Come journey with me as I dabble in a few of my many hobbies.
What's in a name?
Some of you may wonder where I came up with the name The Eclectic Dandelion. I will explain. In the 90's I owned a craft/art gallery called Eclectic Junction in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. The gallery closed in 2003 and I spun it off into a mail-order catalog and then later a web site. Each of those didn't prove to be very profitable so I kept plugging along and kept forming new businesses that always had something to do with the arts. To date Eclectic Junction is the "parent" company to many of my spin-off companies.
I always try to play with words for business names. My first spin-off was called Pull-a-Switch where I sold hand-crafted light switch plates and cabinet knobs made by USA artisans all across the country. Everything that I sold was on a website or at a mall kiosk.
My second spin-off was called Re-Jeanivations. This was when I was obsessed with making purses out of re-purposed jeans and purse parts. I sold these at art fairs and I sold every one I ever made, which was probably 50 of them (not bragging, just shocked they all sold).
Once I got over making purses out of jeans I started collecting neckties that I found at thrift stores. I switched gears and made purses, pillows, pins and panels using the neckties I had collected. This business I call Tie One On. I'm still making and selling these, which are for sale on this site.
In 2012, I attended a social painting class or a "sip and paint" as many call it. I was hooked and knew that with the connections I have with artists that I could form my own "sip and paint" and that's how Cork and Palette was born. Between 2012 and 2014 business was booming and I held, at least, two painting parties a week. But then the novelty wore off and business slowly fizzled. We were a roaming company and I didn't have any overhead so that was ok. Today, Cork and Palette still hosts parties, but mostly corporate team building parties. To book a party in the Chicagoland area go to www.corkandpalette.com.
My next business will be called Jigsaw Junction. I am moving to Carolina Beach, NC in August and I am planning to start a business where I host Jigsaw puzzle tournaments.
I attended one last year and it was a blast for me. I always have a puzzle in the works and probably finish 20 a year. My rule is that I try to only do 750 piece puzzles. This makes them harder to find and I just like the size. 500 pieces is too small and 1000pieces is too big. 750 pieces is just right!
So now you know where the Eclectic comes from, but what about Dandelion? I used to shop at a consignment shop that was called Dandelion and the tag line was "where one person's weed is another's flower. I loved this and knew that one day I would incorporate that in one of my businesses. So her I am with the birth of The Eclectic Dandelion. Welcome.