In 2006, I began
drawing plans from my home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. When I started
frequenting local junk stores to pick up items for my future home, I realized
that I had a passion and knack for repurposing items that otherwise would get
tossed to the wayside. This realization was the start of Laurel Girl Designs.
After beginning
Laurel Girl Designs, I began exploring other avenues to help grow my business. I
began creating colored-glass dispenser bottles with and iron or metal motifs
such as crosses and fleur de lis mounted to the bottle fronts. These became a
huge success at the local Loblolly Festival and a local boutique store. My
venture into the bottles gave me a better sense of products sell best and
how to maintain an inventory. My success with the dispenser bottles also helped
me see the need to keep my prices low in order to sell more.
I consider myself to
be a thrifty buyer, and my passion is to offer quality pieces for my customers
without breaking the bank. My goal is to do right by my customers with the hope
that they will continue to shop with me.
Anyone who knows me
would tell you that I am a free-spirited gal who follows her heart and is led
by faith, and faith alone is what brought me The Rusty Chandelier. When I
first became interested in selling at The Rusty Chandelier, I contacted another
stay-at-home mom who I thought would be interested in having a booth with me.
When I called her up, she agreed to share a booth with me; this was the
beginning of an amazing friendship that neither of us ever anticipated. Her
junking business was called Totally Distressed, and her business was based out
of her home in Petal. We combined our names, and the two of us came up with our
new quirky title The Totally Distressed
Laurel Girl.
Since starting at The
Rusty Chandelier in August 2012, we have doubled our booth space. We consider this
to be the perfect job - four high-stress
work days then we have the rest of the month to buy furniture and plan for next
event. Typically, our booth completely sells out, so we literally rebuild
the booth every month. That gives a fresh new look each time the doors open.
Every month a new theme is selected, and we will all try to include items on
our booth that reflect that theme. This month the theme is The Southern Porch,
so our booth will be stocked with outdoor benches, outdoor living furniture as
well as our signature pieces like china cabinets, buffets, and dressers.
Britney and I both
love color, and we are so excited to see the new colors coming out for 2013 are
bright and bold. 2013 interior design trends are relying heavily on neutral colors
like grays and creams for walls and furniture, and bold colors are being
introduced with statement pieces like artwork, throw pillows, and side chairs. The
2013 color spectrum is broad; we are seeing lots of green and coral all the way
to deep reds. Our goal for this year is to bring these new design trends to our
customers at affordable prices!
Once an event ends,
we typically give ourselves a couple of days off, and we are back on the junk
trail trying to find great pieces at rock-bottom prices. We discover most of our
pieces in junk stores, Craigslist, and even garage sales. Once the furniture
and accessories are found, the real fun begins: painting. Typically, we live in our painting uniforms (aka our
pajamas) a few days with paint from head to toe. We do our best to start moving
new furniture and other pieces to The Rusty Chandelier around a week before an event.
This can be the most fun but most stressful part since Brit and I typically
agree on nothing!
Third Thursday
mornings make all the hard work feel worthwhile; it’s amazing to see the
excitement on people’s faces as they stand in line waiting on the doors to open.
We will never be millionaires or famous, but the excitement The Rusty
Chandelier has brought to our lives as been incredible. Also, the excitement we
see on people’s faces when they find that treasure that they cannot live
without is a truly priceless experience.
The Rusty crew of vendors has
become my second family; they are all truly amazing and talented people, and it
has been so wonderful to connect with them. Come on down to the Rusty Feb
21! You will see a lot of happy vendors and shoppers, and The Totally
Distressed Laurel Girls would LOVE to meet you!
Much love to you all,
Kristen & Britney
