Importance of Community

One thing that starting my own business has taught me is the importance of relying on your community. Before the FMF, I always believed that community was important, but looking back, I did not truly grasp the weight of it. With the FMF, I have learned that it is SO much easier to succeed when you have lots of people helping you, building you up. And I mean this in a very literal sense too, for example: using small businesses when printing holiday cards, having a friend take photos, reaching out to my mom when figuring out how to package, seeking help from my husband to design a web page, and reaching out to small businesses to see if they would consign my work.  It is so important that even if you do not use your connections to help you with your specific business, you realize that they are artists in their craft. Someday, you WILL need them to help you whether that is in the very literal sense, or building you up and encouraging you in your artistry. And in turn, you get the opportunity to build them and their business up. Also, it is key to get an outsider’s opinion and to pay attention to their specific creativity (everybody’s got it) and try to think of how you can take their unique perspective, and have it influence your art. I am excited to continue to reach out to friends and family to help me continue to develop the FMF in 2018. Thank you for all of the support and encouragement from you all, my community. Remember to shop local and please keep Austin weird ;)

The FMF?

The Flea Market Funky, what a name! It came about when my family and I were moving into a house, and it was the first space that I got to personally decorate. In our first apartment, everything was beige, black, grey, or white because we just needed furniture, whether that be from family or a great deal at a consignment store, and I wanted everything we got to match. So when we moved, I was ecstatic to put color back into our lives! My husband and I’s style is quite quirky, we have a velvet navy couch, a bright yellow lamp, accents of sea blue, orange, and grey. Well my mother (who has an eye for interior decorating) walks in and says, “I know what your style is, its flea market funky!” The more I sat on it, the more I loved the phrase! This site is me trying to leap back into the world I love, the world of art. I have a lot of plans and dreams with The FMF, I hope to create a community that is full of love, sharing my passion for all things beautiful.

Who You're Buying From

I have wanted to become an artist since the age of 3. Growing up, I was fascinated with color, drawing and creating, especially with my mom, who is also a creator, and I was on the path I thought I needed to be on to become a great artist. However, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plan.

It was the week before spring finals and I was finishing up my freshman year at Texas Tech University. It was a great year: I was majoring in studio art; I had good grades; I had amazing friends; I had a serious boyfriend. I had made plans to transfer to Texas Christian University the following fall. I turned 19 in April of 2014, and little did I know my whole life was about to change. I made the discovery that I was pregnant.

I first called my boyfriend, Anthony, who was calm, telling me he loved me and that it was going to be ok. The following summer was a hectic one, full of planning, and refocusing my life. At the end of summer 2014, I married the love of my life and started the crazy adventure of marriage with my best friend. About three weeks after our wedding, when I was six months pregnant, I felt a sharp pain in my leg and it began to swell.  The swelling and pain increased and I was rushed to the emergency room.  It was discovered that I had a blood clot in my femoral artery that stretched from my hip to the bottom of my calf.  A small piece of the clot had broken off and was in my lungs, and my life was in danger. I was in the hospital for a week, then bed rest at home and was on blood thinners for the next six months. During this whole process, our baby’s life was never in danger, she was so strong and healthy even when I was not. God continuously showed me love and grace during this time of my life. On December 29, 2014, the most beautiful baby girl, Tate, made her entrance into the world.