sweet dreams are made of these...

i don't think i've ever done a very good job of hiding the fact that i dream often of owning my own handmade store someday. were money and a permanent place to commit to not issues, this would be the very first thing i would want to do! people talk about a "happy place" that you think of when you're laying in bed at night and can't fall asleep... well, this is mine, my own little shop full of goodness made by two hands.


(this is a location i scouted in downtown wake forest... if by 'scouting' i mean i walked by it, noticed it was available, and said oooh! wouldn't that make an awesome ellebee-studio-in-the-flesh?)

it's incredibly astounding and inspiring at the same time to see and read blogs by ladies who have accomplished this dream, that for me, seems light years away from possibility. i stop by their websites often, read their blogs, and continue to dream of the days that i could hopefully have a shop like this of my own (or live close enough to work part time in theirs!). some of my absolute favorites are:

• red shoes- catherine has a really beautiful web page for her shop as well, but this is a link to her blog, because i loved reading (and seeing pictures of!) how her shop transformed from just a place with (scary) paint to a colorful wonderland of a shop! my favorites are her knack for transforming cast-off furniture into something amazing with a mere coat of paint, and her numerial applique pillows!

• edith and edna- i admit i haven't read their blog much, but their shop is a "curated shopping experience" full of handmade lovelies! soulemama (whose work and creative mothering i also admire!) has been known to show some of her quilting work there. i especially love the story of how they chose their shop name... they compared family trees and both had several grandmothers/great-gradmothers/great-aunts etc. with the names of edith and edna.

• the paper sparrow- already the most lovely shade of ellebee green, how could i not love this shop? i stumbled across kate's blog, ironically enough, by googling myself, and she came up in my search because she linked to my blog from hers. the swirly-bird window decal alone may require an in-person view one of these days!

now granted, i've never physically been to any of these shops. i've never met the owners, and i only feel like i have because they are each willing to share their creative process with the world through their blogs. and i'm so happy they do! maybe it's simply knowing that this shop dream can be done... is being done, and done well by other creative ladies out there, that is so inspiring!