Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheree McArthur.
Hi Sheree, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
11 Years ago I was a full time educator in the St. Johns County school system. It was the beginning of summer break and my mother had a stroke. I soon became her care taker as she moved into my home. I took family leave time to care for her. When my family leave time was over I had to make a difficult decision. I decided to take an early retirement and care for my mom full time. No one is ever prepared for a life transition such as this. It was of course a full time focus with so many Dr. appointments and her care.
I quickly found myself feeling overwhelmed and stressed. I had a space in my home where I could be creative. I found myself migrating to my space to help relieve my stress in being a caretaker. I started to experiment and create, repurposing became my focus. I had moved to the beach and wanted my home to have more of a beachy vibe so I started by painting my furniture. There were many people in and out of the home to help care for my mom. They noticed what I was doing and began to ask if I did it for others. At that time the thought of doing it for others never entered my mind. After enough people asked, I decided why not? Being creative was my therapy and if people were interested in paying me for it, well, that was a plus. After all, I had just retired early from my job and as thus my income greatly reduced. So began my journey and my business, Seabreeezy Designs.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Some of my biggest struggles along the way were in overcoming my own fears. What kinds of things would I create? Would people like what I created? Would people buy it? Where would I sell it? How much time would it take, how do you even go about starting a business. Starting my own business was something that was never on my radar. I had to figure out what I wanted my business to look like, what would my focus be, how would I fit it in with caring for my mother? I couldn’t enter into something that would consume my time as, at that time, I did not have a lot of time to give. I had to have flexibility in my day and life. How much of a monetary investment would it take and, what skill did I have that others would be interested in?
11 years ago I was 56 years old. I had no idea how to reinvent myself or my interests. It was daunting, challenging and life giving all at the same time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Most of my professional career was spent in education. When this life transition happened I entered into a creative realm. At first I had a hard time calling myself an artist, but now I proudly do. I specialize in repurposing. I started mainly with painted furniture, giving my work a beachy vibe. We live in a coastal community and the coastal look is in demand. During my furniture painting journey I had no clue what kind of paint to even use. I scoured Pinterest and found a recipe for homemade chalk paint. It was terrible. As more and more people asked me to do custom work I knew I had to find a paint line that I could have confidence in and so I set out to find just that paint line. I found a family owned paint company located in GA and began to use their product. I loved it so much I became a retailer for the company. This brand of paint, Rethunkjunkbylaura, sets me apart from many artists in that it is not a chalk paint. I use this paint in all of my work whether it is furniture 0r home decor such as paintings, etc. I also teach others how to use the product.
8 years ago I found Coconut Barrel (It wasn’t my first location but it where I remain). Coconut Barrel provided a space where I could teach classes. Remember, I was an educator and teaching is in my blood. I was soon adding classes to my business model. Once a month I was teaching people how to paint their own furniture. They bring in a small piece of furniture, something they can carry in, and for 3 hours I take them through the process, using the paint I sell. They leave with their painted piece. I love teaching classes. I have met so many wonderful folks who attend my classes, it gives me joy to see others bring creative and learning new artistic skills. I don’t just teach furniture painting classes, I offer others as well. Many folks who have never heard of or been to the Coconut Barrel will come for the first time because they have seen my classes on Facebook. Teaching classes was one of the ways I built a community for myself in the hardest times of caring for my mom. It was a lonely time, I missed my previous career and I missed fellowshipping with other folks. Classes were a life saver for me.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My business is very small. I have a booth at the Coconut Barrel which is an artist market. I’ve been with them since they began 8 years ago. I have met many vendors from Coconut Barrel. Lots of folks come and go. I enjoy networking with the other vendors in our market and learning from them. For folks just starting out I’d say don’t be afraid to ask questions. In my former life as an educator, I was an instructional coach. I worked directly with teachers helping them become better at teaching so mentoring and networking was already in my thought process. After I learn how to do something I look for ways to share it with others, hence my classes.
As I offer to help others with the skills I have, I in turn learn from them.
Pricing:
- Pricing of my work varies according to the pieces I create
- Because I use mostly repurposed materials I can price my pieces affordably.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.seabreezy.com
- Instagram: @seabreezydesigns
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ipaintlotsofstuff
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@seabreezydesigns
