Beautiful Bonnets and Brushes

I recently decided to start a business. This was/is an interesting and somewhat scary decision for me. In bettering myself as a person this year I have discovered a lot of things. One is that I have a lot of wonderful ideas, but my follow through is sorely lacking. So I decided to begin selling my painted brushes because if I don't do it, someone else will. And there's nothing that would get under my skin more than seeing an idea I had, come to fruition with someone else at the wheel.

I came up with a name, Warm Up Ring Bling. I made a Facebook page. I took pictures of the brushes I had previously painted to post on the Facebook page. I advertised on several groups I am a part of. I was quite proud of myself for taking these steps!

Then I decided that I know how to crochet, and I felt I could make ear bonnets. So I brought my ear bonnets home to use as templates, YouTubed a LOT of how to crochet different stitches videos, and got to work. The first one was gigantic but it actually looked ok! A little tweaking and measuring and I can now pump a bonnet out in under an hour! I found a sewing machine for super cheap thanks to a friend of a friend, and I am well on my way to a one person sweat shop!

A business is an interesting entity. It does not make itself any more profitable than you make it. A Facebook page is awesome, but it is not, itself, fantastic advertising. Word of mouth is great, but it only gets so far at a barn that is not English and is filled with people who wouldn't be interested in something like that anyway. For how proud I was of myself in starting the business, keeping it going is proving to be another task in and of itself.

It takes a lot of believing. Positive thinking. Knowing that what you've got, someone else wants. In a way, I think it's a great preparation for me and my grandiose plan of owning my own barn one day. It's the idea of never give up. Never stop trying. Be flexible. A lot of things, no matter how disheartening, are not a reflection on you as a person. Success and failure are defined by you and you alone.

While I love making the brushes, they are extremely time consuming. I have recently focused a lot of my efforts on perfecting the bonnet design. They're coming along splendidly and I can now say I basically have a pattern memorized. Warm Up Ring Bling will be donating bonnets and brushes to our AEC adult team, "Always Be a Unicorn" and will also be sending bonnets all the way to Illinois for use in the hunter/jumper ring. If you are interested in a bonnet or a set of brushes for yourself, or if you know of anyone interested, please send them my way! I'm definitely becoming less shy about being a sell out for my business!  Facebook message is the best way to reach me!

This one is for Panda. Black, royal, and some bling. Representing our XC colors
in the dressage ring. 

A friend of ours liked the idea of a little color in the sandbox. Black, hot pink,
grey, with bling.

Perfect and low key, this bonnet is going to hunter land! We snuck in a little
bit of bling; the white yarn has sparkles :)

This bonnet was commissioned to match a saddle pad. I can't wait to see it
on a horse!

This is a great example of how customizable the bonnets are. This one is for
a Welch Section B pony. 

Love the royal and brown together. This one is for cross country!