Follow your inner passion. Quirky's beginnings.

So it has been a long time coming and one that I never thought possible................But I have been proven wrong.  Good things can happen to those that persevere and wait patiently. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would deserve to have my dreams come true of having my own little vintage up-cycling business and now a real space to work in and create my designs.  Every time I enter into my new little creative space, my heart gives a little smile and I think about the process of getting to this stage.

It has been an interesting road to starting my little Quirky Comforts business.  I was never taught to strive for great things, I think my world taught me to accept mediocre and it still does.  That it is OK to settle, to make do with the life that you have been dealt. 

Being brought up in a white middle class society, it was expected that I would go to university and get a good job.  That was it!!!  Can you believe it!!!!!?  Is that it.............!!!? Are you serious!!!!!!!!!!!???  That can't be it???.................................................................

All through high school I progressed as an artist, going to drawing classes after school with my art teacher, staying up late into the night perfecting my art projects, getting straight A+'s in Art class and in the end believing that I would end up in Art College.  But it did not happen this way.  After one rejection I succumbed to my worldly view of mediocre and settled. I went to University to do a good little degree in Nursing.  I worked as a Nurse for 5 years but my heart was never in it, I always felt like a fake!  I went and did my Masters in Midwifery, I really liked this new challenge and loved helping Women through their pregnancy, birthing and after, but still it was the wrong fit.

I started to get an inner unsettled feeling and a big wake up call came when I injured my back at work. For anyone who has ever suffered chronic back pain you will understand the grief and inner turmoil you go through trying to get a diagnosis but having to continue to work in pain to keep your job and provide for your family. Ignoring the wake up call, my back eventually came good after having to have surgery.

I had my Son in 2008 which was another really big wake up call for me.  I wanted to set a good example for him.  I wanted him to follow his dreams, to do what he was passionate about and yet I was not following my own inner passions.    

The final wake up call came when I injured my back again, and again had to have surgery.  Just before returning to work again my Appendix went and I had to have surgery, then they discovered Endometriosis near my bowel and I had to have more surgery all in the same year.  I finally had to confront the reality that I really was not made to be a midwife!!!

After having my Son I was only working part time and so out of needing to be thrifty I started making my own home decor, from redoing old lampshades, to finding old material at Op shops to make cushions from, to discovering thrown away chairs on the Kerbside and giving them new life.  

Throughout this time from having all of the pain and surgeries and inner turmoil, I suffered through depression.  Just as most people who have gone through depression would say, it is like a deep dark hole that is very hard to get out of.  Impossible to get out of alone, that is for sure.  I believe God gave me the strength to ask for help and start the long hard process of healing.  Designing and creating became a saving grace for me. When I am in the zone of designing and making pieces all anxiety and fears fade away!!

Friends and Family started to request custom made items for their home and I started selling at markets occasionally.  I only ever considered it to be a hobby but decided to get a ABN and name it.  I was standing in the shower one afternoon when the name 'Quirky Comforts' came into my mind.  Straight from the gates of heaven it felt like and so there was no question in my mind that this would be the name of my little home furnishings business.

photo by samarahookphotography

Piece by piece and item by item it has started to sink in that 'Quirky Comforts' can become a reality and I can make it into a successful business.  Who knows where the road ahead will be for me and Quirky Comforts all I know is that God has given me this inner passion and dream for a reason and I need to follow and trust in that.

I Would love to hear about your journey in the comments below.  If you know someone who has an inspiring story please email me so I can share there story on my blog.