Rise Up Designs

​ It may still be hot outside, but if you’re a small business owner, somewhere in your brain it is already November. At least that’s how it feels for me. The holidays may seem far away, but this is the time I start thinking about them. Not because I want to rush the season. Not because I’m ready for Christmas music in August. But because holiday prep takes time. I’m already thinking about what products make good gifts. What can be bundled together. What inventory I need to reorder. What packaging I want to use. What signage needs to be updated. What markets I want to participate in. What sold well last year. And maybe just as important…what I do not want to repeat. That part matters. Every season teaches you something. There are products you thought would fly off the table that barely moved. There are things you almost didn’t make that customers loved. There are packaging ideas that looked cute but took way too much time. There are products that were great individual...

​ The last three weeks have been a whirlwind. If you’ve been following along, you know I was in Nebraska, then came home and had a market, then the Monday after that market I had the APCO conference, and the Saturday after that…another market. So when this weekend finally came around and I didn’t have anything scheduled, I was grateful. Really grateful. And at first, it almost felt strange. No market to pack for. No booth to set up. No event to rush to. Just a little space. And I realized how much I needed it. Not because I wanted to do nothing, but because I needed time to catch up on the things that are easy to ignore when you’re constantly moving. I checked inventory. I ordered new UVDTF wraps. I started updating some of my signage. I finished special orders that needed my attention. I looked at what I had, what I needed, and what could be improved before the next market. And honestly, it reminded me that slowing down is part of running a business too. When you’re c...

​ There are moments in life that make your stomach do flips. Not because something is wrong…but because something just might change everything. When I was asked to bring Wrap & Rise Mobile Craft Parties to APCO International, I was excited. I was also terrified. Wrap & Rise has always been about gathering people together around a table. Birthday parties. Friends. Families. Community. An international conference with more than 5,000 attendees? That wasn’t exactly in my business plan. I questioned myself more than once. Could we handle it? Would people participate? Would they think it was silly? Would anyone even stop by? Then something happened. One person sat down. Then another. Before long, hundreds of people were creating bracelets, bookmarks, and keychains. More importantly, they were smiling. Talking. Laughing. Taking a breath. Many of them told us they just needed a place to slow down. In careers where they spend every day responding to someone else’s...