A Little About Us!

Hey Y’all! We’ve had a few questions lately and lots of new faces, so let me introduce myself and answer a few of those questions.

•I’m Janice East. 11 1/2 years ago, I started this as a Etsy shop that I managed at night/weekends, while I worked full time at a flower shop. This coming Christmas will mark 8 years of being self employed and this has grown so much more than I ever imagined.

•I was one of the first to make a burlap and lace wedding bouquet on Etsy and that’s all I did for several years. I have 40+ colors of burlap and have shipped to all 50 states and multiple countries.

•I have a 1959 vintage camper, “Miss Gussie” that we use for some of our events. I thought Yamboree 2015 was a one time show, but we left there with an invitation to do another show and it’s kept going from there. We participate in some local market events during the year and will have several fall events. (Mark your calendar’s for September 24!)

•We have expanded to have our own website {www.GypsyFarmGirl.shop} plus our Etsy shop (although I’m not adding much new stuff to Etsy.)

•I knew when I left the flower shop, I would have to diversify beyond burlap and lace, I just didn’t know it would be clothing and printing. We've also had some antique store booths and shows along the way. 

•We make all the shirts you see in our shops. I’ve taught myself about graphics, building websites, and pretty much everything it takes to run my business. This year we’ve added stickers, earrings, tumblers, water bottles, glass cutting boards, recipe towels, ornaments, and more.

•We have a large selection of our tee shirts in P20 / Nan’s place  on the square in our hometown of Gilmer, TX. (Name is changing to Nan’s, but it’s still the same friendly faces located at 100 Davis St.)

•Almost a year ago, I rented the back room of P20 and created a workshop there. So we have our boutique items in the front and create in the back. We love having a dedicated work space, although we still work from home some.  There’s a huge Live Gilmer mural painted on the side of our building and my side door is in the mural or you’re welcome to come in the front door. That's my door and my workshop is behind that Texas!

•Last September, my niece Brenna, started helping me tag shirts getting ready for the fall run and she now helps a few days a week. Prior to that, it was mostly a one woman show. Jeff helps with some things and we will let any of the kids that hang out tag shirts or model!

•When I left the flower shop, I didn’t intend to do fresh flowers, but you ask and referred me to your friends, so I do freelance floral design. I don’t keep flowers on hand all the time, but can get them for events, funerals, or weddings.

•Each day, I create motivational, inspiring, or fun graphics for our pages.

•We love to repurpose and have a very rustic gazebo (that was literally pulled from a trash ditch) and garden. It’s how many of you have found us! I did a tutorial on planting in a Rusty Bottomless Bucket and it got featured by some big bloggers and was a hit on Pinterest. Still my top blog post at www.GypsyFarmGirl.net

•It’s a lot, my schedule is crazy, and there’s never a time when there’s not something to do, but somehow it all works out! You’ll never hear me say “I’m bored.”  Some of my customers were recently told I wasn’t a “real shop.”  I may not work a traditional 9-5 way, but let me reassure you, we are very real. Everything has been built from the ground up - I didn’t even use my last name, city, or promote on Facebook for years, as I built all of this on social media. I believe in a strong work ethic, dedication, taking care of customers, and love getting to make pretty things for all of you.

•Oh, and we have a farm! ❤️🐮

Did I mention I have the best friends and customers? Well, I do! Thank you for being here! We appreciate you all so, so much!

Follow Along on all the Adventures - 

Facebook.com/thegypsyfarmgirl

www.instagram.com/gypsyfarmgirl 

https://www.tiktok.com/@gypsyfarmgirl

Website: www.gypsyfarmgirl.shop

Guitars and Cadillacs

It all started with De Ann rearranging at the shop (P20) and I helped her move some furniture around. Then there was this decorative guitar. What to do with it? I looked at De Ann and her mom and about the same time, we all said that it needed to be painted. Let's be real, it was u.g.l.y.

What if we paint it turquoise? add bling... or fringe... Guitars and Cadillacs! We need a new tee design and a window display! Oh yeah! The ideas were flowing! Let's Channel some Dwight Yoakum, meets Miranda Lambert, throw in some Chris LeDoux and MoMo (De Ann's mom) said she was even thinking Dottie West. We painted the guitar for her and she is working on fixing it up! 

Yeah my guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music

Is the only thing that keeps me hanging on

-Dwight Yoakum

Brenna comes to work about that time and (gasp) she doesn't have a clue about Dwight Yoakum or the Guitars and Cadillacs song. I key it up on my phone and she shrugs... Well, Ok, I'm most definitely taking the designing role on this design! Fast forward through the day and I have visions of crowns, wings, guitars, and old cars. A Spotify Playlist was born and put on repeat. I was busy with orders and Brenna was at the computer working on some other projects. I couldn't wait till after 9:00 to come around. After garden chores, supper, and dishes were done, I knew I could sit down and bring my ideas to the screen. It was more like 9:45 pm when I set down at the computer, but my night owl self loves working in the quiet of the evening, after everything else is done. 

Music is medicine... but here's the thing, it's about so much more than catchy tunes, guitars, Cadillac's, or hillbilly music... You know, all the best designs have a story behind them and this is more than meets the eye. 

Back in the day, I drove 70 ish miles, one way, to college each week. It was the same time Chris LeDoux's 20 Greatest Hits came out and the tape (yes, I had a tape deck in my truck!) would get me almost to PJC and mercy, did I jam out to that almost every week! Cadillac Ranch was one of my favorite songs from that album and ranks right up there at the top of my favorite songs of all time.

Well the well went dry and the cow did too

And daddy didn't know what to do

The banker came by the house one day

He said he's gonna take the farm away

Then mama came up with a plan

My brother and me started up a band

My sister put a sign on the roof

And daddy bought a case of 90 proof

-Chris LeDoux Cadillac Ranch

 It's more than just a family building a bar in an old barn. To me it is about a family overcoming obstacles that life presented them. It wasn't giving up or giving in. It was getting creative and making a living. As I always say, "when life gets tough, get creative" and "keep rolling on." Those two phrases have kept me going the last few years. Life has thrown us a few curve balls and we've had to look for creative ways to keep going. 

(Please note, I am wearing a large in both tees. The tank is a ladies, more fitted style, while the v neck is a unisex style.)

Heck, just last week, we should have had our second farmers market of the year, but sadly it's been cancelled for the year. There was another show I was hoping to do this summer and I couldn't get into it... I'm not gonna lie and tell you we haven't been a little concerned about that... I took off one weekend, wondered what was next, what to create going forward since we wouldn't have summer shows... but by midweek, we were back to creating, worked all weekend, and have several things going on and we are brainstorming on some new things to come. (The Texas Farm to Market tee in the window was/is our farmers market theme tee for the year. We already had a big stack of them made, when we learned the Gilmer Market wouldn't be happening this year, so you can find them online and in the shop.) 

                                                                  Sometimes these wheels

Get a little heavy

And I can't stay between the lines but I'm rocking steady

When I can't fly, I start to fall

But I've got wheels

I'm rolling on

And when I find a place to rest

I'll stay just long enough to catch my breath

This life with you will keep me strong

D**n these wheels

I'm rolling on

-Miranda Lambert, I've Got Wheels

Wings, a crown, flowers, glitter... we needed all that in this design.

Look around and see how farmers are diversifying- maybe they have a pumpkin patch and hay maze in the fall or a YouTube channel to subsidize farm income. I know Jeff watches plenty of them!  Maybe we take pictures of our farm animals and use them in designs or some turn an old barn into a vintage market or wedding venue... we create our own version of Cadillac Ranch. 

Now the only horns around here today

Are the ones up on the grill

Of a genuine '59 Coupe Deville

Of course the caddy needed horns on it! Jeff said we have a 68 model instead of a 59, but the cool thing is that I actually had a 68 Texas license plate that I was able to use on the car.  Just a little editing turned into a car plate, instead of a truck. 

10-4 buddy, come on back
A horse trailer on a cadillac
Yeah, we're talkin' to the cowboy
In the coupe de ville
Chug-a-luggin' up one side
Slidin' down the other
Well I'm a lover of the other
Side of the hill

- Chris LeDoux, Cadillac Cowboy

Anytime Jeff or I either one says 10-4, the other follows it up with...

come on back

A horse trailer on a cadillac... 

So what started with a guitar an ugly paint job, led to so much more!

We will update when Momo gets done with her transformation and we will have to add it to the window when it's done. 

 We were had a Texas Road Trippin' theme for our summer window and Guitars and vintage Cadillacs just right in there with it!

Come see us at P20 at 100 Davis St. Gilmer, TX 75644 (My workshop is located in the back room of the store.) Some items are online or you can always message me on social media or my website (I don't always get notifications of blog comments or they show up as "no reply" so I can't always correspond that way.) It's possible that we may pick up a couple of events this summer, we just don't have any confirmation yet, so stay tuned. 

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11 Years of GypsyFarmGirl

On a cold, dark winter night, 11 years ago, a girl took a huge step and established an Etsy shop, blog, and email address… she didn’t tell anyone she knew, because she didn’t think much would ever come of it. She was simply Janice from Texas - no last name or town… She worked a full time job in town, but wanted to make a little extra with things she created at night and on the weekends… the first year was really slow, but she kept making a few things along the way. She laughs and says she made her Christmas shopping money that year and it was just enough to buy some supplies to make Christmas gifts. She didn’t throw away her burlap scraps and a month later made her first burlap and lace bouquet with those scraps. It was the first of its kind online and now they have been shipped worldwide. She didn’t give up and kept trying and things have turned out to be more than she ever dreamed. Things have evolved, grown, pivoted, shifted, and the last year has been the best one yet… she thrifted her way into business, junked, made wreaths, started upcycling flannels, did a “one time” show that turned into something she really loves, learned a new printing process that opened up a world of opportunities and product lines. She left a job doing flowers, to only have y’all request her work… seriously, more than she ever dreamed that winter night, when she finally got the guts to open a shop.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey.

If she could tell you one thing it’s - don’t fail to do the things, just because you don’t know how. Research, read, research some more, and try, try, try. In this day and time, we have so much information at our fingertips, that we can learn so much...

P.S. I know it's been a while since I blogged... so much has been happening our our business has been growing so much in the last year. My niece Brenna helps me a few days a week now and we have a busy year planned. Honestly, I've been contemplating closing my etsy shop and having my personal website as my only online shop, so if you are reading this in the future, and can't find me on etsy, please refer to my website at www.gypsyfarmgirl.shop (You can also shop our website through Facebook and Instagram, as it is all connected together.)