The NEW Tanglewood Sue Revue

A new year always brings excitement for a whole new world of possibilities. For the past 10 years, I have worked on building a beautiful shop and an amazing array of handmade art and home decor to adorn my beautiful shop.

As a small business owner part of my job is keeping my proverbial ship upright as the winds of change force me to reinvent accordingly.

Well, 2020 and now 2021 have not been mere winds. These years have brought something more akin to a tornado or at least a hurricane category 5.

Like so many other small businesses, I was forced to close my doors to the public for months on end. As I always do, I decided to #takethewin that at least everything I sold in my shop could be sold online.

Unlike a hairdresser or bartender, I did not have to close up and wait it out until it was safe to see my public again.

No, I decided to double down and go LIVE 5 days a week on my Facebook page in order to stay connected to any and all of my followers, both local and around the world.

Instead of feeling disconnected, I felt more connected than ever.

I may not have seen your faces but I knew you through your comments, I know your humor and for many of you, your favorite color combos.

It was such a treasured time and often we met at “cocktail time!!” where my husband Brian would bring me the cocktail of the day. No Judging! This was the depths of COVID and day drinking became the norm.

For a brief moment, it felt safe to open again, to see faces again, and to put all my energy into presenting a gorgeous shop for my locals again.

Something had shifted in me though. I realized how much wider my connections were than just to those who could come to my physical location. It felt like I held a huge party but now that party was limited to those who could reach me physically.

I decided that I was given an opportunity to glimpse a new direction for Tanglewood Works, a broader and more inclusive.

My dream had always been to have my own shop. A place to meet and connect with like-minded DIYers and teach them how to get just the look they were hoping for.

I finally had an epiphany that I didn’t need a fancy boutique to make this happen. The answer had been right in front of me all these years. My dingy studio may not have been much to look at, but it was certainly where all the magic had been happening all these years.

So I started the TroubleMAKER Markets, a seasonal makers market where I gather all the misfit creators I know and we throw a mini-festival of sorts. It was a huge hit and we now host these markets every 3 months.

So what’s with the blog? Well going from operating a 7 day a week store and moving all my painted furniture back and forth took up a huge amount of my time.

The time I wanted to spend teaching DIY painting techniques to as many folks as I could. Now I have the time and now you get to be a part of it.

More time for writing, videos, classes, and general maximalist shenanigans. So come on over and let me know what you think!