Crafty Divas and Entrepreneurial Empresses

April 2003's Diva
Allison Keech
of Happy Home Designs

Happy Home Designs offers chic, handcrafted throw pillows, magnet boards, vintage decor, bath salts and funky soaps. They create to order in their beachside Santa Monica, California studio, and welcome custom inquiries for wedding favors, bridal showers, bachelorette parties and baby showers. You should really check out their custom bachelorette party bags. Purrrrrr.

This Crafty Diva was recommended to us as soon as we began our monthly series, and we're so happy to show off her wares! We're sure you're going to love them, too!

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The Interview
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The Basic Lowdown:

Girlposse.com: Who are you?
Allison Keech: Allison Keech

Girlposse.com: Where are you located?
Allison Keech: Santa Monica, California, 5 blocks from the beach. It's an incredible place to live, work and create.

Girlposse.com: What is your creation / business?
Allison Keech: Happy Home Designs is my little business under which I design, create and sell home decorative accessories - throw pillows, magnet boards, and funky soaps with antique toys in them.

Recently, I have expanded to include vintage home decor - tablecloths, enamelware, and kitschy games and toys. I am an avid flea market junkie and collector, so I buy things I like having around my home. I don't have a retail store or storage facility, so I have to incorporate them into my decorating until they sell. It's a fun benefit of running a store out of your home.

Girlposse.com: Where can people buy your stuff?
Allison Keech: The best place to view and buy my creations and vintage items is online at www.happyhomedesigns.com. Soon, I hope to be carrying in some local establishments around Southern California and beyond.

Girlposse.com: How long have you been doing this?
Allison Keech: I have been sewing since I was 11, so *gulp* over 20 years now! I started sewing potholders and skirts, then graduated to curtains, prom dresses and costumes for school plays. I worked at a fabric store in high school for the discount - clearly I was hooked at a young age.

I have always felt that I was destined to be an entrepreneur. As a kid, I was always making stationery sets and crafts with lots of glue and glitter and trying to sell them to my relatives for 10 cents. I think my destiny to be an entrepreneur was sealed when I convinced my brother to pay me 25 cents for swimming lessons in our backyard pool. Poor guy.

Girlposse.com: Tell us something about yourself - your personality:
Allison Keech: I'm 32. I'm the oldest child - 2 brothers and me. My parents have been married for almost 40 years. I was born in New York City and grew up in Philadelphia, but I have converted to Californianism. My boyfriend and chief pillow tester, Jeff, and I live together. He has been a wonderful influence for me. He's Canadian, 7 years younger than I am, and very mellow.

I'm not a huge astrology buff, but I'm an Aquarius with Virgo rising - an anal retentive free spirit. I love business and solving problems, but I really need to be creative, too. It took me many years to figure out how to balance both these needs. I've been a vegetarian for 8 years. I will watch "Law & Order" any time it's on, even if I've seen the episode 5 times. I absolutely love Las Vegas and have been 9 times in 3 years. I drink way too much coffee and diet soda (about 4 of each per day). I will do almost anything to avoid paying for parking.

Girlposse.com: What finally inspired you to offer your goods to the world?
Allison Keech: In my 20s, I was very intense and focused on accomplishing what my peers and college had defined as successful, the American Dream, so to speak. All the while, I was not happy because I spent 80 hours a week working for a hideous media conglomerate and I was not doing anything creative for myself. It was all about The Firm.

A few weeks after 9/11, I got laid off from my corporate marketing job. It was a pretty intense time in the world, so I decided to find solace in doing things I enjoyed, namely sewing and crafting. I was unemployed for only a short time, but in the interim, I formed Happy Home Designs as a sole proprietorship and launched my business. I could not have done it without the encouragement, support and love from my family and friends. I've loved every minute of it and hope to be able to do it full time someday.

Girlposse.com: What was (is) your biggest obstacle in selling what you create?
Allison Keech: Getting the word out there is always a challenge, particularly if you don't have a marketing budget. The network of other crafty women has been invaluable for cross promotion. I get more traffic and sales referrals from other sites similar to mine than from banners, search engine ads. It says a lot about the strength of the home cottage craft industry - we are all generous by nature and want to help each other succeed.

Girlposse.com: How do you come up with your ideas?
Allison Keech: Usually, I make things that I need and can't find anywhere else. The magnet boards have been quite successful and were born from a need for one for my studio. I was looking everywhere for a magnet board or bulletin board that was well made, feminine and stylish. The ones at office supply stores are so manly and sterile, so I decided to make one that would work in my home. I only make and sell things that I like and believe in.

Girlposse.com: What keeps you going on a bad day?
Allison Keech: I only work on Happy Home Designs when I want to - so if I am having a bad day from other things (my 'day job', traffic, money, etc.) I try to cancel out the negativity with something positive. I make a change so the bad stuff doesn't snowball: I get off the freeway and take the scenic route, I make something, I read a silly magazine, or I clean the house. Anybody can let a bad day get them down. I challenge myself to turn it around into a good day.

Girlposse.com: Where are some of your favorite places to shop?
Allison Keech: If I never go to a mall ever again I would be elated. I love shopping online. I try to shop at other small online stores like mine. I also like Anthropologie and bluefly.com. I buy way too much stuff on eBay. I adore eBay - if it exists, you can find it there. eBay is a museum of popular culture.

Girlposse.com: What was the best piece of advice you've been given?
Allison Keech: It's cliche, but very wise: don't quit your day job. Use your salary as "VC funding" for your venture until you have all the kinks worked out. This could be a few months, or as in my case, a few years. This has made my dual life much easier to deal with. Instead of resenting my job, I have a new-found appreciation for it. My Dad gave me that advice. Pretty much any advice my parents give me I follow. They are very wise people.

Girlposse.com: What advice would you give to a future Crafty Diva?
Allison Keech: Create for yourself and have fun - don't worry about what other people think.

Girlposse.com: Any additional thoughts or comments you'd like to share with the world?
Allison Keech: Wow, haven't I gone on enough already? :)

Girlposse.com: Are they any other Crafty Divas or Entrepreneurial Empresses we should know about?
Allison Keech: All the ones on my links page www.happyhomedesigns.com/links. They are talented women!

~April 2003

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Are you a Crafty Diva and Entrepreneurial Empress? Or do you know one that should be featured in a future Girlposse.com issue? If so, e-mail Trixie with the details.
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