I want to tell you about my mom. If I could only tell you one thing about her, I would tell you about the time when we were moving into this great old house with the kind of peeling paper wallpaper that had the cheesecloth on the backside. I was about 5 or 6 and she handed me our big shoebox of crayons and told me to fill the walls with whatever was in my head.
Now, being a mom, myself, I realize she may have just been hoping for a few minutes of peace while my brother napped. But she gave me this great launch to my creative endeavors and small though it might sound, it was big and will always be big to me. If I could go back, I imagine that I had a moment of disbelief and then another hesitation as to what on earth to do with all that space but I vaguely recall filling it up.
Now, my mom is pursuing her own creative endeavors with Cat Spring Woodworks. She has built a thriving business from her home which has included generating intricate replicas of historic buildings and homes - bird houses - hand-carved cedar pumpkins - toad abodes for customers around the country.
Recently she scaled her business to focus solely on hand-painted signs. You can find her work exclusively at Mustang Alley Antiques where she works on many Saturdays. You can also find her sharing a booth with Mary at Warrenton in Renck Field.
The signs are very affordable and make great gifts. She frequently does custom order signs, as well. All her work is done by hand. It is done with great care and most importantly it is not outsourced to some sweatshop in a foreign country.
So if you are in Warrenton, give mom a shout and make sure to pick up a sign. If you're not in Warrenton, just shoot her an email and she can make all your sign dreams come true.
Cheryl
Two out of three of these qualify as a new idea for old things. That's good enough for me.
