I am going to highlight another important person for me on my artist's journey that has been incredibly supportive and a big contributor to gaining some of my confidence, my best friend, Brooklyn! Now I met Brooklyn pretty immediately after I made the move to the mountains. I was quite pleased with myself to be able to lock down another brewery job within the first week of moving to Vail, even more so since there was only one, Vail Brewing Co. After the intense competition I went through in Fort Collins it was hard to believe that I was able to have such great success. My first day at VBC was set for the 4th of July, an odd day to start someone new as most everyone knows that the 4th and beer sales go together like two kooks at a party. This day was no exception, with no knowledge of the beers on tap, POS system or where to find anything I eventually found myself relegated to the duty of door-guard and keeper of the capacity limit (this was during the very first re-opening after CO-VID). Out of the chaos and savagery of the day, I briefly met Brooklyn who was the chief beer-tender and trainer that had been with the brewery since its opening. I immediately knew two things about this curly-haired blond: she was an absolute badass and she was from the south. She had that lovely, long speech that had everyone asking: where are you from? Her accent also, somehow, slipped right on to the tip of my own tongue and as I continued to work with Brooklyn, I found myself transforming into a southern bell on Saturdays. Whether or not she noticed, I am not sure, but the time came where I knew had to actively stop myself from putting on my own southern twinge while talking with her if I wanted to be friends.
Like I said, Brooklyn was and is currently a badass. We bonded over our love of hooting and hollering while mountain biking and soon became adventure buddies. I believe that Brooklyn was the first person, outside of my partner and family, that I told I had just launched my website for art. I think I had misjudged what her interest would be, she immediately asked for the link so she could see it. Timid and shy I gave it to her and probably tried to give a long-winded speech about how I had just launched it and it wasn't completely ready and blah blah blah. As a true friend does, she ignored all the blabbering and went straight to the goods. She gave me good and honest feedback on what she liked and what I should work on to make it smoother. She also did it in such a genuine way that instead of feeling mortified by the experience of someone seeing my secret site, I felt amped to make the changes and have more eyes onboard.
Not only was she among the first to see my website, she also holds the distinction of being the very first person to buy one of my Animal Kingdom prints, deer splashes. Not only was I so holy unprepared to make a sale, but I had also not figured out any of my packaging. So, she was fortunate enough to simply get an unwrapped print with a hearty thanks from yours truly. Brooklyn has been an incredible friend and supporter of my little art business, she has shared my work with her friends and family, she has helped me promote my work as well as encouraged me to continue growing my art career through encouraging me to reach out to businesses and participate in markets, shows or applying to murals. I feel so lucky to have found such an incredible friend that encourages me to continue to grow and work for my dreams. It's important to find friends that both push and praise you, it is also important to recognize when you have found one. So here is to Brooklyn, best friend extraordinaire!
I hope you enjoyed meeting my best friend this week, I hope you read along next Sunday!
As always,
Keep it offbeat!
Comentários