“It’s no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy ’cause every now, and then I kick the living shit out of me” Lit, My Own Worst Enemy.
“How do you choose the artists you feature in your cafe” the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. A rambling, tumbling succession of words that made me want to clap my hand quickly over my mouth or shout, just kidding, I take that back. But the calm and cool cafe owner said, “usually, people ask, why do you know someone?” All of the friendly employees turned around to look at me as I quietly said, “um, I take photos.” Thankfully my hype woman was there to fill in the gaps that my addled mind could not convey, “Oh yeah, she takes amazing photos. You have to see them.” With a shaking hand, I pulled out my phone and scrolled to the digital photo album that holds my work, “wait, you took these? All of them??” I nod my head, my cheeks burning. “Yes, and she has tons more” Gosh, I am thankful for my extra mouthy bestie in this moment. “Yeah, I would love to feature your work here. Do you have enough that you can print some for the wall and backfill if they sell?” Another mute nod. “Okay, then in July, be ready because your work is going up.”
My work is going up?? My work?? As in my own artwork printed and placed on a wall where people can see it? What in the world just came over me? I left Bean and Leaf Cafe that day with the hugest smile on my face, because for once, without overthinking it, I took a chance on myself. I was lucky I had a backup because, honestly, who knows where the conversation would have gone otherwise. But, I asked without having a plan for how to hang the photos, where to order them, or how to price them. Again, lucky for me, I have the best tribe around when it comes to things like this. My incredible friends from ASDesigns and Besitos Fine Cuisine did not even bat an eye when I told them I needed to bring my photos to life; they jumped into full creative mode, worked out sizing, helped choose the images, and ordered samples. I had other friends and family that scoured my album to narrow it down to the best 16-20 images that we further tweaked once it came time to order. In fact, even this blog that you have stumbled upon was a gift from the best SEO expert around because he wanted me to have a fun, creative outlet to display all the things.
When you take that chance on yourself, the people you call friends and family should want to see you succeed. They should be cheering you on and pushing you forward just as much as you are, and believe me when I say my friends gave me the most incredible opportunity, and I will not waste one moment of it. They took any stress or anxiety I was feeling fully off my plate to focus on the creative aspects and the planning that goes into something like this. They have hugged me, offered advice, and a litany of other things that I will never be able to thank them for fully. You see, once I made that first difficult step, they were all right there cheering me on, opening doors, and helping to make my dreams come true. I refuse to be my own worst enemy any longer. I will take the chances because in the grand scheme of things, what is the worst that can happen??
Also, if you need auto wraps, business swag, t-shirts made, photos printed, please consider supporting AsDesigns; I promise you will not be disappointed! The custom printed each of the photos that will be on display at Bean and Leaf cafe.
