Take a quick look around; what can you improve on around your house?  Any ideas?  Sometimes something as simple as a glass of wine can become the starting point to an amazing business!  This is exactly what happened to Chelsea and Justin!

Chelsea was always creative and loved taking old objects and repurposing them into something completely functional.  She has taken corks and made wreaths, her husband’s great grandfather’s trunk is now a TV stand and an old farmhouse door has now become a dining room table!  But it was something as simple as an evening glass of wine that set her on the road to MacMaddies.

All the store bought wine bottle stoppers seemed so generic, but what to do?  It wasn’t until she was browsing an antique shop that she stumbled onto old cabinet knobs….which later become stylish and one of a kind wine bottle stoppers.  The couple didn’t launch into business immediately, but instead took the holiday season to test their new found creations by giving them to family and friends as unique gifts (lucky people!) as an informal sort of market research.  The response was immediate!  The lucky recipients loved the idea and a business was born.

Anyone interested in selling their own handmade creation can take a lesson from Chelsea and Justin in that they made sure that their creations were worth selling before jumping in.  In addition, Chelsea advises that if it is your passion and you price it right, the customers will find you.  You, of course, must make sure that you factor in how much time to spend making your product and always leave yourself room for future wholesale order pricing!

MacMaddies is primarily an online venture, which is lucky for those of us that don’t live close by, but the couple is looking into some possible art fairs for the future.  Chelsea is looking forward to the possibility as she enjoys working directly with people and the connection she can make with her customers.  She also finds the bright side of online selling in that how else would you be able to have your work sell and ship around the world!

Are you ready to see what this creative couple can do with some old knobs and other found items?  You can check out their shop on Etsy anytime.  Be sure to leave yourself enough time to really look at their work and appreciate the vision that it takes to find a treasure and make it come alive in a completely different way.  Also, keep your eyes out as MacMaddies is planning on expanding their line to include other amazing treasures from repurposed items.