Hi there, I'm Gussy, the girl behind the ruffles.

I hope you'll settle in and make yourself at home here.

Welcome to my blog, my little online home where I share my Indie Biz story along with snippets of family life, encouragement, inspiration + handmade loveliness.

If there's one thing you should know, it's this: In November of 2008 I became BFFs with my sewing machine, and I'm so happy to be celebrating this date each year!

I'm married to a seriously awesome man named Zack ~ we wed at my home church on a lovely day on June 2008. The birds were chirping, we were recent college grads, I was wearing orange heels under my sparkly, white wedding dress… See? it was a lovely day ;D A few months after we got married Zack was offered a job in a new city, Detroit, so we moved to pursue that. Once we were settled in I decided I wanted to learn how to sew. OK, to be honest, shortly after we were settled I had discovered Etsy, and I was quickly fascinated that other girls my age not only knew how to sew but were making a substantial income from it! The public library and I became good friends, and fast, as I set out to checkout nearly 30 library books.

Each night would read through a few books. Some books were amazing and just my style of learning. Others, not so much. I felt it was important to focus on my learning style, especially because it’s hard to learn such a detailed trade when you're LOOKING at a piece of paper. Two areas I struggled in: threading a sewing machine and installing a zipper. Thank goodness for YouTube ;)

My parents let me borrow their sewing machine in November of 2008 and were even gracious when I "forgot" to bring it home on our next visit to Grand Rapids, MI. For the next few months it was just me and my parent’s sewing machine. I loved sitting at our kitchen table as I figured everything out. Such a thrilling, inspiring time for me...

And guess what?! I had zero experience when I started {is that OK to admit out loud?!}, but I had a determined spirit and a big heart for the trade. Those two things lead me to where I am today.

Then in January of 2009, about 7 months into marriage, Zack lost his job. It was a shock, but about 3 weeks later I lost my job. Now we were really in shock... :{

I continued to learn how to sew and just a few months later found myself with ruffled accessories that I tagged "Gussy". Ruffles quickly became my signature look, and and once again I dove into the trade, learning even more than I thought I could.

We were unemployed for the next 7 months. When we looked at the math, the income we were suddenly bringing in wasn't enough to cover our bills, but God was faithful and with His help we made it work. It seemed like a small a miracle, actually.

August of 2009 came and we finally saw a break in our unemployment. One of my friends had recently moved to Minneapolis (from Detroit, where we were also living), and she was certain she could help me find a job. Zack and I decided to drive out and stay with her while I freelanced at the company she worked for. We were in Minneapolis for about two weeks when I was offered a salaried position with the company, so we drove back to Michigan on a Friday morning, packed up the house we were renting on Saturday, and drove back Sunday morning with our families in tow. CRAZY!

We arrived in Minneapolis, our families helped us unpack, and two days later I started my new job. And what do ya know, 2 weeks passed and Zack had a full-time job, too {whoaaaaa, money!}.

It was now September of 2009 ~ I was still sewing and learning all I could about the trade. My workweeks neared 80 hours as I worked my salaried job during the day and sewed in the evenings and on weekends. Week-by-week I was building up my blog and finding my way in the handmade community. A few months later, in February 2010, I attended Blissom and seriously, it pushed my business in a new direction.

Blissdom changed the direction of my business, and essentially, my life... yeow!

I came home from the weekend-long conference and shared everything with Zack. We both knew it was time to pursue Gussy on a more full-time level, so started saving our money so I could quit my day job. In about 8 weeks we saved nearly 3 months of my salary. We were so determined and so, so excited!

To read in-depth about how I quit my day job, click here.

May 17, 2010 is a day I'll always be celebrating.

It's the day I first woke up as an official self-employed gal. I love what I've learned, the people that I've met, and that I have been blessed to find my passion in life at such a young age. I was 24 years old when I made this milestone official.

I'm extremely proud of myself + the things I've learned, and I love to encourage others to write down their goals and work hard at achieving them. Goal-making is a huge part of my business plan. It's taken Gussy to a whole new level. I love the idea of dreaming, but we all know how easy it is for our dreams to stay dreams, right?!

Wondering where "Gussy" comes from?

My mom started calling me Gussy after Gussy the Goose from Charlotte's Web (2006). The character, as written on a Ty Beanie Baby tag, "always, always, always has a lot to say, say, say."

Helloooo! That is me :] Give me your ears and I'll talk for hours! And so, Gussy was born.

My advice to you:

If you are considering learning how to sew but don't know where to start, my advice to you is this: JUST START! Go to the library, checkout a ton of books, read over the basics and JUST DO IT! What can it hurt? Are you afraid you're going to succeed? ;D

Something I strongly believe in: Every minute you doubt yourself is a minute you can't ever get back.

You can find Gussy here: Shop, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Please connect with me online... I'd love to get to know YOU more! :]

Since May of 2010 my blog has really transformed into a handmade community. There are lots of blog/biz 411 posts where I share tips on owning a handmade business, as well as inspiration and organizational posts. I also post new Gussy products here on my blog and share updates on our little family.

Zack and I are still in Minneapolis and we've since added a pup to our family, Bauer. We moved from our downtown apartment to a house just a mile or two away, which gave the business more space to grow. It's been quite the adventure, and I have an exciting feeling it's only just begun…