Chestnut Junction
I have been crafting since I was a little girl, and as a teenager, I became my mom's assistant in "her" crafting business. My parents worked fulltime jobs, but my mother ran a craft business on the side bringing in extra income for the family. I remember cutting out and sewing patterns for "Attic Babies", the long eared rabbits made from a McCall's pattern, and patterns my mother would create from her own imagination.
At first, we would load up the car with our handmade goodies and drive around on Saturdays to local craft and gift shops, hoping to sell our items to shop owners. As time went on, my mother narrowed down the shops that always bought and sold out of our handmades, and those became our dedicated customers. We began to take orders for our items instead of riding around in the car, and our wholesale business continued to grow and keep us busy.
In 1992, I was out of high school and still working alongside my mom, taking over most of the actual sewing. However, later that year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and everything changed. She survived her breast cancer...praise the Good Lord... but she longer had the desire to continue with our craft business.
By 1998 I was working a regular job, was married, but still missed crafting and creating for income...it was a passion. With my husband's encouragement, I started selling my handmades on the side, and eventually quit my fulltime job and started Chestnut Junction. One of the blessings I have in my husband is that he is a "creative" as well and he loves to help me. I do all the online selling, as he works fulltime...but he gives me so many evenings of his time helping me trace & sew items and helping with shipping orders.
If you are still here...lol...thank you for taking the time to get to know a little more about us. We are blessed to have so many wonderful customers, and we're honored that we have a place at their worktables with them :-)
