.

Paying homage to my mother and our bond over creativity, my children and family are all along for the ride. We collaborate, carouse, cohabitate (well some of us anyway), crack up and celebrate together. We are a family of Honest asses!