Hidden Gems

Continued from Clarity in Chaos

While I have lived in seven different cities across the Southeast and traveled throughout the country (and to Paris, of course!) I have found that my natural inclination is to hunt for the “hidden gems” that are waiting around every corner. Whether I’m in my home-away-from-home of New Orleans, Charleston, the Sandhills of North Carolina, or in my very own hometown, there is something so real about the souls of small business owners and the spaces that they have put their heart, soul, and savings, into. These people have followed a dream, a passion (perhaps a calling), that has led them to meet people who share similar interests, whether or not they themselves are able to create the same for their own lives.
It’s within the walls of these small businesses that I begin to feel a connection, networks form, where common interests are shared (sometimes in a most interesting “Oh my gosh, I thought I was the only one who thought that!” type of way), where partnerships and friendships form. Collaboration with local businesses only made sense when developing what Bleu Bee Designs would be in our community.

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The Ties That Bind

 I have strong emotional ties to entrepreneurship as my extended family comprises approximately 75% entrepreneurs, so perhaps I came to begin Bleu Bee Designs as naturally as the family I come from. Either way, I had (another) moment of clarity in 2020, just a week into my teacher-life of summer break. While driving across the Buckman Bridge after bopping around to a few of my favorite locally-owned furniture, fabric, and antique stores, it was as clear to me as the sky I was surrounded by;

Your niche market is to curate spaces for people by keeping your community ties strengthened. 

This meant that I would find myself starting an Instagram TV series titled “Shop Small” in which I would regularly feature local businesses that I used to create my own curated home, and share them with others, keeping income in our local area and most of all, supporting the dreams of others whom I share so much in common with.

I realize the double blessing I have been given, the talents of teaching and being passionate about education, working in a position that permits months at a time for free-time to be creative, while also having the talent and passion to bless others with the gift of creating beauty in their own spaces, while wholeheartedly supporting others’ in their passions of owning a small business. Having always been a “people-person”, with strong attention to detail and aesthetics (hello, eight years in event planning!), it’s no wonder that God has allowed me to intertwine the very things which make me feel alive. I am so excited to spend my time growing as a small business owner, networking within my community, and working alongside you to make everything around you beautiful. 

Creatively,
Bee