With Thanksgiving just a few days away, which also means the reflection that I find myself doing for the end of the year, I’m reminded how much creating Chelle Summer has inspired my life. Of course, one might say the inspiration created Chelle Summer, but as the ideas continue to come (several new ones very recently), I find the more I immerse myself into Chelle Summer, the more inspired I am.
But when I take a step back, I also can see the rearview mirror and how much my past has influenced so many things about it. I think of the prints and colors of my childhood, the creativity that was encouraged (and the sewing experiments!) to creating my own style in junior high and high school. Then moving to Albuquerque and my friend Bonnie (who died nearly twenty years ago) and all she taught me about sewing and putting colors and prints together. My first husband worked in credit card processing and most of his customers in the beginning of our marriage were artists so we were often at markets and shows checking on satellite terminals (this was when cell phones were just starting to become mainstream). The list is endless.
Some of it’s about prayer, about asking what I’m supposed to do. Or buying estate sale items and not being quite sure what to do with them until some time passes. Five years ago I couldn’t have imagined I’d have known how to turn so many vintage and tossed -aside items into things like aprons and handbags. I love the joy of taking something that might have been discarded (while also having been stuck in a garage or at the back of a cabinet/closet for years) and transforming it into something someone can use and enjoy. The new life.
There has been a lot of loss in my life and a lot of it came early for me. But I have always tried to use it to turn it into something else, just like I do with the objects and fabrics I find. Chelle Summer has given me a place to do that on a larger scale to share it with more people.
Chelle Summer isn’t just a brand. And it’s not just a lifestyle either. Chelle Summer is where I have found my hope and inspiration to continue to create and share with the world. It's one of many things I’m grateful for this Thanksgiving.
May you have a peaceful and hopeful one