We had the good fortune of connecting with Atlee Hayes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Atlee, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
After several years as a stay at home mom the kids were older. We were at a stage that it still didn’t make sense for me to go back into the classroom full time, but I had a little time in my day. I thought that if I could turn my hobbies into a side hustle that maybe I could make a few extra dollars for the family. (And help fund those hobbies at least.)

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have always loved to create things. When I quit teaching to stay home with the kids crafting and sewing became a creative outlet for me. But, I also turned to my other love, reading. Over the years I found so many friends and learned some amazing things in the bookish community. It was only a natural progression for my two passions to merge. That is how I started making and selling bookmarks, book covers, and book sleeves. I never planned to own my own business one day, or make money off my sewing projects. So when I decided that was the route I wanted to take I needed to start from scratch. It has been a learning process, but I love every time someone tells me they love what I made. I create these products on my own. I create my own patterns. I make these items with my own two hands and it always amazes me when someone else sees beauty in it. My absolute favorite thing to do is make custom items for people. When someone says, “I love your clutch, but I need one with a zipper instead of a flap. Can you do that?” Absolutely. Let’s figure that out. I would love to always be busy with my business. But, I hope I never get so busy I can’t be flexible enough to be personal with the customers.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live right in the middle of California. While, my agricultural area does not shout beaches and LA like so many imagine when they hear California, we are so close to all the best parts of California. So, no matter which friend is visiting we can spend the day somewhere fun for them. Wine country, San Francisco, Yosemite, Big Trees, Monterey, it’s all close enough for a fun day.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband has always been ridiculously supportive me. When I talked to him about selling my crafts instead going back to teaching right away he was all for it. When I told him I was starting to work with authors behind the scenes he said, “that’s amazing. What do we need to get you to make the work easier?” It makes scary, life changes a lot easier when you have support at home.

Website: www.atleebreendesigns.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atleebreendesigns?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
All photos by Atlee Hayes.

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