New Etsy Listing: Custom “Established” Signs

New sign design in our Etsy shop!  This one is for a Custom Last Name Established sign - perfect for a wedding, anniversary, or housewarming gift!  This rustic sign is made on a wide grey-stained board with crisp permanent white vinyl lettering.  Shop this sign and more in our Etsy shop:  

Featured by BostonVoyager Magazine

Honored to have been recently interviewed by BostonVoyager Magazine for their Trailblazers series!  You can read the interview and see more photos here:  

Back-to-School Amazon Picks

It's almost that time!  Are you ready for back to school yet?  
I've put together a list of some of my favorite Amazon back-to-school finds for all ages and grade levels.  | This post contains affiliate links |

New England Maker: Sewcialite

As you know by now, I love sharing about companies and products we love on the blog and our Instagram - and most especially those made right here in New England!  Next in our series of interviews from New England Makers, we have Roula Rallis from Sewcialite!   

Roula Rallis is the one-woman show behind Sewcialite, a seacoast-based company best known for their gorgeous coastal-inspired creations - all made of rope, fabric, and paint!

Tell me a little about yourself and your business.  

Roula Rallis:  I am a wife, full time IT project manager, and mom of 2 (ages 7 and 4).  Sewcialite is a part time home decor business.  I design baskets, planters, wall baskets, bowls, coasters, and most recently tote bags and clutches using clothesline rope.  All my designs are inspired by the coast and I am a huge fan of modern coastal interior design. 

How did you start Sewcialite?  Had you been making rope baskets for a while or was this a new leap for you?

RR:  Sewcialite began as a hobby and has since turned into a side hustle.  In March of 2017 I decided to make myself a basket for my home and I just fell in love with the design process!  With the support of family & friends I opened my Etsy shop.  And over the past 1.5 years I have continued to refine my designs by weaving them with fabric and hand painting them. 

What does a typical day look like for you? 

RR:  My days are typically very long!  I’m up at 6am packing lunches, orders, sometimes styling and posting products, and getting my kids ready for school!  I drive my youngest to school, I then commute 45 mins to work.  After working all day I am back in mom mode, I help make dinner, give baths, do homework.  But once my kids are in bed the Sewcialite studio opens (my guest bedroom).  My husband has been so very supportive and he does quite a bit of heavy lifting to give me time at night to design!

What is your favorite part about owning your own company?  And least favorite part? 

RR:  My favorite part is being my own boss!  Having worked for someone else my entire career it’s great to be able to call all the shots. 

The least favorite part is being responsible for everything!  Sometimes I wish I could clone myself!  I’m designing, styling, photographing, advertising, fulfilling orders, blogging, etc. it can get overwhelming at times and I’ve had to learn to say no to be able to balance my full time job with Sewcialite. 

What has been the most exciting moment for Sewcialite since you started?

RR:  I’ve been so fortunate to have a few so I can’t choose just one!  I am a HUGE fan of Serena & Lily!  It’s one of my favorite home decor brands!  They have actually liked a few of my social media posts and designs which is mind blowing!  I’ve also been lucky to connect with a few amazing interior design social influencers who I’ve worked with like Jordecor and Coastal Interiors! 

Also getting to meet many of the amazing entrepreneurs I follow on social media in person has also been so exciting and inspiring! 

What advice do you have for people just starting out?  

RR:  Be prepared to take risks and work your butt off!  Being an entrepreneur is not easy!  Success does not happen overnight! 

Make sure you have a good support system of family and friends!  They will be crucial for those rough days where you may feel overwhelmed or frustrated! 

What is your long-term goal?  Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

RR:  My long term goal is to continue to slowly grow my social media presence, as it’s been the my primary channel for all of my online sales.  I would also like to design a better/bigger studio space for myself too! 

Who's one of your favorite New England Makers?  

RR: I love Watts in Maine she designs the most beautiful jewelry and she works full time. I was lucky enough to meet her in Portland this year!

Update, Spring 2021:
I just wanted to share that Roula from Sewcialite is still going strong and adding even more amazing rope and coastal-inspired products to her lineup, including items such as: tote bags, hand-beaded clutches, statement jewelry, photographic prints, and more. Her beautiful work has been featured online and in print.
Some of these newer items are pictured below but be sure to check out her accounts for more!

Keep up with Sewcialite!

Etsy | Instagram (@sewcialite_nh) | Facebook

All photos courtesy of Sewcialite.

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DO YOU OWN A NEW ENGLAND-BASED BUSINESS AND WOULD LIKE TO BE FEATURED IN AN UPCOMING INTERVIEW?  OR WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN HAVING ME STYLE, REVIEW, AND FEATURE ONE OF YOUR PRODUCTS?  
Please drop me a note.  

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More Interviews from New England Makers:

Christmas in July Sale!

Christmas in July Sale!  Everything in the Etsy shop (except signs) is 15% off through August 1st. Get a jump start on your Christmas shopping and stock up on ornaments now!  

Just use the Coupon Code "JULY2018" to get 15% off! 

Life Hack: Add a Bottle Opener to your Deck Railing

Summer is here and it's time for relaxing on the deck or porch, enjoying the weather, and maybe enjoying a beer too.  An easy and affordable way to add some practicality and fun to your outdoor space is to simply add a bottle opener to your deck or porch railing!  It takes less than 5 minutes to put up and will get use all summer long by you and your guests.  | This post contains affiliate links |

{Similar Bottle Opener linked HERE}

Hey, Hey it's Prime Day!

Amazon Prime Day is HERE! 

You can shop all the sales through my link below - now is a great time to stock up on household staples, get ahead on Christmas gifts, and maybe treat yourself to something special that's been on your wishlist.  Don't miss out!  

DIY Slate Garden Markers

I've been eyeing slate garden markers for our herb garden for awhile now, but buying pre-made ones are soooo expensive and they never have all the varieties I want.  So I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own.  Because I have the world's worst handwriting (it's true, ask anyone) I used a Cricut to cut the text for me, but if you have half-decent handwriting you could easily do this project with a paint marker too.  | This post contains affiliate links |

Materials:  

• Blank Slate Markers
• Matte Spray Sealer
• Cricut
• 651 Permanent Vinyl
• Contact Paper
• Dental Explorer (optional)

Alternatively

• White Paint Marker

How To:  

1.  If using your Cricut to make the text, measure your garden markers and make each "label" in Design Space the appropriate size.  I chose a font with a handwritten feel, but you can use whatever font you prefer.  You may need to play around with the scale of the lettering to get it to fit.  Use 651 Permanent Vinyl to cut your text.  

2.  "Weed out" your text, removing any pieces of vinyl you don't want to be in your final design.  I find a dental explorer to be super useful here to get rid of the pieces inside of letters, but it's not necessary.  The finer-point text was definitely a lot harder to weed (which is why you'll notice the dot on the "i" in garlic chives isn't in the right place).  

3.  Next use contact paper or transfer tape to put over your final vinyl design and rub well to make sure it's on there good.  This will "carry" the vinyl once the backing is removed.  

4.  Carefully peel the backing off your design.. this can be tricky.  My advice is to go slowly and have your dental explorer handy if you have one!  It can help hold letters down as you peel off the back.  

5.  Once the backing is removed, carefully place on a clean and dry slate marker.  Rub the design on well (I use an old gift card like a squeegee).  Once it's on there good, carefully peel off the contact paper.  
Alternatively:  If you don't have a Cricut or want to do this project by hand, you can skip steps 1-5 and just write your text freehand with a white paint marker and allow to dry.  

6.  To make sure the vinyl doesn't peel or come loose, I use a spray acrylic sealer to seal them.  Just put the markers on a scrap piece of cardboard, give a light coating of the spray sealer, and allow to dry (make sure you're in a well-ventilated area). 
If you used a paint marker instead I would also suggest sealing them.  

7.  Hang your new garden markers!  You can buy special hangers for them if you like, or use sticks and some twine or wire.  In my case I wanted them on the barrels in our herb garden so I simply used some thin copper wire and "flossed" it through the slots in the barrel, tying it off with a large washer at the back so they don't pull through.  

It has been SOOO abnormally hot in New England these past few weeks that my herb garden isn't looking too wonderful at the moment (hence the limited "after" pictures).  We have six wine barrel planters on a small patio; four of the planters have perennial herbs (chives, garlic chives, sage, and peppermint) that come back each year and the other two planters I switch up each summer.  Currently my poor plants are a bit sun-stressed and I'm far behind on weeding, but I hope you'll get the idea of the final install below.  I think it really helps finish the space and I love that things are finally labeled.  

EDIT Spring, 2020: Just wanted to hop on here and add that I’ve left these up year-round on our herb barrels since 2018 and they still look great! No fading or peeling with the sun or snow. The slate with the permanent vinyl labels and sealer have definitely held up wonderfully.