On A Limb Paper: Interview with Bela Si Boutique

Back when I was a teacher, I worked at a wonderful school in North Carolina that was full of a creative and amazing staff. Sarah, of Bela Si Boutique, is no exception. So apart from being a great teacher and mother, she has also started her own line of music inspired clothing on Etsy. And, she's also got a great giveaway for the little music fan in your life. Read on...

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: My name is Sarah Edmonson and I live in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. I married my college sweetheart, Brian, and we have two wonderful children. Silas just turned 6 and Bela Grae is 3 years old. They are what inspire and drive me. By day, I am a special education teacher at a local elementary school, and by night, I am a seamstress, designer, creator, entrepreneur and, Oh, I forgot to mention homemaker! My interests have changed over the years as the fads change, but one true constant in my life is that I love to create things. As a kid, when most girls were playing with Barbie Dolls, I was playing with Modpodge. I used to ask my mom if I could have old photo albums, serving trays, lamps, you name it, and I would get old magazines and start creating. In college, a friend of mine who was following PHISH and sewing clothes so she could pay for the next show taught me how to sew. This is where my passion for sewing began. I have experiments with sewing my own clothes (in college) using thrift store fabric to make dresses, bibs, whirly skirts, etc...for my daughter. Music is a big part of my life, as my husband plays numerous instruments from the banjo, guitar, bongo, drums, to the dobro. He helped me bridge my love for music into my other passion...creating things.

APART FROM CREATING CLOTHING, WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO? In my free time, I love to spend time with my family. Whether it is at home playing the Wii or traveling to music festivals or listening to live local music at the corner coffee shop. I enjoy quiet time, girl talk, and smelling the roses. My friends tell me I am a spontaneous soul, so I am up for whatever the moment holds in store for me.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE ITEM IN YOUR SHOP RIGHT NOW: This is a hard question...I love my acoustic guitar long sleeved tees. Although, I love hand dying tees & working with vinyl and felt projects. Working with graphics to create a personalized vinyl design is something I have been dipping my hands into lately. There are so many options and ideas for your home, and it adds so much personality to bare walls. Oh, I almost forgot, I love baby leg warmers. They are so cute to see on little chunky legs. I'm sure you get the picture...if only there were 48 hours in one day to keep up with all the ideas in my head...LOL.

HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR WORK: At the present time, a majority of sales are generated by word of mouth, and people stopping my kids on the street to get a closer look. I love to try new applique designs for my children. I can't tell you how many times we've been stopped on the street, at music festivals or even in the grocery store with questions and positive comments from people. It just drives me to spend more time doing what I love. My husband kept telling me over and over, that I should look into creating these designs for others to enjoy. BAM! Bela Si Boutique was born. Now, I have a local shop in Wilmington, NC selling my music inspired designs. I opened a shop on Etsy recently, but I am still working on getting all of my designs listed.

FAVORITES: I love getting together with friends and unwinding. My most favorite movie of all time is...Beaches! What a tearjerker. I love to cook, but opt out of it most of the time. My husband and I enjoy spending time together catching up on the news of the day, and bouncing ideas off of each other that we've come up with along the course of the day.

IN FIVE YEARS I'D LIKE TO... have a little shop where I could see my own creations, as well as other local artists works. This would be awesome. I hope it can be my reality.

What a wonderful day for a giveaway!