1 Plain Brown Box=Big Dream Come True

"The flower has opened,
has been in the sun and is unafraid.
I'm taking more chances;
I'm bold and proud."
---Paula Cole


The plain brown box to the left is simple and unassuming. It is 10x10 inches wide in diameter with clear packing tape carefully wrapped around its outer shell.

It doesn't make noise when you shake it, like those Christmas gifts from years past that showed up from grandparents. It is square and boring; sturdy and strong.

It may not look like much, but this box represents a major intersection in my life and my business. Tomorrow, this box is destined for a special place: Sundance headquarters in Salt Lake City!

Shipping my first order to the Sundance Catalog is the culmination of a dream come true for me. I remember flipping through the catalogs wistfully as I sat at my corporate desk--sandwich in one hand, a red pen in the other. I'd circle all of the designs that I totally loved, then daydream about whether one day I could be like the artists featured in this fabulous catalog. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to be an artist.

Next month, I will be on my way to that dream coming true. Five of my designs are in this box, part of the Fall Catalog that will hit doorsteps early next month. This box represents months of blood, sweat and tears; of patina and solder. Of many late nights and too many Law and Order episodes to count. Of mistakes and lessons, experiments gone well and some not so much.

This is a first step toward my larger goal of someday being a Featured Artist at Sundance. My goal is to do such a stellar job with high quality work that they have no other option but to include my name and my work in their exclusive ranks. I will not stop until I am!

It has been a busy six months preparing for this moment. This unassuming box means so much. It symbolizes taking a chance--and garnering a positive response after so many negative ones. It symbolizes being determined that my passion would unfold itself so lovingly into a business.

It symbolizes a woman whose heart was torn to pieces only to be healed, if only in part, by art. It symbolizes a person who has grown up in so many ways, and who is so very proud of who she is and what she stands for.

To you, it might look like just a little brown box.

To me it's a new life. To me, it's everything.