Connecting with Your Art, and Balancing a Handmade Business, with Jen Urena, Founder and Owner of Storybook Handmade.

Okay. We might be lying if we said we weren’t totally obsessed with today’s guest, Jen Urena. We’ve known Jen for a little while now and with only a little bit of nudging and begging (on our part), she has finally agreed to come on the podcast. Woot! We love Jen for so many reasons, and you will too, but we really love her because of the art she creates. And that’s Macrame. That’s right. Your dreams of the 70s, whether you were alive or not, are here and arriving in gorgeous fashion. And while Jen makes the most beautiful pieces, that’s only part of her story.

Today we chat with Jen about what it’s like to own, operate, and create your own handmade business, which is different than a lot of the other solo entrepreneurs we have chatted with on the podcast. This is pouring not only your creativity and craft into everything you do but also learning how to be a business owner while balancing family life and other obligations. It’s not an easy road, especially on days when you would just prefer to craft and create, and not crunch numbers.

Grab your yarn and needle and sew away while listening for the following:

1) How your connection with your art is paramount to what you do in a handmade business, but you can’t neglect the other, necessary, pieces of running a business.

2) How Jen identified that she wanted and needed to carve out some space for herself after her kiddos were born, and in that space, she needed to create, create, create.

3) How Storybook Handmade has created a community, among customers, other vendors, at markets, and around the valley, truly highlighting the importance of art as a critical component of our lives.

You can find Jen at:
www.storybookhandmade.com
@storybookhandmade