Name Envy

Thoughts I had in the shower this morning (it's where I do my best thinking)... have you ever envied a sibling or friends name?

My name is Jennifer. My middle name is Anne. My younger sister's name is Wren. I won't tell you her middle name, she would kill me, but it's equally as unique. As many years as she's been on this planet I don't think she's ever come face to face with another Wren. I on the other hand, meet Jennifer's ALL the time. Throughout my school years and past jobs, there's always been the inevitable "Who's going to be Jen, Jenny or Jennifer?" conversation. Being of the shy sort, I almost always ended up Jennifer. Now, don't get me wrong here, I don't hate my name, I just like hers better. It has a sense of mystery about it. It conjures up images of a beautiful, strong woman with a unique personality. And she fits it well. I suppose that's the part I always envied. What does Jennifer conjure up? Probably a friend, or family member or maybe an acquaintance you know with the same name. Boring.

As fate would have it, my father named me. Had my mother had her way, I'd be Coral Anne. I used to think about that a lot when I was a kid. I'd imagine people would call me Cory and I'd have long curly hair, not sure how since my entire family has pin straight hair, but that's beside the point. I imagined if I was Cory, I would've talked to my first crush, Brian who worked at the local Roller Den, instead of just lusting after him from afar. I also knew in my heart of hearts that Cory would have been an amazing roller skater and wouldn't haven fallen down so many damn times in front of Brian. But alas, I was Jenny. An awkward, skinny girl with scabbed up knees and pee thin hair that stands on end all winter long as if it's been rubbed by a balloon. A girl who'd rather read a book than go out. A girl who's had imaginary conversations with people she's never going to meet. The list could go on and on here.

So my final thought as I was finishing up in the shower this morning, is that a name may define you to some extent but it's all the awkward, weird, silly, awesome and strange life experiences we have while growing up that make us who we are. Wren isn't a beautiful and strong woman because of her name, it's who she is. I'm not an awkward weird person because I was named Jennifer. It's simply because I was just always awkward and weird. Epiphany moment, (this always happens near the end of the shower) I like me... I like that I am weird. Whatever my name is or might have been, I've definitely led an interesting life full of strange and unique moments. And I love it.

xoxo,
Jenn

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" ~ Shakespeare

A Journey

I received a message today that made me stop and look back at the journey that I have been on for the past few years. A journey that started almost three years ago at the advice of a family friend. She suggested I open an Etsy shop to sell the vintage items that I had been collecting for years. The idea of turning my love of "junking" into a business was both exciting and scary. I spent days battling it back and forth in my head until I could no longer come up with a valid answer to the question "Why not?" So, on August 4, 2011, I officially opened my etsy shop, Suite 22. Four days later I had my first sale!

After a little over a year of being on Etsy,  I decided to branch out and try something new... an outdoor market. I was nervous as I had never done anything like it before. Lucky for me, at the same time a new artisan/vintage market emerged in the area called The Cleveland Flea. I attended their first market as a shopper, loved what they were doing, went home, applied for their next market, and got in. I ended up being a vendor at every one of their outdoor markets that year. I was hooked! I loved the set up, the decorating and the staging of my booth. I loved talking to customers about items they purchased. I loved seeing the smiles on peoples faces when they would spot an item that brought back memories! I loved watching young kids (future pickers) get excited about the old vintage keys and transit tokens in my booth. I found that I loved selling face to face!

The only problem? I now found myself working 40+ hours a week at my day job while running my etsy shop that was averaging nearly 100 sales a month with the new addition of a monthly outdoor market that involved tons of prep work. It was all proving to be too much! I was clearly drowning and decided I needed to make a choice. Both of my jobs were suffering as I couldn't give either the 100% they deserved. The choice was an easy one and with the full support of my husband, I quit my day job and decided to give my full attention to Suite 22!

It will be a year in June since I made that decision. I have spent much of that time honing the vision I have for my business and creating a brand to define it. The message I received today made me feel I accomplished what I set out to do. Whether you are a visitor in my home, my etsy shop or my booth at a market, you will know me. You will know what I love. You will know what I do and why I do it. You will see my passion, my values, and my story. To the person who sent me the message today, you probably don't realize how much your words truly affected me. The compliments you gave to me and to my business instilled in me that I made the right decision. This journey hasn't been an easy one, it has had many ups and downs. I have not only spilled blood and sweat, but tears as well. But today, the tears were for pride. I did this. I created Suite 22. Although I have had undying support along the way from my husband, my family and my friends, this is something I created. This is my baby and I am excited to watch it grow!

xoxo,

Jenn

P.S. Here is a link to the etsy shop of the friend who gave me the nudge that I needed:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/beethingsstudio
Thank you  Bethany, I will be eternally grateful! :)

Weekend Recap #2

Well, the weekend turned out to be a bummer on the work aspect, there weren't any good estate sales nearby us, so out of desperation we hit the Painesville flea market on Saturday. I ended up leaving empty handed, so that ought to tell you how good of a market it was. It was so disappointing, lots of Amish bread, Avon makeup, knives, throwing stars and a PC repair guy. Lame.

It turned out to be a beautiful day though, the high was 45° on Saturday which felt like a heat wave after the last few weeks. We decided to take a little trip into Cleveland to visit a few of our favorite parks and not let the day go to waste. Here is our weekend recap via our Instagram feed. Enjoy!

If you'd like, you can follow us on instagram, @feelingjennerous and @rpflueger.

Happy Monday,

xoxo,

Jenn

Etsy Love Stories

A piece I purchased at a flea market in Burton, Ohio ends up being the finishing touch on a restoration project in Pocatello, Idaho. Moments like this make my day, it's why I love what I do. This small piece of hardware may seem insignificant to some people, but someone, somewhere is searching for it!

History Crush

One of the most famous and prolific inventors of all time, Thomas Alva Edison exerted a tremendous influence on modern life, contributing inventions such as the incandescent light bulb, the motion picture camera, as well as improving the telegraph and telephone. In his 84 years, he acquired an astounding 1,093 patents. On this day (Feb. 19) in 1878 he was awarded U.S. Patent No. 200,521 for his invention of the phonograph.

It just so happens that I collect phonograph keys. The "E key" is by far my favorite in my collection.

My second favorite would have to be my Edison Dolphin Key. It comes in about seven different sizes ranging from 2 - 4" in length and was used on the higher end Edison phonograph models.

Gorgeous, isn't it?

Well, if you ever happen to find yourself in the area of Milan, Ohio, I highly recommend stopping by the “Sights & Sounds of Edison”. They are an antique shop located right off the Square of downtown Milan. While they do carry a broad line of general antiques, they specialize in anything Edison and have a particular emphasis on phonographs and custom made wood horns. All those beautiful horns hanging from their ceiling rafters is quite the sight to see, a must for anyone who loves or collects phonographs!

xoxo,

Jenn

Relentless

That is how I feel about this winter... relentless. It just feels as if it has been snow storm after snow storm after snow storm. The temperatures have remained below 30°F for weeks now so the snow hasn't melted a bit. It just keeps piling up. Our backyard is practically non existent, it is just feet of snow. Our poor little doggies only have access to the driveway to take care of their business.

As if all this snow everywhere wasn't enough, we have a warm front coming through in two days, bringing thunderstorms along with it. Rain plus the snow melt will most likely produce flooding. Flooding that will most likely end up in our basement. Grrrr. This is this worst winter we've endured here in Northeast Ohio in many, many moons. I can't wait for it to be over! Think Spring I keep telling myself! Think spring!! On a lighter note, the last pic is my adorable husband shoveling our elderly neighbors driveway after shoveling ours! <3 Love him!!

Keep your fingers crossed that we don't flood!!

xoxo,

Jenn

A Vintage Valentine

Three vintage Valentine’s day cards dating back to the late 1920’s, early 1930’s. All of the cards are made out to a Eugene Caroniti from various classmates. I found the cards a few weeks back at an antique store in Oberlin, Ohio. Upon doing a little research of the name Eugene Caroniti, I found a census record of him. He was born in 1921 in Lorain, Ohio as Joseph Eugene Caroniti. He would be 93 years old if he were alive today.

Have a lovely Valentine's Day!

xoxo,

Jenn