New Year, New Relationships

New Year, New Relationships

Each New Year I focus my energy to a single task in my business. As a multi-service entrepreneur, it is easy to put too many to-dos on my plate, so instead, I try to focus on one over-arching task each season.

Last year it was ‘learn how to raise cattle in 18 months versus 24 months’ and ‘grow my online portfolio’ in weddings.

At the end of last year, I’d completed both of these tasks but I felt more alone than ever. Now, I’m an introvert through and through, but this sense of being alone was deep, deeper than I ever thought and ever let myself recognize.

So, per usual I sat down at the end of the year, reconciled my books, looked through the data I’d collected on both the farm and weddings I’d designed for and said, ‘what’s next’. (ps. I love these ‘mundane’ tasks and usually find myself caught up in them). This year it wasn’t a black and white task that came to the forefront of my mind. It was this ‘feeling’ (which I’m not always good at recognizing) in place of a ‘learn this’ or ‘achieve this’ task.

It was the desire to form meaningful relationships.

Sure, it is easy to preach ‘know your farmer’ but I started to question what steps I’d actually taken to know people in my community. What steps had I taken to know the people who trust and buy from me? What did my stance on ‘know your farmer’ actually means to me, this introverted farmer who loves animals and gets anxious in crowds? I have fear, I lack confidence and ultimately it’s been what’s kept me from truly living what I so desperately wanted for my customers. For them to know me, their farmer.

The same became so drastically apparent in my wedding design as well. I’ve met vendors, had coffee with vendors and made some friends in the industry. I’ve serviced my brides, openly communicated with them and had a very happy experience with each of them over the course of the year. But, these people that I’ve met, had coffee with and serviced always seemed to be an arms distance away. Not because I’ve purposefully decided to keep a distance, but instead I chose to lean into what comes naturally to me as an introvert. But, ultimately as a person, I need relationships with more meaning.

I now see how vital relationships are for every person. Every introvert, every extrovert, every entrepreneur, every mother, father, sibling, and the list goes on. We all crave more meaningful relationships in our lives. I think it has become more apparent to me as an entrepreneur because so much of ‘marketing’ and ‘running a business’ seems to be done on the other side of a screen.

And while all that ‘screen time’ is necessary it’s time to practice what I preach and form relationships with you, with my readers, with my customers and clients and those who receive my weekly emails.

So, that is what 2020 is going to look like for me and this business. I’m focused on getting out of my comfort zone, getting to know all the special people that surround me and welcoming you into the pretty and not so pretty parts of running a farm and floral business. I hope to get to know you better and share more of myself with you this decade.

I’d love to meet you, and I’d like to formally welcome you to join me at an event this season. Let’s get to know each other better.

Renovations | Our Second Year at the Homestead

Celebrating our second year on the homestead

As I write this post I’m sitting in my kitchen, my computer is on the counter and the last two months of paperwork is finally getting tackled... We’re in the midst of refinishing our living room floors which went from a hopeful ‘easy’ project to a massive undertaking. The good news is we tend to find more humor in ‘realistic timelines’ being thrown out the window with every project we begin than we did two years ago. In a week things will be back to normal, at least in part.

This has been another year of learning new things, perfecting new things (when you have 20 acres of fence to put up you tend to have a lot of practice), and continuing to fall in love with home.

I’ve made the comment more than once since we closed two years ago that a “match would be easier” but each and every project that we complete the more comfortable and home-like this place starts to feel. I can’t say it’s been an easy couple years, we’ve had to live outside our comfort zone on a daily basis. Our well-kept home, nightly cooking and a driveway we could always escape are still things we miss about life before moving here. But, the ability to farm together, to work towards something together and to put our name on this place together is still worth it all.

So, as will likely become a yearly ritual, here are a few snapshots of projects from the past 12 months.

Our lower pastures

We completed our 20 acres of fencing and are now in our first grazing season!

The Hay Barn

We started constructing our hay barn in March. The roof is on and we’ll be trying to wrap it in siding before the summer ends. Matt is once again milling our siding and he figures it will be about 26 logs to complete the project.

Studio & Farm Store

This has been a ‘I can’t wait when’ kind of project. This spring we decided that with everything else going on we’d hire this project out. It’s come a long way and the drywall is going up this week!

Living Room Floors

When we pulled the carpet in the living room the day we moved in we found original douglas fir floors. They needed refinishing and we were excited to tackle that ‘small’ project. We decided that before baby we’d get the dusty projects done so these floors were finally on our priority list. It was more than a ‘small project’, more like two weeks of living in our kitchen and front porch, but we’re excited to have yet another home project checked off.

the next year

We’re anticipating things slowing down over the next year. We will have the hay barn to complete but other than that we plan on taking time off to enjoy living here now that the big projects are done!

Homestead | Goodbye Winter

Winter 2018-2019 You’ve Been Real

I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready for the hustle, mud and lack of sleep that spring brings more than I am this year. I’m sure you can agree.

This winter was a tough one for many reasons. We started the winter three month short on hay due to the incredibly wet summer which meant I needed to buy hay in from other local farms to keep everyone fat and happy. The ice storm in January kept our driveway so slick that getting additional hay in meant either sleds or some sort of miracle. We got our miracle in the form of pot-ash (salt) from our local farm store after everyone sold out of every bag of ice-melt available the Midwest. Two hundred pounds of pot-ash made our driveway somewhat pass-able for the Bobcat. So, as I fed my very last bale of home-grown hay our delivery of additional hay came. Matt drove it down the driveway two by two, literally the very same day.

Due to the poor weather for cropping last summer hay was at a premium. So instead of small bales that are easy for me to hand-feed, we had to buy in large square bales. So, needless to say I’m not going to miss hand-feeding large squares flake by flake and I’m making plans to upgrade our small square baler instead of buying a large square baler when the time comes.

On top of the hay crisis we dealt with some extreme cold. Temperatures that dipped into -55 degrees with the wind-chill. The animals were tucked and fared well even on the coldest nights. We were blessed to be protected from such extreme wind chills here in the valley, and I’d guess we sat somewhere in the -40’s. When we bought our farm I never thought about the benefits of being ‘tucked in’, but I’m thankful we were. It sure made those cold days more bare-able.

The driveway being iced for over a month meant hauling feed, groceries and fuel for our furnace down the driveway. I used tarps to haul salt and feed when we couldn’t get a car out or down the driveway. We’ve decided to never buy a two wheel drive vehicle again.

Spring 2019, thank you for being here

So, bring on the spring. Bring on the crazy hustle. Bring on the mud. I’ve never been so ready.

Farm | Why We Decided to Farm

Why we farm

we wanted to know how our meat was raised

During our final semester of college farmer Brit was exposed to the documentary Food Inc., which is quite frankly horrific. Food Inc. documents some of the practices in the modern food industry, particularly the meat industry in America. After being confronted in such a dramatic way we had to face the harsh reality that we didn’t know where the pork on our table was raised, how our chicken was fed, or how our burger was processed. The scariest part for us was that we had not even questioned it before.

Flash-forward to our post-college life and we knew we wanted to make a change in our eating and purchasing - of meat products in particular. So we started raising our own cattle, just for us, and put our dollar to work in our local community with our purchases from local farmers. But, our own necessity for knowing how our meat was raised grew into a burning passion to make a bigger impact.

we’re passionate about connecting you with your food

Which leads us to today. We’re raising beef and lamb for dozens of families in our community and keep an open door policy. Our passion is sharing our farm, our livestock and all aspects of of raising beef and lamb with you. From babies we bring home or birth right here on the farm, to their ‘one bad day’, to how we actually feel about the meat industry, we’re open to sharing it all with you. We believe that what you eat shouldn’t be a secret and your farmer shouldn’t be a corporation.

Our promise is to do our best to answer all your questions so you can dine with the confidence that your meat was raised in the manner you expect.

Homestead | Ringing in a new year

ringing in a new year at homestead

This is always my favorite time of year. I’m a dreamer and a do’er and I thrive on setting goals. So, this time of year always energizes me as I look back at last year and look forward to a new year in front of me.

Some of the things I’m looking forward in this new business year is: growing our leather offerings, maintaining our growth in our herd, posting a vlog on a monthly basis to show more of the farm and floral studio with you, welcoming my first couple to the floral studio, celebrating with double the couples than I did in 2018 and taking classes to improve my knowledge in some of my weakest areas.

A New Year wouldn't be the same without thinking about where you’re going right? Last year I focused on being intentional. It was a beautiful year in many respects because I left one thing to focus on. I developed systems for more efficiently running my business, I focused on what really mattered in developing this farm and I connected with so many amazing vendors, farmers and couples that allowed me to grow both in my business but also in my personal confidence.

Intentional thinking and buying is now part of my daily business routine. I find myself consciously thinking through every decision, how it benefits my work flow or my customers and I’m thankful for a year that helped me develop this skill. It conveniently translated into my personal life and buying and I’ve begun to find myself focusing so much more on my community than I did in years past.

With last year’s success in intertwining intentional thinking into my daily life I’m excited to focus on another area this year. This year I’ve decided to focus on balance. Last year the farm controlled our entire life. While it was a season, and really a much needed season for the growth of this business, this year I want to balance business and personal growth. I want to balance the amount of time I’m developing this business and the amount of time I’m spending with Matt doing things we love together. While it won’t be a perfect 50/50 balance, I’m excited to push myself to work less and enjoy our time together without distractions even more. I anticipate that taking some time away from work will help me develop this business even further than I could if I spent every hour trying to make it work.

I hope you’ve had some time to reflect on what you’re seeking this year in your career and personal life. Let’s make 2019 the best year yet!

Homestead | Reflecting on 2018

what a challenging and beautiful year

I always wrap up my business years with a little reflection. A little Profit and Loss analyzing is usually were I start, then it’s onto what can I do to market my business better, what worked this year and what was a complete fail. This year I sat down to do the same reflecting but came up with something much different than typical. The truth is 2018 will go down in my journal as the most exhausting year of my life. I made this year exhausting, in fact I pretty much designed it that way. I took on a lot of new and really exciting things, but in the end it was too much for me and too much for the relationships I cherish the most.

So this year I’m being honest and sharing what my third year in business really looked like.

I’m exhausted.

This past year I’ve felt like I’m in a constant state of complete exhaustion and complete ambition depending on the hour of the day, sometimes literally. It’s been an exhausting roller-coaster that I’m thankful for, but one I’m ready to be done riding. I knew that taking on our homestead fixer-upper, growing a farm, growing a floral business and maintaining my existing design business would challenge me. It certainly has.

I’m an ambitious planner

I’m an ambitious planner. Meaning I make decisions months or years in advance. I plan out all the details, run all the budgets, and set out to make it happen whatever the cost to my personal well-being. It’s not something I’m always proud of but it is definitely part of my personal signature.

So, in classic fashion since we bought this homestead I’ve found myself making huge plans and have been running in a constant state of mind of ‘being behind schedule’. A schedule that I’ve decided is do-able, but one that hasn’t gone as I’d planned.

I self-impose deadlines in everything I do. I have deadlines for business projects and personal projects. If ‘project’ defines the activity it has a deadline. Deadlines usually keep me ambitious but this year they also made me very anxious.

The first deadline this year was that the cattle had to get out on pasture. I decided they HAD to get out by early May so we could save some money on hay and take advantage of a full growing season. But before that could happen we had to clear land, build a fence and over-seed a pasture. I had a deadline of 2 months, it took us 5 and for a planner like myself it was completely defeating.

This year we received a grant, which was a HUGE blessing, but came with another deadline. This time it was an end-of-the-year deadline which had to be met to receive the funding. I had it perfectly mapped out to take two months. Again, it took three instead and our weekends just kept clicking away slowly and painfully for me.

Last December I brought home a brand new set of livestock, sheep, which required adjustments to our cattle facilities to accommodate them. There are a whole set of deadlines I imposed because I decided to make this addition.

I had thought we’d for sure be completing my floral studio because it would ‘only’ take a month of weekends to get that project done. BUT instead we’ve not started it because my other deadlines have left us without spare weekends.

And like I said before every project has a deadline, so you can sprinkle in handfuls of other deadlines that have surely been missed this year.

For a person who stays ambitious by making and completing projects by the deadline this became an overwhelming and emotionally exhausting part of my year.

Even in the exhaustion I still see that this year was beautiful

Though I’ve been running on empty for what seems like most of this season there are definitely some beautiful things that have come out of this year.

One beautiful thing is I’ve learned is my limits. I’ve always been one to have a lot of kettles in the fire, a constant planner and mover. I often thrive in this environment. I’m ambitious and it’s never come back to hurt me, until this year. So I’m thankful for a year that has pushed me to the limits so I know when too much is actually too much.

I’ve figured out what truly fills me up and what exhausts me. Finally figuring this out has allowed me to refine the direction of my business so I can better balance my ‘cup’ in the future.

It’s also been a beautiful year because people have chosen to love me through my ambitious deadlines and exhausted state of mind which isn’t a pretty one I can assure you.

I owe the success of this year to three beautiful people

Another beautiful part of this year was that my business doubled in sales, even in the midst of the chaos I felt. And I can honestly say it wasn’t me that made that happen. Sure, I’ve made some significant efforts towards growing this tiny business - but I’ve never had to work an entire season from with complete mental and physical exhaustion. If it wasn’t for three incredible worker bees I wouldn’t have been able to move the needle so significantly in my business. It’s because of these three people’s support that I was able to keep my enthusiasm for growing through the exhaustion.

Matt and my parents really deserve some recognition

While I stole every weekend possible to work on projects, stole Matt’s vacation time, aged my dad a few years (or he’d probably argue more like decades), and made unrealistic deadlines that left me frustrated and often unpleasant - these three people were there for me every. single. day.

Mom cleaned the house, took care of the dog, hopped in to do hay, cared for lambs, put her own renovation project on the back burner and loved me through it all.

Dad scheduled equipment rentals, gave away his working weekends for mine, baled hay, fixed equipment, and was there every weekend to help however he was needed.

Matt pounded posts, stretched wire, baled hay, dug holes, handled livestock and was understanding that his house was a mess, that there wasn’t food on the table and supported me when he too was exhausted.

As I reflect back I have complete gratitude and incredible amounts of shame for how hard they worked for ME and MY business. They made HUGE sacrifices for me this year, too many to note, all to see my business succeed. So I want to publicly say I’m grateful for their understanding, their ‘were in this together’ attitude, their continuous support, their self-sacrifice and their unfailing love for me..

Thank You

I also want to thank YOU. If you booked me for your wedding this year, if you bought beef or lamb from me this year, if you showed up to build fence this year, if you kept in touch with me this year, if you encouraged me this year THANK YOU. Thank you for supporting this dream and I look forward to serving you from a fuller cup next year.

Also, thank you to all the friends and family of mine for understanding that I’ve been in a season of not having much left in me to give. I look forward to spending 2019 catching up, staying present and investing in our relationship.

Thanks for being here!

Renovations | Our Barnyard Renovation

Our barnyard renovation

shaping the land

One of the things Matt and I love about landscape architecture is how shaping the land defines space and accents unique topography. This summer we had an excavator in to shape a lot of land at the homestead and we're thrilled with the results. We achieved not only functional space but a unique space shaped by the topography of our valley. #landnerdalert

Last year we excavated for our small livestock barn and I thought that made a huge difference. That difference pails in comparison to the change we experienced this season. The excavation work this year not only made a level pad for our hay/machine barn, it also made a level lawn area that will be Matt's ball field next season. The ball field was very important to Matt since we don't have a level spot anywhere in this valley.

The excavation really changed the land and made our barnyard much more dynamic, it makes us landscape architecture major's very, very happy. Our land design, grading and drainage systems have created a unique space and an interesting barnyard, one that is uniquely ours. It really has me itching to help with more master-plans, perhaps helping more farms create unique and functional space in the future.

our plans for the barnyard

We decided to go with a pure clover lawn around our barns to not only minimize our mowing and help my favorite honey bees but to add to the farm aesthetic. I'm absolutely crazy about clover (I'm driving Matt crazy) after visiting White Oak Savanna, a new venue in Dodgeville, and alternative lawns that feed my designer mind with a balance of beauty and function. Originally we were looking at no-mow grasses but I'm much more excited about the clover. I'm also excited to see some green around the barn that isn't weeds!

Along the slope coming down to our livestock barn we plan on adding some grape vines since again, we hope to have less mowing and would love some added agriculture production in the valley. 

our barnyard/land design inspiration

Inspiration Images Via Pinterest | clover lawn , barn, vineyard

our dreams for the ball field

While the barn will be used for storage we are hoping to make the 'ball field' into a grand space that perhaps someday we'd use for gatherings. While I have my eye on an underutilized garage for our farm to table dinners, I'm starting to think about all the possibilities for a future venue space. The Hayfield's and McCoy's ball field could be a perfect location to hold a larger gathering. We'll just have to see where this little business takes us.

Renovations | Celebrating One Year at the Homestead!

we're celebrating one year

It's absolutely crazy to me how fast time flies; and when you're working hard it seems to go by even faster. Today we're celebrating one very busy, beautiful, challenging and exciting year here at the homestead. 

 we owe 1,000 thank you's

So many of our incredible friends and family have lent a hand this past year. From pulling out carpet and cleaning our house on closing day, to the seemingly endless post setting, we wouldn't be where we are today without the incredible sacrifice of our people.

So, I want to publically thank, my mom and dad, who spent nearly every moment working alongside us over the past year; you've been the best neighbors. Matt's parents, Rex and Becky for helping us paint over the awful yellow that first week and helping with electrical, plumbing, fencing and bringing us meals.

We also owe a huge thank you to the incredible people that volunteered their precious time to help us with our dream... Jarrett, Elise, Morgann, Kaleb, Erin, Joe, Ross, Danielle, Ricky, Grandpa, Sarah, Bethany, Tim, Jack, Jesse, Ricky and Phil.

We couldn't have done this without you lovely people!

we're reflecting on the progress

Though our to-do list is still long (and continually growing) we are so blessed to be living in this place. I find it incredibly rewarding to scroll through the pictures to see how far we've come and I hope you'll enjoy taking a peek at this last year's progress as much as I have. I must say scrolling through so many photos was almost as overwhelming as the amount of work we've done.

*while I had every intention to get nice before and after's, my desire to get my dirty hands on my camera was not... so I apologize for the blurry, nasty phone pictures*

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our farmhouse remodel

We pulled all the carpet out of the house the day we moved in, along with all the furniture that came with the house, there was literally dishes still in the cabinets. The previous owner had cats which make me a sobbing, red-faced, sneezing mess. We also both prefer the look and cleanliness of a hardwood floor, especially on a farm, so the carpet HAD to come out. Our living room remodel is underway and perhaps in the next year we can prioritize the house again and finish her out. We will be refinishing the original douglas fir floors and installing a blackened wood wall and new fireplace surround at some point along this journey. We also might have a chance to upgrade the college couch and buy our first living room furniture together.

When we pulled carpet upstairs we revealed some original pine floors that were of course painted, which was exactly what we were expecting. We knew we'd refinish them someday but someday became the day after closing when we realized how bad the master bedroom floor was peeling. Fast forward 40 hours and we were ready to finish the floors in the master bedroom and move our mattress off the living room floor. We decided to paint one of the back bedroom's floor instead of sanding it down for the sake of time and the bigger picture, it will become a bathroom in the coming years. The other bedroom we stripped, sanded and finished to match the master.

We still have trim to finish and some 'cozying' up to do but they're coming along beautifully.

We've had several demo days around the homestead, but I'd have to say I think demoing our basement was my favorite. When we first walked into this basement seven months prior to our closing the smell got my attention right away. I can see through the dirt, grim and chaos but man, that smell stuck with me. So, instead of a cosmetic upgrade we were demoing to completely redo the space and to take that nasty smell out.

After months of contemplating how to best use the space, gathering inspiration images and finalizing a plan for permits we were ambitious and ready to get our hands dirty. Let's just say we got our hands, face, clothes and every part of our house dirty in the process (there may still be residue of concrete dust in the closets and cabinetry throughout the house but I'm not ready to look)...

This was our first time doing, well, most of this type of work. We learned A LOT along the way and I think we can both say we were challenged far more on this project than almost anything we've come across in life to this point.

I'd love to say the space is done, but we're happy with the progress we've made. This winter we'll wrap up the mudroom and those last pesky details like hardware on the kitchen cabinets in the apartment.

While most of our time has been focused on the house and other homestead projects we have done a few personal 'yard' projects. This spring we planted a hedge of aronia to define our yard boundary. We're planning on a full 'orchard' and fruit field between the aronia and the lower red garage. We have BIG plans for the red garage and having it surrounded with an orchard fits our vision for the space. While our aronia hedge is 'floating' in the lawn right now we love that this space is becoming more than yard space.

We also removed a huge patch of raspberry and weeds in our front yard. Less mess when we arrive home is so rewarding and we're loving the little difference.

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homestead projects

While the house projects have come a long way, it's really the homestead that's made the biggest change.

Last fall we built our livestock barn, it's already getting tight and we're anticipating an addition next season (I have a problem with bringing too many animals home). 

Obviously one of our biggest projects here at the farm was clearing for pastures. While this  place was once a sheep farm with clear rolling hillsides, over the last 30 years it's become a tangled mess of invasive species. Fences are in, animals are grazing and we'll wait to finish up the clearing until the snow flies.

Excavation for next year's hay/machine barn is also complete! With the new barn excavation we got one of our two 'trout' ponds filled in and will be making it into a ball/game field

As you may remember we were selected for a USDA grant this past spring to help us seed and fence our 18 acre field. It's definitely greened up nicely (ignore my ragweed, I'm working on that ;)) and this fall we'll finish up the fences.

looking forward to the coming year

This coming year we're hoping to slow it down a bit. While we have several projects we'd like to do we're going to slow the deadlines for the sake of getting some rest and enjoying this beautiful valley. Things are finally workable so soon we'll be focused on getting things 'prettied' up, and I think we're both looking forward to that.

pin it!

Homestead | New Logo

Introducing our new logo!

With the move to a new farm and the collection of our business under one name it seemed an appropriate time to rework our logo. I must admit, at times it's hard to connect my meat business with pretty flowers and design work. It makes logos challenging but I'm in love with end result of our new brand image.

How the tree came to be.

When Matt and I were contemplating an image for our new logo we wanted to capture something uniquely ours. The topography of our farm was considered; however, even with our landscape architecture backgrounds this image just didn't seem to stick. After hours of frustration on my part, again trying to find an image that would blend these businesses together isn't a walk in the park, Matt mentioned 'the tree'. As soon as those beautiful words came out of his mouth, I knew we'd found our image. Since I'm a woodworker's daughter and Matt a sawyer you'd think that would wrap up the story of adding a tree to the logo, but there is more to this story.

Is there something special about the Homestead tree?

Yes, there is something very special about this tree. I'm the daughter of a woodworker and tree nerd, which means that I grew up recognizing that certain trees were extra special. These 'special' tree's were the most figured trees, the largest trees, and trees that meant something special to a family or company. Think American Girl, that iconic symbol of a bur oak on their logo. It happened to be a 'special' tree on their main location. Much like American Girl, Homestead Wisconsin has a special tree.

  Homestead Wisconsin is home to the state's largest black walnut tree. Yes you read that right, it's recorded in several books published by the state's arborists and is a tree that my father has known about for years. In fact, he knew it so well that when Matt pulled up the listing for this farm my father knew it as the farm with the largest walnut in the state. Now, I can't say it had everything to do with us purchasing this place, but I think it played a big role in Matt and my father's decision making.

We're pretty proud to have this specimen in the Morrison/McCoy family and we hope for many, many more years of it gracing our farm.

And just in case you are also a tree nerd...

You can learn more about storied trees and how Matt helps give these special trees new life at The Wood Cycle of Wisconsin.

Homestead Update | Hello 2018!

Cheers to a new year!

The holidays felt like a whirlwind between gathering with family and friends, and working on our recent basement remodel. However, I didn’t let the New Year slip by without some thought on where these businesses are going to take us in 2018.

A new year offers a new beginning and I am always thankful for that. I’m learning more about business and finding renewed passion, and new passion, as each year passes.

So like all years I sat down, pen in hand and wrote out goals and dreams for these little businesses. It always amazes me how inspiring this process is and I am on fire to get things rolling!

So, what am I looking forward to in 2018 with these businesses? Here’s a little sneak peak!

• I look forward to opening up more available dates for weddings and events.

• I’m excited to develop our online shopping experience of our meats.

• I look forward to being more active on the blog to share more stories, projects and recipes with you.

• I’m excited to host an open farm and studio day where we can share more of our business with you.

• I look forward to growing our flerd (flock + herd) and am excited to welcome our own lambs this year.

• I am excited to show you more of our farm so that you can feel a connection with us and our livestock even if you only ever experience our farm online.

• I look forward to offering four season planter design.

A New Year wouldn't be the same without a resolution right? This year my resolution is to prioritize intentionality. It's easy when running three businesses to feel like I need to do anything to just keep my head above water. However, I've learned the last year that it doesn't help to just do, it only helps when I find intentionality behind the do. So this year I aim to be more intentional about business direction, customer experience and connecting with each and every one of you.

As always thank you for supporting this dream and I look forward to what 2018 has to bring!

Renovations | Our NEW HOMESTEAD!

photos by Wild Mulberry Photography

So we did it, we closed on our homestead!

I am still in the ‘pinch me’ phase as I get to share this exciting business and personal news with you! We can’t wait to see where this journey takes us!

It has been a dream of ours since before we said ‘I do’ to start a homestead together. Long drives back from Iowa State chatting about each and every farmstead we passed... the barns, the house, the land, the gardens, we talked about it all. When we said ‘I do’ we had refined the vision of what we wanted for our lives. A simple piece of land to grow into, finding that middle of nowhere feeling,  to build a ‘home’ with our own hands, to someday raise a family in a simpler place and to settle in a place where we could point our rocking chairs towards the west; any Tim McGraw fans out there?!

It’s been a journey to get to this day... so here’s a little background...

We bought our first home on a quiet street in the town of Evansville just before we got married. We knew it wasn’t a  forever home, but we also didn’t realize how quickly our hearts would yearn for our ‘home’, the one we’ve dreaming of and talking about since our relationship budded on those long drives. The following spring we put up fences on my parent’s land and brought a couple calves home because I couldn’t wait any longer.... Hours and hours and blood, sweat and tears (literally) later we knew we still wanted to pursue this dream of raising meat. We knew someday we would have our own homestead and we would be starting this grueling and yet exciting process of building it all from scratch all over again.

We sold that little home in Evansville last fall to fully pursue this dream. Those two short years in our first house taught us a lot about us as a couple as we worked on projects to improve it and prompted us to take the leap of faith even though we didn’t know where we would be going.

After months of searching we started to feel a bit overwhelmed by the market and lack of options. We tried an nontraditional route and contacted a farmer directly about purchasing an abandoned farm but still didn’t come up with anything. Thankfully Matt, bless him, has a desire to look at everything that hits the market; I however am the filter queen. I wasn’t interested in finding ‘the perfect place’ only to find out it sits on 2 acres (enough for chickens, not cattle) or blows the budget out of the water.  When Matt saw our now homestead I immediately shot it down... our banker would laugh, what would we ever do with the multiple homes that came with this property, it just ‘wasn’t realistic’. However, God and Matt had a different idea…

Four months later, after Matt bringing up the property again and again (bless him) and realizing that my parent’s were interested in downsizing to one of the other homes on the property I was convinced we could make this property practical. We finally booked a showing and walked the property for the first time in the snow. We fell in love; this place felt like home. Tucked in a valley (hurray middle of nowhere feeling), with a white farmhouse and near our target spot of New Glarus; we couldn’t have asked for much more.

It was a very long process of finalizing details and I will save you the long story. The short story is it took us just shy of 6 months after visiting this property to finally get us to closing day.

photos from our first showing

We have HUGE plans for this place, it has been rather un-kept for a long time and needs our loving touch. The barn fell down and has since been buried and there is no fencing; so building a place for our cattle to call home is first priority. There is space for a studio and I already anticipate the first client meeting I get to have in the space. Flower gardens are on the horizon and I am anxious to use the blooms in my floral designs!

While there is quite the laundry list of ‘to-do’s’ we can’t wait to get started building our home together in this sweet little valley. This dream has carried the name of our businesses, now we are blessed to wake up here.. on the homestead.

We never got the cute 'family photo' on the front steps, perhaps later after we get the pile of old carpet off our front stoop!

FOLLOW US on Instagram @brit.homestead to keep up with what is happening! More relevant blog posts to come!

Homestead - The Name

Naming a business is a hefty task. A business name has the duty of portraying your product and defining who you are in the business world. When creating our businesses we wanted a name that spoke to who we are as individuals and describes the products and services we passionately offer our clients. With our passions and businesses taking place on a rural homestead, Homestead seemed appropriate for portraying our products and services and has a significant tie to who we are as individuals. Homestead describes a place we love, live and work and our offerings can be extended into our client’s ‘homesteads’ whether rural or not.

Homestead also defines who we are as individuals and how we fit into the business world. I am going to talk about myself specifically here. Life on a homestead has taught many generations of my family how to work hard and pursue your dreams, and that was instilled in me from a young age. My father ‘a farm boy’, left the farm to pursue his dreams, and has since created his own business. I am proud to be following in the footsteps of my entrepreneurial father, as well as hang on to the heritage of my grandfather and those before him with raising livestock. I see myself as very blessed to have an opportunity to pursue my dreams with the creation of these businesses. I owe it all to the generations before me that lived life on the homestead.

A Small Business Owner

a small business owner

As I reflect on our first year in business I am reminded why it all started in the first place. I never assumed I would be a small business owner. Quite frankly I said I would never be a small business owner and many can vouch for that. I came to that realization over my many years of working in very small businesses as well as being the daughter of a small business owner. While each person was so passionate about their work, it came with a load of stress that I never wanted in my life. Or so I thought...

As I entered the professional world of landscape design I started to realize something. I was working because I had to, I had a lack of passion for what I was doing in my professional role. I thought about making a career change; but, I just couldn’t figure out what that was going to be. I knew my passion and my ideas weren’t fitting the mould of my selected career path. I was passionate about making outdoor spaces as comfortable and liveable as the indoor spaces we live in, and I wasn’t finding that anywhere I looked.

However, like I said I never WANTED to be a business owner. I was afraid of walking away from a steady paycheck, I was afraid of taking a chance on myself, I was afraid of working all the time, and I was afraid of letting my clients down. These are things that all of the small business owners in my life had to face.

So, how did I become a small business owner? Well, with a lot of faith from Matthew, my family and all those small business owners that had surrounded me for years, that is how. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew what I wanted to create. I just needed the faith in myself and my idea.

So, in December 2015 I took the plunge and established Homestead Designs. With that I have found passion for my career like I never thought possible. I was able to bring my passion to the market and have people respond both positively and critically. My first year as a business owner came with a lot of learning and I must admit a little self-doubt. I truly appreciate the opportunities that each and every client has given me, to wake up and love what I am doing. You took a chance on me, and thank you for that.

As if one company wasn’t enough… it wasn’t for me. My passion lies heavily in creating outdoor living spaces, but it also lies in the details of events. Thus, Homestead Florals. This year was about taking chances on my ideas. I was passionate about serving a client that I could so easily relate to as a new wife, brides. I love creating floral designs that compliment such beautiful events and I am so honored to be trusted with such important days and events in people’s lives. I am looking forward to my first full year as a floral designer.

Homestead Meats, well that is a topic for another day.

-Brit

Sending out a huge THANK YOU to all those that made Homestead possible!

While a thank you is quite overdue we are approaching a season of thankfulness and we want to make sure we send out a HUGE THANK YOU all of those who have inspired us and helped us along this journey.

First off we want to thank those who have inspired us to create our adventure and follow our dreams, no matter how terrifying that has been!

·         Paul Morrison (Dad) we thank you for quitting the ‘day job’ so many years ago to pursue your passion, you have been a huge inspiration and a great support. Thank you for teaching us to follow our passions in life, even if it isn’t the easiest or most lucrative career choice. Friends be sure to check out his custom woodworking shop The Wood Cycle and be sure to pick up a copy of his new book ‘Tree to Table’, we promise it is worth the read!

·         Morgann McCoy we thank you for taking the step to open your own business so fresh out of school. You taught us that passion and drive can calm any critique about your ‘experience’ and that with enough drive you can do amazing things! Check out her amazing products at A Well Worn Story.

·         Elise Dettwiler we thank you for being another ‘Morrison’ that has taken on their own business venture and of course a huge thank you for providing images for our ‘About Me’ section. Be sure to check her out at Wild Mulberry Photography!

·         Amber & Preston Gable we thank you for blazing a trail and giving us the courage to diversify from our ‘degrees’ to follow all of our passions in life. We can’t thank you enough for owning your dream instead of following the traditional path of your education. Check out Back Country Winery for information on their beautiful winery. Their wine pairs perfectly with an evening on the homestead patio.

Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to all the other supporters in our life! We truly believe we have the best family and friends around. You all have had such a huge impact on our personal lives and even though some of you have been overwhelmed with our business life we thank you for sticking with us as we pursue our new adventure. We love you!

-Brit & Matt