When I Grow Up: Hayley of Three Feathers Design

Hey friends! Today I'd like to introduce you to Hayley of Three Feathers Design. I see her around the Being Boss Facebook group often, and I was excited that she agreed to be a part of this series. 

As a child, I wanted to be a ___ when I grew up. Veterinarian was at the top of my list but once I started talking art and design classes in high school I knew that was my path. If you had asked me in high school I would have said photographer. 

 How close (or far) is your current career from that dream? Fairly close, photography is a completely different career than graphic design but they overlap and I get to be creative, which was the ultimate dream. 

What is your official job title? Owner and Principal Designer at Three Feathers Design

 Ok, now what does that really mean? It means I do every job there is in order to run a small business. Book keeper, marketer, public relations, office manager if there’s a hat I wear it. It can be a little overwhelming! 

What is a typical day like? I have a newborn and a three-year-old at home so my days are a little hectic at the moment! Once the dust settles a typical day will begin after dropping my son off at preschool, baby in tow getting to the office around 8:30am. I usually answer emails for the first hour, check social media and look at my list of tasks for the day. 

Around 9:30am I turn my Spotify on and get stuck into designing for an hour or two. I try to get at least two solid hours of design time in the morning, it doesn’t always happen though. 

Then around 11:30 I send another round of emails or return phone calls before lunch. If I have meetings I try to schedule them in the morning, in my office. 

I usually head home for lunch and work from home for the afternoon. With my little one, it’s nice to be able to bring her into the office but I am also more comfortable with her at home so I split my time. 

Occasionally I will answer emails and do a little work after the kids go to bed but I have been trying to leave it until the morning. 

How did you end up in this career? Like I said, I wanted to be a photographer or at least be in a creative field. After high school I applied for a photography program but didn’t get in. That kind of derailed my plans so I set off to travel for a little while. Once I was ready to start back at school I bounced around majors. Thinking that pursuing a career in a creative field was pointless and I would never make any money. During that time of getting back into school and figuring out what I wanted to do I landed a job as a chalk artist for Trader Joe’s. I absolutely loved it and had a realization that I can actually make a career as a creative. That is when I decided to move to San Francisco and get my degree in Graphic Design.

What kind of education or training did you complete for this career? I have my Bachelor's of Art in Industrial Design. I also interned at a design studio just after graduating. I will have to say though, the most valuable skills I have learned have been since I have been working in the industry and teaching myself things I need to learn on the spot. Google and Lynda.com are amazing for that. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants a similar career? Go for it! There are lots of job opportunities in graphic design and the flexibility of working for yourself or freelancing is great. Personally, I believe a design education is important but if you’re motivated enough, you can also teach yourself the skills you need. There are plenty of amazing designers that do not have a formal education. 

Do you have any other career dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up? I would love to continue to grow by business and eventually hire other designers. My dream is to have my own full service marketing and design studio, that’s a while down the road though. 

Any last thoughts or encouragement for others trying to decide what they want to do “when they grow up”? Stop thinking about it and do it. It is possible to make a career out of your dreams but you have to put in the work. I always knew what I wanted to do but was too scared, just take the leap and make it happen. You will never look back. 

Thank you Hayley! If you want to find out more about her, check out her website or her blog. 

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

When I Grow Up: Becoming a Shop Owner & Florist

Hey there! I'm super excited to be sharing Jessica McEwen's story with you today. I especially love her answer to the first question! Find out more about her now:

As a child, I wanted to be a ­______ when I grew up. I grew up in rural England and I desperately wanted to be a British version of Laura Ingalls Wilder!  I wanted to be an author and write amazing stories for young girls, filled with adventure and curiosity.  I was certain I would spend my adult life living in a remote cottage in the English hills composing novels on my trusty hunter green manual typewriter and taking long brooding walks across the moors.

How close (or far) is your current career from that dream? Well, there is still a fair bit of brooding and typing, but I now live in a large city and spend my days working as a florist, which wasn't at all on my radar as a child.

 What is your official job title? I am sole proprietor of Periwinkle Flowers.

Ok, now what does that really mean? It means I am two things at once- I am a shop owner and I am a florist within that shop.  Because I own a retail shop rather than a floral studio, I have to wear many hats, not just my floral one. 

What is a typical day like? Twice a week I am up extra early to buy flowers remotely from the growers market.  Luckily technology has evolved since I began the shop, and now I don't have to physically be at market in the wee hours, I can sit in my pajamas with a hot mug of coffee and use my laptop to make my live auction bids, which is fantastic. Once my son Patrick is off to school I'll either head out to market to pick the flowers up or head straight to the shop. Mornings are spent in a mad dash getting orders made and out the door. Afternoons I try to fit in planning, paperwork, social media etc in between serving customers by phone or in person. Often I'll have an event to deliver, in which case my part time designer will work the shop while I drive across town and do the set up, which is always an adventure. No two days are alike.

How did you end up in this career? My childhood dreams changed a little, as my family moved to Canada when I was a teenager, which widened my world view a fair bit.  In high school I decided that writing for a newspaper was far more serious and grown up than literature.  I was accepted into University for Journalism but promptly flunked out two months in. Then followed a year of floundering, with lots of angst and lack of direction.  I ended up picking a year of floral school at a college in Toronto because my boyfriend (now my husband) was training there as an urban aboriculturist for a year and I didn't want to get stuck in a program if we ended up moving for his career. Considering I chose the course with very little thought as to whether I would want to do the career it was training me for, I'm pretty lucky that I ended up completely besotted with flowers and the florist life.

What kind of education or training did you complete for this career? I took a full year long course in Retail Floristry at college.  The course was great, really in depth not just about floral design and mechanics but also design history, plant propagation and care, and we studied the business side of things too.  I even had to learn the Latin names of all the flowers and plants.  As part of the course I had to complete a work placement in a flower shop. I was lucky enough to get placement at a very high-end shop and they hired me straight out of the program. I then worked for several different florists as well as spending a couple of years freelancing as a designer with some event studios which was great exposure to that side of the business.

What advice would you give to someone who wants a similar career? If you can find a floral school that includes a work placement, take it. The biggest issue is not having on site experience and that is the easiest way to get it in a good supportive environment. There is a lot you need to learn, it isn't just making pretty flower designs all day- you need to have the background training to make sure what you are making is going to last as expected and not fall apart. And to complicate things even more, working in a flower shop you add in the extra skills of dealing with customers and running a business as well.  Work as many places as you can, meet people and expose yourself to different styles and environments. Make sure you get experience in all aspects of floristry, not just making arrangements- you'll need to know how to deal with the retail side too.

Do you have any other career dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up? I've owned my own flower shop for almost 14 years now, but last year I moved the space to a very different neighborhood.  It honestly feels like starting over and I'm in this wonderful phase of falling in love with the business all over again.  Suddenly everything is a new adventure and I feel like there is so much more to learn.  I can't imagine being anything but a flower shop owner for the rest of my working life, but I am really enjoying rethinking all parts of what that means to me and how I go about being that.

 Any last thoughts or encouragement for others trying to decide what they want to do “when they grow up”? Try not to get caught up in a funnel.  I did really well in school and looking back I can see I was getting pushed towards certain schooling by my teachers.  If I had been able to see outside of that I might have discovered so many other things that I loved to do and wouldn't have felt so lost when I realized I had no interest in university.  Find other things outside of the traditional education to pursue, find something that makes you feel happy and then don't discount it as a hobby or pastime.  If you are like I was in my early adulthood, and you realize you don't feel any passion for the career you thought you wanted to pursue it only means you need to look for something else.  Follow your passion, but be ok if that passion changes.

Thanks for your wise words, Jessica! If you want a peek into her flower filled world, check out her Instagram account or Facebook page. Or you can visit her website for more info!

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

Final Thoughts on Blue Apron

I've made a few more meals from Blue Apron now, and I've reached a decision: Blue Apron is awesome, but isn't right for us. It makes me a little sad, because some of the meals are so good! 

Vadouvan Spiced Lamb Burgers were surprisingly good! And while I've fried zucchini before, I've never used bread crumbs. This was a great meal!

Chicken Milanese was actually pretty similar to one of my go-to recipes, but I liked this twist on it. And I cheated and served the corn as a side instead of putting in the salad!

This was the first meal: Cod & Miso Soba Noodles. I wrote about it before, but I really liked this one. James didn't really care for it, but he did eat it.

Steak and roasted potatoes was probably my favorite ones, but it's also one that I've made before prior to Blue Apron.

So if I really liked the meals, why am I going to cancel my Blue Apron subscription? There are a few reasons. 

1. Meals are a little too foodie for my husband. He's a meat and potatoes kinda guy, and something like Cod and Miso Noodles is a stretch for him. He'll eat it, but I don't think he really enjoys it. And for $60 a week, I want us both to enjoy it! 

2. Our schedule is too random. James is never home at the same time every day, and often he runs out right before dinner to run a fire call. The fish dishes do NOT reheat or stay warm well, and we didn't even cook one of the meals in the last box because we weren't both home enough that week. 

3. It always takes longer than the recipe says. Not much, sometimes only 10 minutes. But even though I work from home now, I still don't like spending an hour on dinner three times a week. That's too much time for a call to come in and pull James away! 

So is Blue Apron worth it? If you have a regular schedule and don't mind interesting meals, then absolutely! And maybe we will try it again someday. But for now, it just isn't working. Don't worry Blue Apron. It isn't you, it's me. 

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...