But your Degree is in Fashion!?

Or as my dad said when I told him what I was doing:  "I thought it was clothes."

Hopefully you've looked at my information by now and have seen that Room 5 specializes in Home Decor.  And hopefully you've read my first post and know that I have a degree in Fashion and my life-long dream (all 26 years long) has been to own a clothing boutique.  So how did I go from an obsession with clothes to a passion for fun, unique but beautiful home decor?  Well, I'll explain:

I could spend days inside a mall. Days.  I could look at everything; put together outfits, accessorize those outfits and top them off with the best trench coat you've ever seen.  But do you know what I would do with those amazingly coordinated expressions of self?  I would own them.  That's right; I would horde them in my closet and look at them daily but never ever wear them outside of my bedroom for fear of ruining them and never being able to wear them ever again.  That is my obsession.  Pretty sick, I know, but it is mine and I claim it.

But I discovered something with Home Fashions.  I don't have to store these items away in my closet to be seen by only me and my husband (as we share a beautiful walk-in closet large enough to handle my 'bursting at the seams' obsession he has to see them too).  I  discovered, for the first time, my passion for home decor with the purchase of our first home.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I had never had the opportunity to discover this about myself.  Living in someone else's home and then in tiny college spaces doesn't give one the opportunity to express one's own creativity with the space around you.

But then, I (we) had our own space!  We could do whatever we wanted, because we wanted, without asking someone else's permission.  It was fantastic!  You want to paint the walls?  Okay!  You want to tear down the wall!?  Sure... why not - but first make sure it won't tear down the house, thereby forcing us to move back into another apartment while the damage is being corrected, and thereby putting us right back in the non-self-expressing position we were just in!

Well, no walls were torn down, but I did get the opportunity to start expressing myself on a larger scale.  And it is a blast!!  Instead of looking for the right pair of shoes that I would never wear, therefore nobody would see, for fear of scuffs or broken heels; I was looking for the right piece of artwork to place over the mantel for everyone who entered our home to see!  It was absolutely fantastic!!!

But our home is far from complete.  The down economy has put a halt to our 'expressing ourselves,' for the moment, at home.  But, Room 5, on the other hand is complete and has been displayed to the world.  I have purple walls (my favorite color!) and hardwood floors and the best lighting ever!!  Since my husband won't let me paint our bedroom purple - I painted my store purple!  And you know what?  He is the one who actually did the painting!  Haha!!  Sucka!  If only he had let me have my way at home, I might have left the walls (the 30ft tall walls, might I add) in the store the beautiful shade of orangy-red that they were.  Really, it was a beautiful color - but it all comes back to that pesky self-expression thing... and not getting my way at home ;)

So, yes.  I have a degree in fashion, but it all trickles down to knowing what you like and being able to show everyone else in a way that helps them understand you.  No matter what medium you choose to use.

Daring To Dream

I entered college in 2002 with one goal in mind:  I wanted to learn everything I needed to know in order to open my own business.  Pretty simple right? Wrong!!  College taught me nothing!!!  I have a Bachelors of Science in Fashion Merchandising and 2 Minors: Marketing and International Business Management.  Why, you ask, did I earn a degree in Fashion if I wanted to own a business?  Well, let me tell you.  After searching the class catalogs I discovered that the Fashion Merchandising department at Missouri State had a program of classes designed specifically to teach you what you needed to know in order to own your own business - specifically a retail business.  "Perfect!" I thought!  My dream was to own my own high-end clothing boutique.  So, I declared my major and signed up for my classes.

When it was all said and done I graduated with 153 credit hours (appriox 25 more than necessary) and a bill for approximately $40,000.00, give or take a few dollars.  Of those approximate 50 classes I sat through, I only needed one (actually about half of that one class); CMT 585: Establishing a Fashion Business.  What makes this class so lucky that I feel it was the only class needed?  We wrote a business plan.  That's it! We spent three months writing a document that was worth 100 points.  At the end of the semester we were told to make an appointment with a lending officer to have them review our plans.  If they told us, "yes, we would most likely give you a loan" - then you passed.  If you were told "no," well, then, I'm sure you can guess the outcome.  Well, I passed and momentum was given to my dream.

What was the other half of that class that I deemed unnecessary?  Well, we did some math stuff... and had some practice job interviews with the career department at the University.  But I didn't need to master the art of job interviews - I was going to be the one doing the interviews if I owned my own business, right?  And I was pretty certain that I was going to marry my boyfriend - who was an Accounting major, so I didn't need to pay too much attention to that math stuff, right?


Right!  Well, to at least to one of those!!  I did marry the accounting major and he has been the most incredible husband in letting me take this risk.  He would much rather I have a nice, steady, secure job which includes great health benefits and a stable 401k (which I had!); but he agreed - reluctantly - to let me pursue my dream.  Don't get me wrong - I took all his wants into account as well.  I found an amazing job with Abercrombie & Fitch right after graduation that was right up my alley, it was so much fun and I was great at it!  (Thank God I paid some attention to the practice interviews!) But I just wasn't satisfied - it wasn't mine!!  So after three years with a company that I was quickly moving up in - I left.  I left a great career to follow my life long dream at the age of 25.  I left a great, stable & secure job in the middle of a global economic melt down!

Yikes!!