Blue + Leather Dresser || Why Shop Small

A few months ago I got a handwritten note when I ordered a broom off amazon. It totally shocked when it fell out of the box like a Willy Wonka golden ticket. It read “Thank you for purchasing from a small business on Amazon. Your order means more to us than you know.” I was so struck by the thought that I kept the note.

As a fellow small business owner, I could relate. I mean, I know that every time someone buys one of my pieces, I let a little piece of myself go home with them. I try really hard not to come across as a weird helicopter mother when I help them load up and try to casually ask for a photo of it in its “new home.” I scribble my cell phone down for customers “if they have any problems” or want to know how to best tuck him in at night. I fret over how he’s holding up - is he making new friends? Are they feeding him well? Did they put him in a forgotten corner of the house or is he on display for all to see?

See, it’s more than just a hobby for us. When you buy from a small business, you buy something that’s been labored over. And loved. And it means more to us than you know.

You are feeding our families and clothing our kids. You are taking a discarded piece of furniture out of the landfill instead of adding styrofoam remnants from that assemble-yourself-box-store number you have to allen-wrench into being. And like Chelsea touched on in her recent post, that note got me thinking of new ways to incorporate other small businesses into what we do as fellow makers.

Whether we mean to or not, each of our products affects an intricate assortment of people. I purchased this vintage dresser from Geenae and her husband who were making room for a nursery. The dresser used to be his grandmothers, but with twins on the way, they needed the space. I was scheduled to pick up two of their dressers (the other became this white and wood number) when baby’s cold made me change plans last minute. Geenae was gracious enough to reschedule our meet for the following week so that I could focus on caring for Huntleigh but still nab some project pieces.

After conducting several repairs on Grandma’s dresser, I painted the body in “Deep Breath” by Behr Paint - a color I used for a custom build for clients Lauren and her husband this time two years ago.

This color has that inky quality I like so much in my darker pieces but it has vibrant teal undertones.

To finish it off right, I needed the perfect hardware. Instead of sourcing new pulls via an online dealer like I usually do, I decided to shop small.

I left the unique “bowling pin” peg legs in their original wood so I wanted pulls that would play off the brown tone. I found Julie and Brian selling these leather pulls in their Etsy shop YesterdaysNovember and thought they were perfect paired with their brass capped screws.

I also found Sarah from ModernMakerStamps (also an Etsy shop) who made my custom SMH logo rubber stamp so I can literally leave my mark on each piece I send into the world.

I even borrowed a few baby gifts that were also small business purchases from Huntleigh’s room for this shoot. The yellow letter board was shipped by Lyubomir and Yana in Canada and that gold mobile (given to us by my other beloved sis-in-law Casey), handmade by Eleonora in Croatia - both Etsy sellers, both small businesses.

In light of Small Business Saturday, Chelsea and I have both been thinking about how much your purchases mean to those of us who side-hustle for our families. If you’re also interested in supporting small businesses, Chelsea curated some superb mom and pop gift ideas this holiday that will not only say Merry Christmas to your gift recipient but to the small businesses you buy from.

We are so grateful to get to do the things we love but also to intersect with so many relationships along the way. As a small business, many of our customer interactions have turned into pleasant conversations or even the occasional “small world” moment. Chelsea and I create as an expression of worship and as an outlet for our insatiable imaginations - but it’s a sweeter joy to have these opportunities to meet you. I look forward to meeting whomever purchases Grandma’s re-loved 9-drawer. And to all our past customers and clients out there: thank you for shopping small!

Blue + Leather Dresser
Now Available for Sale
60”L x 18”D x 31”H
$745

If you are interested in this piece or a custom order like it, email me at cate@stylemutthome.com

Wool + Twig || A Small Business Collaboration

It's no secret that our generation is flooded with entrepreneurial fervor.  By the time I graduated college, a large chunk of my peers entered the workforce with a "side hustle" or two to make ends meet in a bleak economy.  We at StyleMutt Home firmly believe that small businesses should band together instead of compete against each other because...

“A rising tide lifts all boats”

— John F. Kennedy

Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for the large businesses that we've partnered with over the past.  But it's these small businesses that really make some serious magic happen with nothing more than their personal grit and determination.  So it's even more titillating (yes I said it) when you can combine some serious small-business-sized forces to do something really, really fun.

Wool + Twig

Vintage Rugs

Brittney Rossie

Brand and Business Strategy

The Silk Mill

Event Venue in Fredericksburg, VA

StyleMutt Home

Furniture + eDesign

So what do you get when a curated rug vendor, a brand and business coach, an epic factory venue, and yours truly band together in support of each other?  A beautiful display of small business collaboration and...

a really, really fun photoshoot

A while back, my dear friend and business guru Brittney Rossie connected us to a new small business in our area to see how we at StyleMutt home could help them grow.  An email brainstorming session later, we had cooked up this cockamamie scheme to do a photoshoot to promote overall brand exposure and also exercise our collective creative muscles.  

But to do such a photoshoot, you need an epic location.  And I new just the place...

The Silk Mill

which also happed to be my wedding venue

Source: Jillian Michelle Photography

With such a large factory space, we could easily set up some fun vignettes featuring our products:

The rugs were obviously the star of the show.

But one of our made-to-order benches in camel + nude did get to play a supporting role to those delicious imported rugs and kilim pillows.

As if the opportunity to play with some gorgeous rugs wasn't enough, Aly from Wool + Twig was a HOOT to work with!  She was seriously up for anything - including some fun headshots.

Both with and without her actual head lol

Scroll through these images to see just some of her amazing inventory:

After seeing her carefully curated collection in person, I couldn't help but bring home another pillow child.

We certainly had a lot of fun behind the scenes

And I'm not ashamed to admit I did a few carpet angels the first chance I got...  They were soooooo plush....

But the fun doesn't stop here.  Wool + Twig was generous enough to offer us stylemutts a juicy discount for 3 days only!

Shop Wool + Twig

Just click the image to shop her entire inventory and enter the code STYLEMUTT at check-out to get 30% off your purchase!  Happy rug and pillow shopping mutts!

Life Happening! (Updates, Changes and Prayer)

Hi friends! It's been a while and I've missed getting on here more regularly to spend time with you! Today is the first day of school for my three and since my heart aches for the Summer behind us, I figure it's the perfect time to soak in a bit of community with you all here. I'm sure your Summer's were full but, I hope, equally as wonderful. There's nothing like a change of pace but I'm really looking forward to getting back to a schedule again!

Our Summer was absolutely lovely, (though nothing I expected) - the time with the kids was just wonderful. They, (and Matt!), are my most precious companions and I really just love spending our days together, even if it's running errands! The twins are now 7, (turning 8 in October), and Mason is 6.5, so they are so much fun to interact with now as they need me less but engage with me more! This age has been my favorite so far, indeed.

In preparation for the Summer and wanting to spend as much time with the kids as possible while they were out of school, I had arranged our client schedule to allow for flexibility and a relaxed pace. I love our clients and am so grateful that they all 'got it', even though few of them have children of their own. Plus, almost everyone had travel plans of their own so it really worked out to set several projects aside for a bit. However...

After the very first week of the kids' Summer break I got an email that would drastically change the pace of my anticipated relaxed Summer. A company named Sonder reached out asking if I would be one of their designers for the hundreds of units they are purchasing to offer for short term stay travel. They are essentially like airbnb, except without the awkwardness of staying in someone's guest room, or in their own bed while they're out of town. They purchase apartments and condos in major cities around the U.S., (with international cities in process as well), and offer them fully furnished for travelers. Though they are not a brand new company, they are just starting to work with designers who are experienced with digital eDesign on their units so they can remain competitive in their market. With hundreds of units onboarding every day to their site, the work is plentiful!

This opportunity came during a time in the year that I really didn't want to work, but after talking things over with my ever wise husband, Matt, we both had faith that this was the right 'yes'; the opportunity I have been waiting for. (By the way, Matt's encouragement to move forward was not without a heavy load of help on his end - time and again he will say to me, 'Just let me know what I can do', when I'm feeling like my hands are tied between kids and work. He is a jack of all trades and none of this would exist without this dear man I get to walk life with). It's been a tricky balance pursuing a dream, figuring out how that dream could possibly turn into some helpful income, while meanwhile trying to give the loves of my life the best childhood I'm capable of giving. With the kids home this Summer I often worked early in the morning and then late into the night so I could keep the days open for wherever the wind took us. It was exhausting. I'm exhausted. With the kids back in school I am grateful for the possibility of balance once again, where I can work while they're in school and then be free for them when they get home! I do want to give a big ol' public Thank You to my dear friend, Kate Good. She has three kids of her own and in my first week doing work for Sonder she took my kids for an entire day so I could learn the ropes. Supportive friends and family are a total game changer, I tell you!

This opportunity doing freelance design work with Sonder does not replace client work. I absolutely love working with clients and will continue to do so, but it has proven a difficult profession to make a full-time living from for two big reasons:

1. We don't want to increase our rates just to make a full-time living. Our desire from the beginning has been to make design services attainable for another tier of people, predominantly young adults looking to go from hodge-podge college furniture to a sophisticated, soulful home.

2. We have realized our capacity for clients at one time. Although we currently have a client wait list that reaches to the Holiday season, that doesn't necessarily mean we are making a full-time living from our current clients. There is so much that goes into working with clients; the communication, waiting for decisions to be made, edits and re-edits, tweaks and re-tweaks. It's so incredibly important to us that each client completely loves their space when it's finished, but getting there takes so much time. Our capacity is roughly 10-12 clients at any given time, depending on the depth of the job. Depending on the project, some are finished within a month, others closer to 8! We can only move as fast as our clients are able, so if their plates are full, the project might take on the longer end.

Since realizing this capacity for client design work, we have been praying for a way to turn this fulfilling work into a fuller-time income. It's been a test of patience, for sure, to wait for the right opportunity that would be consistent with our work with StyleMutt Home, but offer the financial support that we need. For me, this opportunity as a freelance designer with Sonder is a dream come true in so many ways. I will continue to work from home, and I get to design to my hearts content. As for Cate, she has welcomed an awesome opportunity with Apartment Therapy that I'll let her tell you about soon. :) But we are both so encouraged about these opportunities that have only been made possible by StyleMutt Home's own growth, (and I CANNOT wrap my mind around how this all began with a small furniture refinishing business right outside in our garage after Mason's birth! Every door that's opened has been a gift; I don't know why or how, but I'm runnin' with it!) Our hearts are exceedingly full by the countless blessings the Lord has shown us with this business and we've both been reflecting on all that we are so grateful for.

Perhaps the best news with these new ventures is that there will be more content for the blog! For every 5 client spaces we finish, we might get one job that we can actually take pictures of and share here! But in my work for Sonder, every unit I design for them will be professionally shot and I am free to use the pictures however I wish, so I'll have a lot of fun spaces to share here!

I'll be back on Wednesday with my first Sonder design reveal for a unit I completed in Boston! Think big black factory windows. :) It's a good one and I'm so excited to see it in completion!

Thank you so much for joining Cate and me on this exciting adventure! We started StyleMutt Home with completely open hearts to whatever the Lord would guide it to be, and the friends we've made along the way are of the most unexpected and treasured blessings we've enjoyed. You are so dear to us and hope you know we count you as part of the StyleMutt Home team!

Thank you for stopping by!

P.S. We have read this verse with the kids a few times and it lifts my heart at the start of each day. It's so common to start the day with a pit of worry in our stomach about what the day may hold; this promise always encourages me, so I wanted to pass it on.

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the mountains-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither Slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you-
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm-
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forever more.