How it started

Around this time last year, Alex and I were visiting my parents at their place in the Bahamas. As the trip drew to a close, I found myself getting restless. I had the classic “now what” feeling you get after a great vacation. I was excited to get home to our fur babies but that’s about it.

It occurred to me then that, outside of work, I really didn’t do much of anything. Not much brought me joy. Sure, we’d routinely visit friends and family, but we moved to mid Michigan after college, for work, and hadn’t built much of a community. All our friends and family live where we grew up: on opposite sides of the state with us in the middle. So, daily life had started to become pretty mundane.

I felt like I needed a daily dose of FUN. I needed a challenge, to flex my Industrial Design muscles, with something other than work. So, as 2020 came to a close and 2021 began, I went back to my building roots, and I started DIYing.

What began with painting a bathroom vanity cabinet, turned into a year of builds, nearly 20 furniture flips, and plenty of ups and downs. Along the way, I found this community. One that didn’t take over an hour to drive to one-way but was at my fingertips and available anytime. Y’all were with me as I tackled new things I’d never attempted, tried tools I’d never used, and you helped give me the confidence to keep going. It’s been so gratifying to share my work, learn from you all, and help give others the confidence to pick up a tool and make things happen.

As I look to 2022, all I can think is, oh we’re just getting started…