I am constantly blown away by what connections and talents can be found on social media. Had it not been for the gram I would've never found this fellow thin blue line wife & insanely talented water colorist with a heart of gold!
"Take it easy, take it easy. Don"t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. Lighten up while you still can. Don't even try to understand. Find a place to make your stand and take it easy" The Eagles.
The above lyrics are something that the Barbara, the creator of BMonte Design says to herself daily, and who can blame her! I think we can all relate to that song in some way! Barbara not only runs her own business, she also has three little ones, the youngest of which was just born months ago! If that already wasn't enough to juggle, she works her painting skills around the crazy lifestyle & hours that comes with being an officers wife!
I stumbled across Barbara's water coloring talents through non-other than the world of Instagram. She had beautifully painted a picture of a friend of mine with her newborn son. I was instantly hooked! As many of us do I wanted to see what else this artist had up her sleeve & yes I stalked her IG! It didn't take me long to place my first order, a portrait of my girls and myself. My husband loved it so much that I had one personally made for him & she nailed it down to the very last detail!
Let me share a little bit more about Barbara with you!
Where do you call home?
I live in southwestern Rhode Island, right on the Connecticut border.
How did you find yourself creating this business?
My husband used to own a successful sports bar but he never felt like it was his calling. He eventually decided to sell his half, enroll in school and work towards becoming a police officer. At the time he was working for 11$ an hour as a security guard in a methadone clinic and then taking night classes. At the time we had our son Max and we were expecting our daughter, times were tough and no matter how much we tried we couldn’t keep up with our bills. As a means of helping out I worked during the day for a doctor’s office and at night I would draw and paint nursery watercolors hoping to sell enough to at least help out with a bill or two. In February 2015 I officially opened my shop and it has evolved so much.
What is your business all about?
I initially started out painting just nursery designs. I started getting requests
for family portraits shortly after however and it just snowballed from there. I
feel like now this business has become more of a story telling venture…there
are so many beautiful, heart wrenching, raw stories behind some of the
images I paint. Even the nursery designs that I still work on have some sort of
story behind why I created them. I love being able to share these stories and I
love being able to share my own story of navigating motherhood while
owning this business.
If you could pic a song to best describe your business what would it be?
The BEST SONG that describes my business is “Paint me a Birmingham” by
Tracy Lawrence. It was a client that actually told me about it that it reminded
her so much of me.
What is your favorite quote?
"Storms make trees take deeper roots"
-Dolly Parton
Name 3 things on your bucket list!
1. DRIVE CROSS COUNTRY.
2. Have my own store and be successful at it
3. Another traveling one: Go to Banff National Park
Where do you see your business in 5-10years?
I really want to expand! I am hoping to have a store and just continue making
others happy with these watercolors!
What attracted you to this business?
I knew I could draw, and we needed to desperately make enough to cover our
bills so essentially desperation attracted me to creating this.
What has been your favorite type of client so far?
Oh man! I have so, so many favorite clients. Many have actually become
personal friends and there are too many to list. Some of my fiercest
supporters started off as customers of mine!
Who would be your ideal client?
An understanding customer!!!!! My life is literally chaos. CHAOS. So having a
client that understands the life of a mother who owns her own business and
is married to a police officer is EVERYTHING.
What should people know about your business?
I pour my heart and soul into what I paint. That I truly care about providing
my customers the perfect watercolor…I know how much these images mean
to them and I don’t take that lightly.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Managing time. Social media doesn’t show how many times I fail at trying to
manage being a good and present mom and having a business that keeps me
locked in my studio for hours. Mom/wife guilt is real.
What is your favorite indulgence?
RED WINE!
What is one thing you miss?
9 pm bedtimes!
In honor of paying it forward & supporting others, what business/podcast/IG ....you name it, inspires you?!
Here are some Instagram accounts that inspire me:
@bluewifelifepodcast
@feathersandgrace every thing she sells a portion is donated to charity
@anchoredwooddesigns Gina is a LEOW and she is amazing
@smarthernews Jenna left fox news to start her own news media source. She
is also amazing!
Thank you so much Barbara for not just the amazing work you have done for myself & others, but also for giving me your precious time so that I may get to know you better & share you with my audience!
I hope you all enjoyed this interview as much as I did! It is always great to get to know someone through their back story & what drives their talent! Below are some more of her designs! If you would like to see more of BMonte Designs here is where you can find her:
Website: https://www.bmontedesigns.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmontedesigns/
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