I first *met* Bee through one of Etsy's BNR Treasuries. As a matter of fact, I was totally clueless to the treasuries, let alone what a BNR was. Once I figured it out, my first purchase into one was from BeeDazzlesGifts. Since then, I have not only been addicted to treasuries I've also been addicted to Bee's shop. She has quickly become one of my favorite Etsians...her shop is fantastic, her products and customer service are top-notch, and her kindness is immeasurable. I just love Bee to pieces!
Okay...now here is more information about Bee per our online Q&A session!
MJ: How long have you been creating/designing? When did you first learn you had a creative side?
Bee: I've been creating as long as I can remember. Growing up in a very "artsy" area (North Shore of Boston) I was exposed to many craft classes as a child and was doing crewel and baking cakes from scratch before the age of 9. And even at the age of 5 nothing thrilled me more than a brand new box of Crayola crayons. Especially the largest boxes - I think there were 64 colors and came with a built in sharpener on the back.
MJ: What is your inspiration to create? What is your motivation to succeed?
Bee: Creating just kind of happens. You know, the, "oh, I could do that myself" instead of purchasing something. Whether it's decorating cakes, designing the layout for our house, making baked Brie, designing a garden, painting a mural in a nursery, making floral arrangements, jewelry or note cards, I just can't help but want to give it a whirl. And the motivation to succeed at my two Etsy stores (BeeDazzles and BeeDazzlesGifts) comes from wanting to do this well enough to not go back to a job outside the home! I love what I do and find the painting, crafting and the work of maintaining my shops incredibly gratifying!
MJ: When you are not working on your craft, what are you doing?
Bee: I'm a bit of a workaholic, so a great majority of my time is spent either crafting or taking care of our four teenagers and our home. Also, my husband, Jim, and I have two standing traditions - we get out for 'date night' every Wednesday and also play cribbage almost every night without fail. What free time is left after the above activities is spent getting together with friends and family, attending Vikings football games (we have four season tickets with another couple), reading, gardening, exercising or watching movies.
MJ: Do you belong to any groups on Etsy?
Bee: Yes, I belong to "Designing Swanky Moms" and to the Minnesota Street team.
MJ: What is on the horizon for you? New products? Etc.?
Bee: I'm thrilled to say my Art was just accepted at Trunkt (on Valentine's Day!) so I plan on getting more paintings complete soon. I'm also working on some wholesale negotiations with several boutiques. And I'm thrilled with my new line of glass magnets - they'll be coming to BeeDazzlesGifts very soon. I also plan on spending more time fine tuning my blog, "Bee's Buzzings" (http://www.BeeDazzles.typepad.com).
MJ: Share one thing about you that you think would surprise people?
Bee: As creative as I am, many people are surprised by my love of NFL football. But since I've already shared that, I'd have to say that people still love hearing the story about when Jim and I met and started dating. We each felt like we'd known the other 'forever.' It was so instantaneous that our first date (dinner) lasted 3 1/2 hours. I was so shocked when I realized what time it was. Anyway, it took us less than 2 weeks to decide to get married - and we did less than 6 months later!
MJ: I'd also like for you to include a little bit about yourself (i.e. family, interests, etc.)
Bee: Our family is 'blended' - Jim and I married 3 years ago this summer and our four children (my two daughters 18 and 14, his son (18) and daughter (13) all live with us during the school year. As expected it was a fairly 'interesting' transition, but all four kids are doing great at home and getting their best grades ever now. We're all just thrilled at how it's all worked out.
