#alberta maker

Hey!  You found me!  I knew you would!

I’m your friendly local woodworker & maker, prepper, Star Wars aficionado, tea granny, and nacho connoisseur…and that’s just getting started!  Want to know more?  Who is this mysterious woman behind all the wood shavings and paint splotches who has mastered the use of the sarcastic #hashtag?  Carry on, oh curious minds!

This is a little Q&A post that I like to call:

It’s time for you to…

Meet Your Maker.

(and her dog).

Whew, that was terrifyingly epic and super up in your grill  (see: ‘personal motto’, below).

Just sit back and relax…let’s get to know each other.  Sort of like a first date.  What’s that?  I didn’t bring you flowers?  Damn…ok, think of this as more of a job interview then.  No, no!  I said relax!  you look so nervous!  Why are you nervous?  I’m the one being interviewed!  Wait….now I’M nervous.  Should I be nervous if I’m technically interviewing myself?  Wow…that got awkward fast.

*ahem*…so…let’s shed some light on this mystery woman behind RRA Restorations!

Partying the night away, or chill at home?

I am a raging introvert, so definitely chill at home.  Ok, maybe introverts don’t rage…so more like quietly and unobtrusively smoldering in the corner, but you get the idea.  I love to enjoy the comforts of home, and when I do occasionally go out I have a code word for my husband so that he knows when I am ‘peopled out’ and need to return to the sanctuary of my home.  Since I love being home so much I really try to turn my house into a comfortable little nest.  I am SUPER tactile, so I have plush blankets, cushy slippers for my tired toes, and soft yoga pants for every occasion.  Basically, if I touched it and liked touching it, I kept it.  Although it is getting a little bit difficult to explain to my husband why I need THIS many scarves (they make me feel pretty, Ok?!).

What is one thing you can’t live without?

I know I’m supposed to be all mushy here and say my husband and my dog…but seriously, I just bought a milk frother and my London Fogs have been on point lately!  We’re talking about a huge quality of life upgrade here!

You know it’s hard out here for a mutt.

My husband and my dog are obviously very important as well, I mean, look how adorable they are!  (But did you know that you can order vanilla syrup from amazon and it will deliver right to your door?  I will never have to leave my house for Sbux quality drinks again!).

Don’t judge, I’m only kidding.  Mostly.

What is your personal motto?

“If you can’t overdo it, it’s not worth doing.”  I figure, if you’re going to paint something in a really snazzy bright colour you may as well add glitter!  I have trouble knowing when to stop adding…minimalism is a challenge.  #thestruggleisreal

Another thing I try to do every day is to wake up and say “something amazing will happen today”…and the crazy part?  Something amazing usually does happen!  Of course, not everyday is easy and on rough days I always tell myself that “things always look better in the morning”.  As they say, you may as well look on the brighter side of life…none of us get out alive anyhow!

So how did the ‘biz’ get started?

I took a personality test once that totally pegged me.  It said that I would likely have many careers over the span of my life due to carrying wildly differing interests, and that I am happiest stepping out of the box and creating an independent life outside of restrictive corporate culture.  In my young life I’ve already been a golf course turf care queen, barista, gold explorer, ‘black gold’ hunter, geologist, and lab analyst.  That said, let’s flash back to several unhappy years ago when I was working for a company that I felt didn’t care about me, and I was getting totally burned out.  I had been with this company for three years when the economy sputtered in Alberta, and in 2015 both my husband and myself were laid off within a week of each other (from two different companies).  I knew then that I needed to do something different because I couldn’t spend another miserable moment working for someone else.  We began to lay the groundwork for businesses that we could build and grow with.

I’ve always been creative and, much to my husband’s chagrin, I always have a project (or two) on the go.  My interests have always been varied and far reaching.  I like to think that I have a curious and wandering soul…I am more than just a personality test, after all!  I crochet, write, paint, and am learning photograpy.  I’ve taken clay working classes, water colour classes, acrylic painting classes, and I am a self-taught Popsicle structure artist (I attempted to build a miniature scale Titanic out of Popsicle sticks when I was 14…I say ‘attempted’ because it turned out it required more Popsicle sticks to finish it than I could afford with my allowance…#embarrassing).  I even play a few instruments, and do a bit of scrap-booking & card-making.  Eventually my projects began to overrun the house…I loved making things but was running out of room to put everything so I started to think about selling the things I make.  I loved making, and didn’t want to have to stop just because my house was starting to look like a hoarder lived in it!

RRA Restorations was born as much out of a need for me to feel like a productive and working member of society as it was a deep need in my soul for me to feel that I was doing fulfilling work that allowed me to make my own decisions while being a little wild and free (which these days means working at midnight because apparently that is when my brain gets totally jazzed on creativity).

What is your favourite thing to make?

I love Alberta and everything that makes this province the unique and beautiful place that it is.  I love to make wooden art signs with the shape of our gorgeous province of Alberta painted on them, and as an adorable added touch I paint little hearts on the location of people’s hometowns.  I love custom wooden sign orders, there are some wonderfully crazy people out there and I never know what they are going to ask me to design!  Right now I’m working on a sign in the shape of a pooping dog…don’t ask!

I also love up-cycling and reclaiming things that had a past life into something new and fun!  The tagline for my company is that this is “where history and handmade meet”.  I love that so many of my items had a story before we got our hands on them, and that with a little bit of love from us their story didn’t have to end.  Living in the country (a.k.a the boonies) I am lucky enough to have access to a lot of weathered farm wood so I can make gorgeous barn board signs, or something like these cute little coasters cut from wooden fence posts salvaged from local farms.

I’m also currently restoring an antique treadle sewing table that I’m super excited about!  It is so intricately handcrafted, and shows such pride of craftsmanship.  The damn thing still works over 100 years later!  They sure don’t make ’em like this anymore.

You know I can do a mean chicken dance.

So…this prepping thing…?

The zombies are coming and I’m not going to be the first to get eaten.

I kid!  I live in an area that is prone to natural disasters and I have an obsession with making sure that I am prepared for anything.  I’m currently saving up for a generator to deal with power outages (which frequently occurs living rural), and am working on prepping a garden plan in which the plants will complement each other and provide benefits to each other so that everything grows in a happy little symbiotic harmony.  I’ve always been interested in being self sufficient and independent.  Sort of like the Alaska Bush People, but with running water and television…I’m not a caveman.

I’m totally into personal safety and preparation for any emergency, and I love to help everyone around me get interested in it too!  If you think that this is something that you might be interested in be sure to check out my blog post on how to create your own Family Emergency Plan and build your first Bug-out Bag.  You will feel so much safer and prepared, and your family with thank you!

You seem totes wacky and I want to know more!

Aw shucks!  Well, thanks!  You can always keep up with my newest antics by signing up here for my blog updates, or you can check me out on my website here, or check out my latest projects on my Instagram here!

One last VERY important question…

Best video gaming platform?

Hands down Nintendo 64, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise…you know I would win because Legend of Zelda taught me mad chicken-slaying sword skills.

  There you have it!  A sneak peak into my world.  Until next time…

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