Life Before Jewelry

by Cassondra Morrison

I thought I should back track just a bit...in my last post I didn't get much into who I am - just that I was COMPELLED to write a blog. I'm assuming at this point if you're reading you probably know a bit about me...

But, does anyone really ever know anyone...? ***que evil laugh***

I feel like my life could pretty much be summed up into two chunks of time:

Part 1: Life Before Jewelry

Part 2: Life After Jewelry

Maybe that seems a bit dramatic, but actually very accurate. So maybe we'll start with before jewelry...

Here goes...

I was born and raised in a small town in Southern Missouri, just north of the Arkansas border. I grew up on our family farm which allowed me the ability to run through open fields of grass and trees as far as the eye could see. That also meant there was A LOT of work to be done so I had my fair share of milking cows, building fence and trucking through a whole lotta poop (literally, poop). I'm pretty sure I had one of the best childhoods a kid could ask for. I loved being outdoors and seeing what kind of trouble I could get into (still do, hehe). I would also accredit all that hard work I had to do as a kid, to my strong work ethic I have today. I think your work is what you put into it, which is why I'm willing to bear my heart and soul and make it the best it can be!

I don't know that I ever really thought a whole lot about what I wanted to do as my career until I was about to graduate high school. In a small town the realm of possibilities seemed so much smaller. My options seemed to be a teacher or a nurse and I had absolutely no interest in either. I remember one day in a job interview at Fashion Bug I was asked what inspired me to want to work in fashion (keep in mind, small town, 5 clothing stores, Fashion Bug was one of my few options, pretty sure they went bankrupt...). My response was that I really looked up to my uncle who worked in the fashion industry in Los Angeles. I was a bit surprised that the words came out of my mouth, I wore t-shirts and jeans to school on a daily basis, nothing fashionable about it...? Regardless, I guess it was in the back of my mind.

I graduated high school and had a scholarship for an Associate's Degree. Since I still had no clue what I was doing with this whole **what's the job you want to have for the rest of your life thing** I figured I'd stay in my home town and get my degree. While in school I met a boy and fell very much in love (I'm single now so obviously it didn't work out -- any eligible bachelors reading this feel free to send me a message *wink*). This boy was raised in a big city and had a completely different upbringing than me, opening my eyes to new and fresh perspectives. He was always talking (man, did he like to talk...) about his dreams and goals in life and boy were they big! He encouraged me to have big dreams as well and was always saying how talented, smart and original I was. That I was capable of big things and that I should pursue something I loved(sometimes ya gotta hear it from a stranger's mouth)! He literally never stopped talking (like enough already?) so eventually I started to believe it myself. Why not? What is stopping me (money, money, mo' money)? I am capable of anything I can imagine!

While in college I began working with my sister in her clothing boutique. (--Let me brag on her a second -- she opened her store when she was TWENTY-ONE years old and has run a successful business ever since. She has worked sooooo hard and I am so proud of her! Check out her store here!) I had the most amazing time working with her. We had lots of laughs and made some of the coolest window displays! I found a real passion for fashion while working at Wit & Whimsy, but I also managed to acquire quite a collection of jewelry (imagine that!). I loved working with my sister but knew I wanted something that was more my own, I just hadn't figured out what...

I began talking to my mom **What in the world am I going to do with my lifffeeeeeeeee, MOM HELP!** She mentioned how I was always making jewelry......(as I was working on a secret necklace for her for her birthday--I swear mom's know everything!)...but she was right....I have always made jewelry. Making jewelry for my friends, for my family, for myself...but is that even a job? I had no clue.

For my birthday that year my mom gifted me a 3 day jewelry class. REAL JEWELRY MAKING -- WITH FIRE. I was SO stoked! (Eureka Springs School of the Arts) After the class I was literally HOOKED, I loved it sooooo much and I was really good at it (brag on yourself sometimes, ya'll!)! I knew I was onto something, making jewelry came so naturally. After finding my true love, the rest was history!

That concludes Part 1 : Life Before Jewelry, Part 2 will follow shortly!

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