JenB's Boutique

This will be backdated to 1998

I had been working before the birth of our first baby, but when Landon was born, I was staying home to care for him. While babies are a lot of work, I had some extra time on my hands, and I started sewing. A lot. At first some of it was baby stuff ... little blankets with satin trim, bibs, etc. Then I branched out into more crafts, making bunnies and bears. A cute Santa pattern also worked to make Uncle Sam, scarecrows, mummies and Noah. Snowmen, both sewn and made from wood.

This was before Etsy was a thing, and when it came to selling handmade crafts, a "boutique" was the way to go. There were quite a few around. Some were seasonal, setting up shop temporarily, others were set and year round. The Quilted Bear was probably the largest and the most well known. I started off at some smaller boutiques, but ended up with a booth at The Quilted Bear.

I can't recall the exact costs ... $50 or so for the booth rental. Then they would take a portion of the sales, and the crafter would get the rest. The crafter was in charge of set-up and restocking, and the boutique would handle the sales.

I started sewing in the Courtney Court house, but when we moved to 8070, I had a huge room in the basement for my craft room (this would turn into the gym in later years). I had a couple of long tables, two sewing machines and a serger, and tons of materials and supplies. I'd cut and sew and paint for several hours each day. I never made a ton of money, but always at least broke even.

A few more of the items ... baby baskets, blankets and bibs. Wedding books and a farm bag (I only made that once I think).  All of my boutique-ing was between babies, between Landon and Callahan. As we were expecting baby number two, I went ahead and closed down my booth.

... and I discovered scrapbooking...