This is my beautiful friend Molly Stephenson. She left town temporarily, to go work with some couple in Waco. (Chip & Jo?) Why would she do a thing like that? Leave us to go work on the team at Magnolia? Who knows!?
All I know is that she’s back, and I’m thrilled!
She returned to the Dallas area to be near family. And when she moved back, she decided she was only going to say “yes” to the things that bring her joy. This means that learning to say “no”, has consistently freed her up to say “yes” to the other things that are life-giving to her soul. Things like finding a job where she could combine her design skillset with hand-lettering, doing graphic design for a small paper goods company. Things like saying yes to us! (We get the joy of experiencing one of Molly’s Modern Calligraphy workshops during our Simmer Down GNO!)
But she hasn’t always held those strong boundaries.
Just like a wildflower, Molly’s modern calligraphy journey, through her company Love Letters Handmade, has been all about growth, especially when the heat is on. In the past, she found herself constantly saying yes to everything, discounting her own desires to please other people. Saying “yes” for fear she wouldn’t get asked again. Learning to say “no” has been one of the hardest, yet most rewarding parts of this journey.
Want to know what’s been the very hardest thing?
For this wildflower with a self-proclaimed “Type A” personality, the very hardest thing has been overcoming the fear of putting her work ‘out there’ because of what other people will think, or say. She was used to working in the corporate world, where you get feedback all the time, but it was never personal. As a corporate designer, she says it was easy to hide behind the bigger thing the team was working on.
“The hardest thing has been learning that it’s okay if people don’t love what you put out into the world.
Some people aren’t going to like my work and that’s totally okay. I share a lot on social and sometimes people aren’t kind. I’ve learned that it has nothing do to with me. People can be really mean about spelling errors and I’m a terrible speller. So I’ve had to learn to laugh at my own mistakes and keep going anyway. I’ve learned to reframe the negativity. I constantly remind myself that it’s a learning experience, not a personal failure. Every day I’m one step closer to my goals. If I don’t fail, if I’m not scared of what’s next, I’m not moving forward. It’s helped me grow my confidence in myself. I’ve learned that I can do hard things and I love sharing that journey with others.
I love sharing something that I’m passionate about with people who want to learn.
Lettering is a new skill and not many people are great at first. But compared to a lot of other new skills, gratification comes more quickly. If you go to the gym every day for a week, you don’t see a lot of improvement. But if you practice lettering every day for a week, you will see an immediate improvement. I love to see people’s joy when they learned something new and they were better than they expected to be. ”
I guess that explains why she’d do a thing like coming back to Dallas after working with the iconic “Magnolia” team.
When you’ve become strong after weathering the storms, you have a burning desire to keep getting stronger. When you’ve learned to push yourself and keep growing, you want to help others push themselves to grow and flourish too.
When your heart is growing wild and free, you can’t help but want the same for others.
What storms have you weathered that have made you stronger, wilder, and freer?
I know they’re part of you.
You have a heart like a wildflower too.
to more love,
Crystal
P.S. Join Molly and me for “Simmer Down GNO ~ a handlettering class to create your cozy before the holiday rush begins”! Don’t put off this special night. Say yes to something life-giving and get your ticket today.
