Okay, I totally admit this post is more for myself than anything…I had a monthly photo collage pop up in my Facebook memories today and thought I’d do another one on this, the first day of 2022! I love to look back and reflect on my business over the past year, and this is as good a day as any to do that! I always find it uplifting to look back at the new experiences I’ve had, skills learned, friends and memories made, especially now in the midst of a pandemic that can get us all down! If you are feeling like you didn’t accomplish as much as you wanted in 2021, first of all, so what! It’s okay to rest!! But, try taking a look back at your past year, whether it’s scrolling through your calendar or looking back at the year’s social media posts. You just might find that you’ve done way more than you thought…I know I certainly did!
Here are just a few highlights of my past business year!
January 2021
In January I held my first ever paint party…”Starry Night Camping,” through the Glitter Glamper! The subject matter was a perfect one to bring together glitter, glamping and painting. It was a great success, and I really hope to do more of these! I also tried to get more into Facebook Live’s in general, and had a blast doing a couple fun tutorials. I showed people how to make a glittery brush holder, and how to make over a Dollar Tree camper decoration!
February 2021
In February, on one chilly day with a -50 degree F wind chill, my distance-learning and remote-working family and I loaded up the truck and drove south, non-stop, until we ran out of road, where we spent a full month in an Air BNB within walking distance to Gulf of Mexico! We will likely never again have that chance to do school & work entirely via the internet, and I’m so glad we carpe’d that diem! I brought nothing but blank canvases and art supplies, and this kicked off a year where I created more “recreational” art than any other year of my life…definitely more than I have in the past 15 years combined. It refueled my creativity and refreshed my soul!
March 2021
In March we waved goodbye to I had fun doing a Facebook live tutorial for Smile Creators of a St Patrick’s day themed gem design! It’s also the month of my birth, when I turned 40-something…I honestly can never remember my own age. Maybe because age doesn’t seem to mean much to me these days, or maybe I’m getting senile already.
April 2021
In April I landed my first repeat business window painting customer, a chain of local Dunkin’ Donuts stores! I did a similar design on all three store locations, scaled to fit their windows. Since then I’ve been painting these three stores seasonally all year, each one with a unique image, and this month will be painting “coming soon” and “now hiring” messages on their newest location! It has been SO much fun working with Dunkin and creating unique windows to fit with the seasons and their business!
May 2021
In May I held my 2nd successful zoom paint party, in response to a previous student’s request to paint birch trees! It was great fun!
June 2021
In June I got back to doing henna again, masked of course, for my fabulous agent friend Lori’s business, A Touch of Magic! It felt great to get back to celebrating in person, and it’s always so fun to work with the new graduates and feel their excitement for the future! I had a great time updating more Dunkin’ windows, and also used water resistant face paints for the first time ever at a mermaid themed country club pool party!
July 2021
July was a big month for the Glitter Glamper…it was her gig debut! I spent all spring and early summer getting the Glamper trailer ready to be used on the job, and the 4th of July was her maiden voyage! With my husband and boys’ help, I got her set up at Interlachen Country Club and almost immediately people were drawn to the trailer and wanted a peek inside! It was unbearably hot, windy, and a supreme example of organized chaos, but was SO exciting, fun and a HUGE hit! I can’t wait to do it again! This was also the debut of my latest offering, “Sparkle Sleeves!”
August 2021
August is always the busiest time of year for my business, with the exception of 2020 of course! It was so great to get back to the county fair painting faces, and the state fair as the Glitter Glamper! The county fair was my best year ever, and despite the state fair’s huge drop in attendance, our business did not drop nearly as much and we enjoyed countless return customers who vividly remembered their 2019 experience and came straight for us this year! The future is very bright for the Glitter Glamper Booth at the MN State Fair!
September 2021
In September I had the joy of spending a day working in my friend Tricia’s awesome new “Sparkle Fox” business operation at Severs Corn Maze, affectionately known as the “Sparkle Shed!” We were super busy and I had SO much fun!! I am SO proud of the amazing work she did pulling it all together in so little time and can’t wait to see what she does with it in 2022…much like my own journey with my hurried start to the Glamper!
October 2021
October was a fun, full month between my seasonal window painting refreshes, and Halloween events coming back! The Glitter Glamper was quite busy applying Halloween bling at fall events, Halloween parties and birthday parties! I also brought out my balloons again and did some Halloween twisting at country club event!
November 2021
In the fall/winter of 2021 I was so excited to have the Glitter Glamper featured in my favorite magazine, Vintage Camper Trailers Magazine! How fun!! I shared photos and the process of transforming it into a business vehicle, and also photos of our first weekend actually camping in it as a family!
December 2021
I was just SO happy to get back to painting Christmas designs again this year, after a year with no Christmas gigs! My son Sam, now 14, let me do another Ugly Christmas Sweater body paint on him for my business holiday cards. I had several fun Christmas gigs, and my first ever New Year’s Eve gig! What a fun way to close out the year!
I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!!
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