I got to the hotel a little later than I originally had planned, and so rushed up to my room to do a quick re-fresh. After reapplying some lipstick, spraying on some perfume, and giving myself a little “You can do this!” pep talk, I rode the elevator downstairs to head to the Haven Meet & Greet Event.
I stepped off the elevator and saw her immediately–Marian, or Miss Mustard Seed as you may know her. In case you may be new here, I have a little blog crush on Marian. Her blog is the first blog I ever read and is quite honestly the entire reason I started mine. I was so inspired by her story of success and her creative style that I became convinced I could do this whole blog thing too.
I knew she was going to be at the Haven Conference and wanted to meet her so badly, so when I saw her sitting quietly in a corner with another lady I ran right over and asked to take a picture with her. Here it is!!!
*crickets, crickets*
Except, that’s actually not what happened. I so wanted to go over and confidently introduce myself and assume we would hit it off and be instantly best friends and take the cutest selfie ever, but I hesitated, and instead continued walking.
Maybe it was pride, maybe it was nerves, maybe it was just that I was hungry–I don’t know. But I decided to leave Marian be and hope that I might get the opportunity later to try again.
To help make this story of my conference experience make more sense, it’s time for me to make a confession.
I have a problem with in any new situation, always trying to go for “the big win.”
I guess at the core it’s just ambition–and ambition is not a bad thing, but really a great blessing. But I have learned that in my desire to always get the big win, I usually miss out on the so many other, wonderful “small wins” that are waiting at my fingertips. Those small wins are usually richer, longer-lasting, and more authentic, which in the long run really makes them a greater achievement than one big win.
I knew I would struggle with going for the big win at Haven, and I was reminded of that the first moment I stepped off the elevator and saw Marian.
Thankfully my loving husband reminded me to go in with the attitude of a learner . . . to look for the small wins that were awaiting me at every turn . . . to let go of the ambition and just take in everything that was around me.
So after the Marian encounter, I gave myself a little pep talk about the need to just relax, be a learner, and let go of my giant expectations (funny, sounds like a reverse pep talk, doesn’t it?)
Here is my story then of my Haven Conference “small wins” . . .
I shared a room with Ashley, a fellow Texan and Fusion merchant. She became my “safe place,” the person with whom I could admit my addiction to my morning coffee and decompress at the end of a long day of information overload.
I marveled at all that I don’t know about Facebook with Laura, and (hopefully) offered her some encouragement that it is possible to learn how these crazy algorithms work.
I talked about life as a mom to three little boys with Pam, and confessed to her how much I was missing mine.
I ate breakfast with Rachel and Sandy, and started navigating the crazy world of marketing yourself to the Brand Sponsors with them.
I talked with Vicki and Jennifer about how much I love Fusion, and marveled at how fun it must be to blog as a Mother/Daughter team.
I sweated bullets and drank lemonade with Sharon while we talked about how we live just down the road from each other.
I ate a late night dinner of chicken enchiladas with Nancy, Sharon, and Dianne, and talked about our love of junkin’ and how we all have so much more to learn about the blog world.
I finally met an internet friend Rachel, and confirmed in my heart that if we lived in the same town we would be great friends.
I was inspired by the amazing success of KariAnne and laughed and she graciously chided me for not knowing how to take a good selfie.
I had a surprise connection with Jenny as she overheard me talking about Fusion at lunch. I walked away from my time talking with her energized and feeling like I found a great potential blog friend.
I sat a table over a meal with Kim and had my spirit soar when she said she knew my blog.
I visited with Julie and Lauren, told them all about Fusion, and connected over our mutual Texas roots.
I cried with Bree, a fellow follower of Christ, as we talked through how to pursue our love for beautiful spaces while also staying true to our call to live in contentment and with an eternal perspective.
I talked in person with beautiful Rachel, another internet friend and fellow furniture painter. She offered me great encouragement that a year in blogging can make all the difference, and gave me a tips about what Brand Sponsors to go after.
I connected with Kim over the shared experience of two difficult pregnancies, and delighted to hear about her unexpected publishing opportunities.
I peppered Melanie and Wendy with questions about their Fusion Mineral Paint business and what it looks like to have your own shop. Their authenticity about the realities of running your own storefront was invaluable.
I talked with Rachel and April about the challenges of blessings of being a mom to young children who also happens to run a business out of her home.
And lastly, I was reminded by Mandi that writing a blog isn’t just some silly endeavor, but can really be something that changes someone’s life.
That’s a lot of small wins, don’t you think? And you know what? All of those small wins add up to be one, big, gigantic win 🙂 So if you were included in this small win list, please don’t be offended that you were listed as “small.” You are not small in importance or effect at all, but rather please know that you touched me this past weekend in a significant way.
But I bet you are still wondering about Miss Mustard Seed . . . After all this talk about being a learner and going for the small wins, yada yada yada, I’m sure you still want to know if I ever did get to meet her.
The answer is yes 🙂
My very last session of the conference, I walked into the room a little late and saw a few open seats right near the front next to who else, but Marian. I decided it was now or never, so I sidled right up next to her and acted like me sitting next to her was the most natural thing in the world.
After talking with a few other people around me, I finally got up the nerve to tap her shoulder and introduce myself. I told her about how she has been my inspiration, and about how everything I know how to do I have learned from her.
I was hoping she would remember a few of our online interactions or show some indication that she has an idea who I am . . . but she didn’t. And that’s OK! Honestly, it was the end of the conference and I know she had been approached by 6 million people wanting to meet her, and how in the world can she remember every single person who has ever emailed or commented on her page?
We talked for a bit about furniture painting, and I was thinking about pulling out the camera and asking for a picture with her, but then I decided to let it go. Meeting and talking with her was enough to count for the win.
That was when she reached over, whispered something to her friend next to her, and pulled out this:
She offered me this brush from her new line, in partnership with Shaunna West of Perfectly Imperfect.
Since I told her I paint a lot of furniture, she wanted to give me one. “We are really trying to offer them to people who are serious furniture painters,” she said.
Of every piece of swag I brought home from the conference, this brush is by far my favorite. It is my big win–and it’s a bigger win than a picture with Miss Mustard Seed.
It’s a bigger win because it’s a statement of my legitimacy in my own right. Yes Marian, I am a serious furniture painter. I am not Miss Mustard Seed, nor will I ever be, but I am Melanie with Lost & Found and I paint beautiful furniture. Owning me as just me is a big win.
Thank you to all of those who were kind, encouraging, and instructive this weekend at the Haven Conference. I am so glad I went and so excited to see where all of these small wins take me over the next year.
Good for you, Melanie. It sounds like you learned a lot and made good friends. Hooray for small wins!
Beautiful post. You’re definitely a force in your own right.
Thank you Teresa. Your encouraging words mean a great deal to me!
I’m sure you’ll paint a lot of beautiful furniture wth your new brush! Wish I still lived in a Texas so I could buy some. I hope you put “Melanie” on the Big Win list. 🙂
You are so sweet Arli. Thank you for your comment. I can’t wait to try out my brush tomorrow 🙂
Melanie, love this! It was such a pleasure to meet you and share this Haven experience with you! Thank you for including me in your post! I can’t wait to see what the next year holds for both of us.
Happy Painting to you! (with your awesome new brush!!)
Laura Jo
You are so welcome Laura! It was a delight to meet and spend time with you. And yes, who knows what all can happen in a year!
So thrilled to share time, stories and life with you this week. You are a beautiful hearted soul that loves the Lord. I was blessed by our small time together and hope we get to spend “bigger” time together soon!!! I feel like your brush is the best trophy swag ever…much deserved! kim
I was a treasure talking with you as well Kim, and I do hope we can do it more in the future! All the best 🙂
yay yay yay mel i just knew you would love haven and i am so glad you did…now on to bigger and better things xx
Thanks Chris 🙂 I’m already giving my new brush a good workout today on a giant china hutch, so you’re right about the “bigger” things!
What a wonderful post! Attending Haven in the future is a goal of mine. For the record, I would have considered meeting you in person as big of an honor as meeting Marian…and that says a lot as I am a long time huge fan of Miss Mustardseed! Congratulations on a successful conference full of many small wins and wishing you a future filled with all of the big and small wins you can dream up!
Dorene you are too kind . . . I wish you could have been there 🙂 I really was skeptical about Haven being worth my time and money attending, but I can definitely say that it was. I so hope you can make it in future years. Thank you so much for your encouraging words–I wish you all the best as well!
What a lovely post.
Truly.
You captured the exact essence of the event and how it’s such an amazing place to connect and share and create together.
Thanks for including me rock star. 🙂
karianne
Thank you KariAnne. I learned so much from you and you’re excitement was infectious 🙂 I can’t wait to try and put into practice the things I learned from you at Haven. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading the post!
What a great post! So true, I think all of the small wins are what made the conference so meaningful to me. I learned as much from chatting with other bloggers as I did from sitting in on sessions with the “big” ones. So in the end, it was a HUGE win for me, when you pull it all together. So jealous of your Miss Mustard Seed paint brush! If it makes you feel any better, I totally geeked out when I saw her and called her Miss Mustard Seed vs. her actual name. I swear, I’m like a groupie or something – I lose all of my wits when I see big bloggers!
It was great meeting you and I look forward to learning more about Fusion paint too!
That’s funny Jenny . . . I tried to be super cool when I talked to her and act like it was no big deal, like “Marian” and I are old friends. Ha! I used my brush yesterday and am loving it 🙂 Let’s talk more soon about Fusion.
Ummm…. YES! We absolutely would be great friends. And we should be. 3 hours is not that far… just come visit. 😉 Big big hugs to you, my friend. I loved connecting with you, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you and your business moving forward.
xx
Rachel
Thanks Rachel 🙂 I do wish we would have had the opportunity to visit more. It would be fun to bring the boys down and visit sometime–release them to go explore that creek bed you have 🙂 Or maybe that’s not such a great idea . . .
So glad to read you had a great time, Melanie, and I enjoyed this post. I love your attitude of being a “learner” … we tell our kids the same thing all the time … be a sponge, not a brick … unless your hanging out somewhere you shouldn’t be! 😀
That’s a great line Cynthia–a sponge vs a brick. Would you mind if I borrowed it to use with my kids too? 🙂
It was such a treat meeting you last week! I enjoyed talking with you about blogging and ambition, and I’m happy to read that you were able to take so much away from the conference. I certainly hope you attend next year and look forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you Sharon–you too! I love that we live so close, I hope we can catch up in person soon.
What a lovely post Melanie! It was so great meeting you in person! I really enjoyed our chats and have been wondering what you decided to do about the shop?! Can’t wait to spend time with you again. Cheers, Wendy
Hi Wendy 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment. I am so glad we got to visit and talk too. I think for now I am going to wait on the shop–I thought your idea about trying out some regular “booth” hours was great and a good place to start. Thank you for your wisdom!
It sounds like an amazing event. We attended the DBC this year for the first time and met so many of our blog friends in person and made new friends. These conferences are wonderful ways to connect – would love to attend Haven…happy weekend!
I am not familiar with the DBC event, but it sounds like it was win for you. I’m glad! I really did enjoy Haven and continue to benefit every day from what I learned there.
Thanks for mentioning me in your post! I’m so glad that I got to meet you last weekend. Thanks for the tips on fusion paint–I can’t wait to try it out when I get home.
You’re welcome Rachel. Let me know what you think of Fusion after you try it out.
Melanie,
It was so good to meet you and I’m glad there was an open seat next to me and you grabbed it! 🙂 Blog conferences can be so overwhelming and it sounds like you settled in and found those wins. I hope you love the brush and get a lot of great use out of it!
Thank you Marian 🙂 I am loving my brush, and can’t wait to promote them when they are released. I appreciate you taking time to read the post–hope you didn’t feel too stalked by me 🙂 I am glad I did finally get the chance to say hello though. Have a fantastic week.
Melanie……I stumbled onto your site and am so glad I did. I particularly love your ability to express how you feel and be so natural and honest about it.
I have learned a lot from you and know it will be something I continue to do.. I hope to one day attend the Haven Conference and maybe there will be a chair empty next to you!
Can hardly wait to try out the new brush!
Your comment made me blush Wendy–thank you for your kind words! I so appreciate you being a reader and do hope that you find more helpful information here at Lost & Found.