Simply Curated

This week I was lucky enough to be able to attend the 2013 National Stationary Show at the Javits Center here in NYC. I’m excited to announce that Simply Curated is expanding to carry paper goods!

New products will be added slowly as we redesign the site and start to carry new brands but I can’t wait to share with you what we have coming up. 

Follow @sarahcooley on Instagram for a look at some of the things I lived at #NSS. 

marksbirch:

Here is a collection of uplifting and heartwarming words of encouragement from the most sage voices in the tech startup world as you begin your own entrepreneurial journey.

• Throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down. - Reif Hoffman
• Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death. - Elon Musk
• Running a start-up is like eating glass. You just start to like the taste of your own blood. - Sean Parker
• Startups are hell. - Penelope Trunk
• It’s like we’re married, but we’re not fucking. - Y Combinator founder via Paul Graham
• I kept busy by thinking about how running that marathon was much like doing a startup. - Dan Martell
• People say doing a startup is like a marathon. It’s actually a roadtrip at night with no headlights. You think you’re going to Toledo but you’re actually going to Miami and you might not have enough gas so you might need to buy gas from someone who might take you out if you aren’t driving well. - Ben Silbermann via Jason Shen
  
• This is what running a startup is like…every day (cue video). - Jason Calacanis
• Running a startup is like being punched in the face repeatedly. - Paul Graham
• In my tiredness, my scars, and my strength I have noticed that launching and running a start-up is a lot like war. - Ryan Wood
• Running a startup is like having all the bad guys from Die Hard attack you, but you’re way more scrawny than Bruce Willis. - Aaron Levie

A healthy reminder that I’m not losing my mind. I just started a company. 

Make Hop Tea

Since the popularity of brewing, we have lost touch with the many uses of hops. Hop tea has dated back to the ancient times. The hop oils can help people in many ways. Like the sleep pillows, hop tea aids in insomnia, can promote appetite, cleanses your blood, can relieve arthritis pain, relieve gas and cramps by soothing muscle spasms and some say it can aid smokers with their cravings and nerves. I’ve also read, it can help women develop more milk while breast feeding and possibly cancer.

Here is a basic recipe I found online:

Basic Hop Infusion or Tea

Place 1 ounce dried hops per 1 quart jar Fill with boiling water

Strong Infusion ~ Cover jar. Steep for at least 4 hours but not more than overnight. Strain infusion and store in refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Serve hot or cold.

Hop Tea ~ Steep for 10-20 minutes. Strain and drink. This method is milder flavored as well as less effective. Serve hot or cold

Note: Many people will add other herbs such as, chamomile, peppermint, lemon grass, ginger or other herbs, which can aide in many ways as well.

Chamomile - Has antibacterial, antiseptic and disinfectant properties. Probably why most people drink it when they are sick.

Peppermint - Aides in digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems and is also an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic herb

Lemon Grass - Improves circulation, digestion and promotes oxygen intake

Ginger - Aides respiratory and digestive systems

The term entrepreneur (äntrəprəˈno͝or) is a loanword from French, and is commonly used to describe an individual who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on financial risk to do so. 

The term was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon as the person who pays a certain price for a product to resell it at an uncertain price, thereby making decisions about obtaining and using the resources while consequently admitting the risk of enterprise.

The term first appeared in the French Dictionary “Dictionnaire Universel de Commerce” of Jacques des Bruslons published in 1723.

Many of you started following me as a social media professional and with so many other social media professionals out there you may not have noticed when I fell off the grid. 

But I know you noticed now that I’m back on it ;) 

Here is a typical conversation I’ve had over the last few days:

So where did you go? What have you been up do?

Well I started a small business.

Cool like a startup?

No like a physical business…

Wait…what?

Yeah…I’m a vintage housewares dealer and a candle maker.

Wait…what?!

Yeah..it’s a long story

Starting a business in an industry that was totally new to me was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Leaving the comfort zone of the “tech space” and finally making the decision to do what I love when I had built up all of this experience in an industry that was growing and changing everyday sounded like a stupidest idea to everyone around me. What sane person would leave a stable job in this economy? My parents we supportive, but they were hesitant of course. They wanted to see me making real money and watching me pour everything back into the business was not something they understood. 

So I put my head down. I cashed out my Apple stock. I became a small version of the entrepreneur I always knew I was able to be. No, it’s not a start-up, no I’m not raising an A-round, but that doesn’t mean my friends and the “tech-industry” network that I worked so hard to build, won’t turn around a show me all the love and support I ever needed to make it happen. 

What I promise is that I will be open and honest with you all about how to build a physical business in a social media world. I’ll be open about what tools are working and what tools aren’t. I’ll let you know when I it gets hard. And you know you all will support me the same way as if I had come out with the next “big-thing”. 

This may not be what you thought “Sarah Cooley” was going to do, but it’s what she’s doing and it’s what she loves. 

Oh…and get ready internet… post-sxsw, while you are still in a daze and trying to process what you “gained” from the week…I’m going to blow your mind with a single, special, physical item that is close to my heart. 

My background in tech and social media has made me hate the word entrepreneur and start-up. They are buzz words to me now, I never wanted to be an entrepreneur, it wasn’t one of my goals. People would always ask me when I was going to start something of my own, well guess what, I have! 

As much as I hate to admit it, Simply Curated makes me an entrepreneur. Last year I really started to take Simply Curated seriously as a business, it’s not easy by any means but there is something so fulfilling in making something new out of something old and having people enjoy it. 

The holiday season was awesome and it was a great learning experience. I loved being at Artists & Fleas and being able to meet my customers. With the new year upon us I decided to take the risky plunge of having a permanent space at Artists & Fleas in Willamsburg. I’ve partnered with another awesome seller and together we have created a little store within Artists & Fleas that feels really cohesive. I’m sure the space will evolve over time, but I have been loving where it’s going so far. 

My goals for 2013 are to really take the candle making part of the business to the next level. I will be using Kickstarter to help me get the candles into retail stores and hopefully grow that part of the company into something more sustainable. 

I’ve found amazing vintage glassware patterns to make candles out of and I can’t wait to share what I have in the works right now. 

Also, keep an eye out for new curated decor items on the site, and come visit me at Artists & Fleas to see the products in person. 

-Sarah

Hi everyone! I know I’ve been quiet here on the blog for a while but that’s only because so many awesome things have been happening offline. If you follow Simply Curated on Facebook, you probably already know about the market we participated in this past weekend at Artists & Fleas in Brooklyn. 

We had an awesome time getting to interact with our customers in person and watching people fall in love with vintage finds and take them home. 

Our hand poured candles were a big hit, but it was clear that customers wanted a scented candle option. I’ve been hard at work curating new vintage glass for scented candles. 

I’m hoping that you guys will embrace me making candles a bigger part of my business. I have multiplies of all of this glassware so in the future I’m hoping I’ll be able to put whichever fragrance you want in the glass you want. 

If you live in NYC, we will be at Artists & Fleas again on November 24-25 and December 15-16. We will also be at The Shops at Studio J on December 1st in LIC. Like us on Facebook to keep up with all the upcoming market dates. 

I’ve known Brandon Friend for years now, and every time I see his work I am amazed. Brandon has a mixed media style to his work that is very unique. He transfers images layer by layer to create each piece, seemingly bridging the gap between digital media and traditional painting. 

Brandon’s work, I’ve found, can be appreciated from many distances. From far away you can really take in the whole story that he’s created, but up close you can really see the detail that went into creating the piece. I’ve admired Brandon’s work for years, and as a collector owning an original piece of his is something I will strive to accomplish. 

So you can imagine my excitement when Brandon announced he was going to start selling his work as prints and in other forms on Society6. Check out all of Brandon’s work at BrandonFriend.com.