Up until now this blog has been about Korea.  But now it has to move with me.  Here we are in The middle of the bible belt and loving it.  Life is no longer about battling the Army at Camp Humphrey’s. My husband is still stuck there, so we are not fully withdrawn, but I have to write about whats current.

I like it here, because my kids can live in a healthy place. They even can learn how to split wood with the wood delivery guy. (We have a fireplace).

I chose to come back to Missouri because I remembered how to do life in this place.  We lived here for 6 years before we moved to Korea. Now is the time to be comforted by that familiarity and use it as a springboard to achieving things that have only become possible recently.  For example; going back to college for my degree in business.  Due to the post 9/11 G.I. Bill, I can use part of my husbands’ benefits to get to learn and have a shot at a better job.  Being a home maker for the last 16 years left me under confident and scared of the future.  I am deeply grateful to my husband for this opportunity.

But back to the blog.  I want to change it to share about life here and a project I have been working on. I have become a junking- treasure hunting- bargain hungry- antique booth operator.  Specializing turning cast-offs into current home decor is what makes me happy.  My dad used to take me and my sister to the Spring Valley swap-meet at least 2 times a month. From the time I could barely walk until age 24 I enjoyed going (when I moved away).  So this stuff is in my blood.  My first job was selling portrait packages for Olan Mills and subsequent jobs landed me in retail.  But I never enjoyed just the sales end of the business.  I loved to merchandise displays and I did that for a few years at Macy’s and J.C. Penny’s before I became a stay at home mom.

                                                                                         This was my booth before anything was up.

But the dream that has sat on the back burner since I was a kid has been the desire to have my own storefront, brick and mortar shop.  A wonderful place to find just the thing that you never knew you needed until you saw it.  Antiques and collectables spilling from paint crackled chests.  Sparkly jewelry hanging from polished manzanita branches.  New age music playing gently in the background while wonderful smelling things perfumed the air.  Of course coffee would be a necessity to offer in the shop and maybe smoothies too.  Throw in some good books and comfy chairs…Now we’re talking.  Feather boas, cool and funky resale clothing.  How about WI-FI so customers could hang out with their computer and latte’? Gift cards with fairies on them and hand lotions with lavender.  Maybe a meeting room so gals could hold seminars or crafting classes, a safe haven from life.  We all gotta stick together and community could flourish in a place like this.

This is my booth after my first pieces of inventory were added.

In order to test myself to see if I am ready to jump into being a small business owner, I have rented an 8×12 foot space at the biggest antique mall in the area; Heartland Antiques. I spent ten hours refurbishing my space and putting my brand on it.  Tribe of Stinson is now a shop! A little one, but still a real place. It will take a lot of effort and time to make it successful but I am relishing the challenge.  Finally,  I have an excuse to visit as many thrift stores and yard sales as I can.  No longer will guilt accompany these pleasurable outings.  Now I can be serious about them because it is motivated by a drive to do good in my venture.

This is my booth now; funky and packed with all sorts of goodies.

I’m going to stick with school while I work my booth.  It is best to keep learning, after all there are no get rich quick schemes here.  But I am happy to have the chance to learn in the classroom as well as the antiques business.  I want to get the blog more active too and show you what I’m making for the booth.  So, that’s what Tribe of Stinson is going to be about for now.  Living in the mid-west and junking.  Thoughts about Korea will still spill out as living there has profoundly affected my view on everything from socks to art. But mostly I will just show you cool stuff I’m making and neat things that I love about this area of America.

Please join me while this dream gets up and running.  Everything is fresh again.