And I had zero idea.
It's funny how a two second decision can change your life forever. Although sometimes, those two second decisions are tragic. I suppose, in a way...this time it was both. The tragedy however, would come much later, once again...changing the trajectory of my life.
How fitting.
Let's dive back, shall we?
It was the December of 2014, I had just closed my little seaside storefront and was displaying my custom furniture designs in a small, local vintage shop.
Shortly after that, is when I started my own website.
It was like many of my days, nothing out of the ordinary. With the exception that I had recently suffered a back injury thanks to the betrayal of gravity and a vintage radio that was clearly out to get me.
As one can imagine, a back injury probably makes furniture refinishing a little more complex. Especially on the days that I could barely seem to walk without popping my back out of place.
To continue bringing in revenue while I healed, I got really into sign making.
It was something I could do from the comfort of my couch or even my bed if I got creative enough.
Some days, my back would give out on me and I’d end up sprawled out on the floor, slightly paralyzed until the back gods released me from my misery. It was during one of these episodes, that I was once again sprawled out on the floor and lazily flipping through a craft catalog.
It's then that I see it. A magical machine that could bring all my crafty dreams to life.
Some may call it a vinyl cutter, but to me...it was more than that. It was the machine of possibilities.
A few days later, the machine is on my counter, just begging to be played with. By a weird twist of fate, I end up loathing ths little machine.
Disappointed, I promptly return it and then on a whim, I purchase the competitor's version, hoping for it to give me the wow factor that I had been searching for in the other one.
It was this little moment, this disappointment, that shaped the next decade of my life in a beautiful way.
With the new machine model at my fingertips, it isn't long before I realize that the learning curve was bigger than I bargained for. So I do what any confused little crafty gal would do in my shoes. I joined the Facebook group.
Well, several Facebook groups to be exact. Big small little. I joined them all.
One of the groups in particular was noticeably....stuffy. Full of pearl clutchers and virtual snobs. It wasn’t long before other crafters started to voice their complaints. The rules were rigid and unnecessary, stifling their creativity. I didn't blame them for being disappointed. I mean, who doesn't want a sign that says "Fuck All The Way Off".
Refusing to subcom to censorship, a rebellious outcry begins amongst the group in response to the micromanagement of a power hungry admin. You know the type.
It was somewhere amongst that outcry, that another member declared that they were starting their own group - where even sailor mouthed women would be welcome.
Sailor you say?
Mermaids can outswear them any day.
Count me in.
