Hope

We made it. It is officially 2021 and what an honor it is to welcome it.

2020 was a terrible year for most, in fact that is the consensus worldwide; however, personally, I thrived, well, I certainly tried to at least. I do admit that I was never bored being quarantined solo, I was creating my Just B.E.E. inventory, after all. It doesn’t mean that I don’t get down, I just refuse to stay down. It also doesn’t mean that I don’t miss people. It’s hard not seeing friends, really hard, but in this day and age, it’s hard to lose contact with someone unless that’s your goal. 

My first meditation of 2021 was inspiring. I have been meditating for years but became increasing practiced during quarantine. It really has kept me present; I am less anxious and am more mindful. Warning: it is addicting; once you find your peace, you immediately want to go back to find it again. 

As you may or may not know, the Universe gives us signs, everyday we are surrounded, it is our job to see the signs as signs and decipher them. During my meditation, I heard the lyrics, “Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow”. I laugh just thinking of this sign, but it was crystal clear. What the heck? I knew it was a familiar song from the 90s but couldn’t immediately recall the name of the song or who sang it. It turns out that the song is called “Brimful of Asha” *by Cornershop. OK, cool. Now what? As I scroll down my Google search, I see that Asha is a Hindi word meaning HOPE. I know, I know, some might think this is purely coincidental and maybe you’re right, but I choose to believe that the Universe handed me lyrics to a song that I haven’t heard in decades after what was seemingly a gut-wrenching year for mostly everyone for a message of hope. I know that I could use it and will always need it in my life, and I have a feeling you wouldn’t say no to a Brimful of Asha either.

Here’s to a New Year full of Hope and Enlightenment; Prosperity and Health. Be Evolving Everyday.
*the actual song has a different context, I am referring only to the word “asha”.

Evolving

My journey to Just B.E.E. has been a long one for sure. When I was a little girl, as most girls back then, I loved to play with Barbie dolls. I would especially love to “makeover “ my Barbies; by make-over, I mean cut their hair, and redress them in stylish new attire, usually hand-sewn by your truly, because I was surely not going to wait until a holiday or birthday to get "real" Barbie clothes. I was interested in sewing from the first time I saw my mother sewing a button, or whatever it was that she was mending at the time. My mom showed me how to thread a needle and a couple of stitches and my Barbies were the best dressed dolls this side of Philadelphia. Disclosure, not sure I would give a 5-6-year-old a needle, but it was a different time for sure.

I, of course, grew out of Barbie and my creative nature went towards crafts and DIY projects. As a young mom and homeowner, I upcycled constantly. I would look at a piece and envision how I wanted it to look. A coat of paint and new upholstery can change an aesthetic completely when there is no extra money to be spent.

Life happened and I was a single mother and found myself having to scale down; however, I remained creative. I was always repairing, instead of tossing. I also became more socially conscience and Earth friendly, not even realizing that I had always been. Reusing was second nature to me at this point and I am still always looking curbside for my next treasure.

It is a curbside find and refurbish that brings me to this journey of this start-up small business, Just B.E.E. It was in the early weeks of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic and I was laid off from my full-time job; home with time on my hands, I went to what I know, CREATING, MAKING. While I was working on a project, I decided I ordered a fabric that made the whole project look drab and you know that I could not have drab. I bought new fabric and used it and it was just what the project needed, but what was I going to do with the fabric that I had originally ordered?

It is a curbside find and refurbish that brings me to this journey of this start-up small business, Just B.E.E. It was in the early weeks of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic and I was laid off from my full-time job; home with time on my hands, I went to what I know, CREATING, MAKING. While I was working on a project, I had decided that I had ordered a fabric that made the whole project look drab and you know that I could not have drab. I bought new fabric and used it and it was just what the project needed, but what was I going to do with the fabric that I had originally ordered?

I hand sewed a few little card/trinket holders with that fabric. I showed those now “prototypes” to friends and with some encouragement (and lots of meditating), I ordered a sewing machine and threw myself into learning all that I needed to know about how to work on the sewing machine. I was suddenly designing these accessories that were being deposited into my head and creating functional accessories. After tons of hours and lots of hard work, my collections were building. And so, it began…