It feels like a different world and altogether a different person ago when I remember 2008. I had just finished a shift at the restaurant and was despondently walking down Barrington Street. I was on the verge of turning 29 and was lost in the jungle of 28-turning-29-years-old questions. What should I do with my life? Is this it? Am I meant to be a waitress forever?
Then I looked up and saw a sign. No, literally a sign. It was hanging on the side of St. Mary’s Basilica and read Daily Mass – 5:15pm. I pulled out my cell phone and it was 5:09. I went inside.
I sat in the back of the cool stone church and cried. I have no idea what the readings were or what the priest talked about. But I do know I cried and then, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. All of a sudden a thought occurred to me. If I don’t know the answers, maybe I’m asking the wrong questions.
An epiphany? Maybe. I’m not sure what I would call it other than an elegant solution. I was asking the wrong questions! It wasn’t what should I do with my life? It was what will make me happy? What talents has God so graciously given me and how can I use them best?
I went home and started my first blog. I called it wonkyeye and announced that on my 29th birthday, I was going to start living more creatively. I wasn’t going to become a doctor or teacher or dig wells in Africa. I was going to sew. And I was going to be okay with that.
It was magic. Immediately everything in my life started going right. I managed to convince my boss to give me Thursday nights off so I could take night courses at NSCAD. I started making (and failing at) all sorts of crafts but didn’t care about the end result – I was living for the process. Then two very important things happened. I took a photography course. My passion for photography was ignited. Then I met Dave. Who became, unequivocally, my biggest fan. Then I became Christine the photographer and couldn’t be happier with how things turned out.
(If I’m in the image, the very patient Dave Hachey took the picture).
It’s interesting the twists and turns life takes. When Dave and I returned home from Asia, we sat down at the kitchen table and discussed two things. Getting a dog and starting a photography club. We knew that getting a dog was going to be awesome and we were right. Paddie turned out to be so wonderful that we got another one. But starting SNAPS? Sitting across the table from one another, we could never have guessed the wonderful things that would come from it. And no, I’m not just talking about a trip to Cuba!
The number one reason we started SNAPS was to meet like-minded people in the community. Being new to a rural area, we realized how important it was to put ourselves out there and become part of the tapestry of small town life. When Christmas rolled around, we hosted a club hot chocolate and cookies get-together at our house to which a number of people came – including Lori. I had only briefly met her at the meetings and was taken by surprise when she squealed and squeezed my arm. I knew I liked you, she said. You have a bunting in your kitchen window!
Lori was right. We did like each other. In fact, we hit it off like a house on fire. I was surprised and ever-so-thankful that by moving to what I often refer to as the middle of nowhere, I somehow manged to land not five minutes down the road from a spirited, crafty, kind-hearted and genuine soul. Whether it was serendipity, coincidence or fate, I’m very happy that I did.
Spending time with Lori rekindled my passion for crafting in a big way. By focusing so heavily on photography these past few years, I let all my other hobbies slide. But all of a sudden I was in a place where I had space to make, dream and do. I could feel the original intent of wonkyeye bubbling to the surface and I felt giddy with the idea of taking it to another level. Here I was with a solid photography business. Here was my new friend with oodles of experience working as an interior decorator. Here we were with incredibly complimentary skill sets and a combined passion for living authentic, handmade lives bigger than… the side of a barn. Heck, bigger than Montana. No, bigger than we sometimes even dare to dream!
And that, my friends, is how The Craft House came to be.
You can find out everything you need to know about The Craft House by clicking on over to our website. You can also follow us on facebook, twitter and pinterest so you don’t miss a crafty thing.
When Lori and I are chatting over tea and throwing ideas back and forth about everything The Craft House could be, Lori often exclaims, Oh the places we can go! It makes me grin ear to ear. What places will we go? I can’t wait to find out. xo.
