A Little About Us!

Hey Y’all! We’ve had a few questions lately and lots of new faces, so let me introduce myself and answer a few of those questions.

•I’m Janice East. 11 1/2 years ago, I started this as a Etsy shop that I managed at night/weekends, while I worked full time at a flower shop. This coming Christmas will mark 8 years of being self employed and this has grown so much more than I ever imagined.

•I was one of the first to make a burlap and lace wedding bouquet on Etsy and that’s all I did for several years. I have 40+ colors of burlap and have shipped to all 50 states and multiple countries.

•I have a 1959 vintage camper, “Miss Gussie” that we use for some of our events. I thought Yamboree 2015 was a one time show, but we left there with an invitation to do another show and it’s kept going from there. We participate in some local market events during the year and will have several fall events. (Mark your calendar’s for September 24!)

•We have expanded to have our own website {www.GypsyFarmGirl.shop} plus our Etsy shop (although I’m not adding much new stuff to Etsy.)

•I knew when I left the flower shop, I would have to diversify beyond burlap and lace, I just didn’t know it would be clothing and printing. We've also had some antique store booths and shows along the way. 

•We make all the shirts you see in our shops. I’ve taught myself about graphics, building websites, and pretty much everything it takes to run my business. This year we’ve added stickers, earrings, tumblers, water bottles, glass cutting boards, recipe towels, ornaments, and more.

•We have a large selection of our tee shirts in P20 / Nan’s place  on the square in our hometown of Gilmer, TX. (Name is changing to Nan’s, but it’s still the same friendly faces located at 100 Davis St.)

•Almost a year ago, I rented the back room of P20 and created a workshop there. So we have our boutique items in the front and create in the back. We love having a dedicated work space, although we still work from home some.  There’s a huge Live Gilmer mural painted on the side of our building and my side door is in the mural or you’re welcome to come in the front door. That's my door and my workshop is behind that Texas!

•Last September, my niece Brenna, started helping me tag shirts getting ready for the fall run and she now helps a few days a week. Prior to that, it was mostly a one woman show. Jeff helps with some things and we will let any of the kids that hang out tag shirts or model!

•When I left the flower shop, I didn’t intend to do fresh flowers, but you ask and referred me to your friends, so I do freelance floral design. I don’t keep flowers on hand all the time, but can get them for events, funerals, or weddings.

•Each day, I create motivational, inspiring, or fun graphics for our pages.

•We love to repurpose and have a very rustic gazebo (that was literally pulled from a trash ditch) and garden. It’s how many of you have found us! I did a tutorial on planting in a Rusty Bottomless Bucket and it got featured by some big bloggers and was a hit on Pinterest. Still my top blog post at www.GypsyFarmGirl.net

•It’s a lot, my schedule is crazy, and there’s never a time when there’s not something to do, but somehow it all works out! You’ll never hear me say “I’m bored.”  Some of my customers were recently told I wasn’t a “real shop.”  I may not work a traditional 9-5 way, but let me reassure you, we are very real. Everything has been built from the ground up - I didn’t even use my last name, city, or promote on Facebook for years, as I built all of this on social media. I believe in a strong work ethic, dedication, taking care of customers, and love getting to make pretty things for all of you.

•Oh, and we have a farm! ❤️🐮

Did I mention I have the best friends and customers? Well, I do! Thank you for being here! We appreciate you all so, so much!

Follow Along on all the Adventures - 

Facebook.com/thegypsyfarmgirl

www.instagram.com/gypsyfarmgirl 

https://www.tiktok.com/@gypsyfarmgirl

Website: www.gypsyfarmgirl.shop

11 Years of GypsyFarmGirl

On a cold, dark winter night, 11 years ago, a girl took a huge step and established an Etsy shop, blog, and email address… she didn’t tell anyone she knew, because she didn’t think much would ever come of it. She was simply Janice from Texas - no last name or town… She worked a full time job in town, but wanted to make a little extra with things she created at night and on the weekends… the first year was really slow, but she kept making a few things along the way. She laughs and says she made her Christmas shopping money that year and it was just enough to buy some supplies to make Christmas gifts. She didn’t throw away her burlap scraps and a month later made her first burlap and lace bouquet with those scraps. It was the first of its kind online and now they have been shipped worldwide. She didn’t give up and kept trying and things have turned out to be more than she ever dreamed. Things have evolved, grown, pivoted, shifted, and the last year has been the best one yet… she thrifted her way into business, junked, made wreaths, started upcycling flannels, did a “one time” show that turned into something she really loves, learned a new printing process that opened up a world of opportunities and product lines. She left a job doing flowers, to only have y’all request her work… seriously, more than she ever dreamed that winter night, when she finally got the guts to open a shop.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey.

If she could tell you one thing it’s - don’t fail to do the things, just because you don’t know how. Research, read, research some more, and try, try, try. In this day and time, we have so much information at our fingertips, that we can learn so much...

P.S. I know it's been a while since I blogged... so much has been happening our our business has been growing so much in the last year. My niece Brenna helps me a few days a week now and we have a busy year planned. Honestly, I've been contemplating closing my etsy shop and having my personal website as my only online shop, so if you are reading this in the future, and can't find me on etsy, please refer to my website at www.gypsyfarmgirl.shop (You can also shop our website through Facebook and Instagram, as it is all connected together.) 

A little about me -

Hey Y’all! Lots of new friends here and I’m getting several questions, so I thought it’s time to introduce myself again.

I’m Janice. Springtime is my absolute favorite and I despise being cold, so I can usually tell you how many days till spring (Currently 56!)

I am a maker and am passionate about supporting the makers. I can be a very thrifty girl, but I’ll spend on quality hand made things. Our gazebo was literally pulled from a trash ditch - we love decorating it each season and sharing our love of junk and gardening with y’all.

10 years ago, I started an Etsy shop, but didn’t tell anyone I knew - it was my night / weekend job. The first year, I made my Christmas money (enough to buy supplies to make my gifts. It was scraps of that fabric that made my first burlap bouquet. )

6 years ago, I left my town job as a florist to make this my full time job and what a ride it’s been! My original focus was burlap and lace wedding bouquets, but now we’ve added clothing to our line up. All of our shirts are created by us (not simply ordered, unboxed, and resold.)

Now, for the places you can find our items:

Always online- our website: www.GypsyFarmGirl.Shop (newest items will be found here.)

Etsy shop: GypsyFarmGirl.Etsy.com

Blog: www.GypsyFarmGirlmGirl.net

www.Facebook.com/thegypsyfarmgirl

www.instagram.com/gypsyfarmgirl

www.pinterest.com/gypsyfarmgirl

We have spaces inside Kickin’ K Cattle Co in Quitman, Texas and most recently P20 Land & Cattle Interiors and More in Gilmer, Texas (our hometown.) These places have an assortment of our tees and things.

When I left the flower shop, I didn’t think I’d be doing fresh flowers again, but you started requesting my work and referring your friends to me (I’ve never advertised, but just show pics of things I’ve made.) I work from home or on location.

Throughout the year, we participate in several pop up events, farmers markets, and shows. Our favorite is when my vintage camper, Miss Gussie, gets to come along! Watch for announcements about future events.

We always try to provide a positive attitude and experience here at GypsyFarmGirl. Thank You for allowing us to make pretty things for all of you!

Oh and we have a farm as well - cute baby calves and silly donkeys are likely to show up from time to time.

P.S. you can grab this flower truck tee in our shop! 

Looking Back on 2019!

2019, whew what a year!

We started making t shirts and more personalized items, while learning and creating more original designs.

You showed up and supported us at 16 shows. You drove from Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, West Texas, and lots more places to shop with us in rural East Texas. It was an exciting show year as we had our monthly shows at the Mineola Antique Fair, then got accepted to be included in Vintage Market Days of East Texas, we returned to the East Texas Yamboree with an indoor space in the exhibit building, had a great day at the Methodist Church Christmas Bazaar, and a fabulously fun time with Miss Gussie the glamper at the Gilmer Yulefest.

Through our etsy shop, our handmade items have now been shipped to all 50 states and multiple countries. We’re thrilled to help you with your weddings and special events.

We launched a new website and still trying to figure all that out. #workinprogress

Our Facebook page has more than doubled in size since early spring. Welcome, Y’all!

 And gosh, we all love the sweet donkeys and baby calves at the farm and they make their way into our post and even on our shirts!

 We marked 5 years of being self employed, creating pretty things for all of you.

But don’t think it’s been all roses though, as we all fight the behind the scenes battles, that don’t see the light of social media... #hideyourcrazy #focusonthegood

Through it all, we say a great big THANK YOU for being a part of our year and riding along with us!!! We appreciate y’all so very much! Much love to all of you! ❤️

Junk and Love - Rust and Romance

Junk and Love - Rust and Romance

That pretty much describes our style. We love junkin' and repurposing things, but we also really love getting to help create wedding bouquets and florals for everyone who is celebrating life's special moments together. 

This shirt design had been one of the top sellers recently. It's got lots of things we love all rolled into one graphic tee - turquoise and rusty old truck, galvanized buckets and crates of flowers, burlap, lace, chippy wood and lights. 

We were out junkin' one day and doing some picking in a old barn. We got excited when we found an old wheel. The lady said she would "love to see inside our head" so she could understand what we saw and why we got so excited about the random things we found. Well, I was seeing a funky junk wheel wreath! It sold quickly and everyone loved it. Jeff produced a couple more wheels from his junk stash out back and we made a couple more! This wheel came from a golf club caddy - how and where those came from, I really can't tell you, because we don't golf! 

This was a burnt orange burlap toss bouquet that I made for a recent order. 

 Boots and Burlap Boutonnieres!

 These colors! The antique gold rodeo tee and sunflower bridal bouquet make me ready for summer time! 

For the love of all things vintage, chippy, rusty, romantic, and shabby! This is our booth at the Mineola Antique Fair  last week (we share the booth with Angea at Rooster Tails.) It's ever changing, but always has a rustic flare! 

This new tee pretty much sums it all up:

I love all things:

• tattered
• shabby 
• cracked
• old 
• chippy 
• worn
• rusty
• weathered
• vintage

We've added so many more shopping options this month, hopefully making it easier for you! 

• Our etsy shop is still open and that's where you can always find the custom / made to order wedding items and almost everything else. www.gypsyfarmgirl.etsy.com
• We've added a new website www.RustandRomance.com whic included the ability to:
• Shop directly on our Facebook page. Got to facebook.com/thegypsyfarmgirl and you should be able to scroll down and see some of the items. Click to expand or go to the "Shop" tab. 
• Some items can also be found on ebay, if that's your preferred avenue (mostly tee shirts, boots, and ready made wedding items.) 
• Shop in person at the Mineola Antique Fair held the second weekend of the month in Mineola, Texas. The June show will mark our one year anniversary with the fair! 

Remember, if you don't see your size in stock on a t shirt, send me a message and I'll be happy to make one for you! I didn't have enough of the new "Love all things" tee for this weekends show, so I have been making more and shipping them out this week. We are a small business and don't keep a huge inventory in stock, although we can get more blank shirts in stock pretty fast. 

Same goes for wedding bouquets - always happy to create custom bouquets in your colors. Please reach out and we can discuss your ideas and needs. 

Sneak Peek at Our New Space at the Mineola Antique Fair!

We are so excited about our NEW place at the Mineola Antique Fair! Last week Angea and I closed the door on our booth at Uniques and Antiques and moved down the street to our new location at the Mineola Antique Fair. The fair will be held the second Friday and Saturday of the month and we will actually be there to work it and meet all of you! Working predominately from home with my online shop and then having the booth in the store (that we restocked once every week or so,) we miss getting to talk and connect with our customers and friends, so we are definitely looking forward to getting to meet  and visit with y'all!

We've still got a few more things to take over to Mineola this week, before opening day, although we wanted to share a few sneak peeks of our place. The building is 111 years old and located downtown Mineola, Texas (behind the Sonic on Hwy 80 or can be reached from the street by the depot and railroad tracks if coming in from Hwy 69.)

We've got more room to display our items and have several themed vignettes with our Shabby Chic section, our repurposed clothing, a patriotic / 4th of July and turquoise section, vintage kitchen gadgets and pottery and some furniture pieces. Garden pedestals, containers, and yard art along with some floral arrangements are mixed in our display. There's a little something for everyone! Jeff and I have made more of the tin Mason Jar signs and will have them available on Friday when we open. I think Angea has a few more things she's working on as well!

Please don't let the name of the show fool you - there are antiques including this 1950's Hall 'Heather Rose" pitcher and platter I recently found that came out of an old farmhouse, although there is a nice mix of handmade, repurposed, paintings, jewelry, and new items from local artisans. This month there is a BBQ food truck scheduled to be there and live music at various times. 

We've also got an antique bed and Angea has that gorgeous lamp from the 1940's that will be available.

All of the vendors we have met are super nice and everyone talks about how fun the show is! We are thrilled to be joining the fair this month. 

We shared this short Facebook Live preview Saturday morning giving you a glance around the building and a walk through our area.  

Here are all the dates for the rest of 2018 and the address if you are plugging it in your GPS. We will be open 9:00 to 5:00 each day. Hope to see you at the fair and if you're a blog reader, please stop by and introduce yourself!

The building / barn is beautiful and rustic on the inside. The brick walls make a perfect backdrop for our space. The overhead timber beams are great to hang things from - Jeff made us some big over-sized hooks to hang chandeliers from. It is summer in East Texas, so dress cool and comfortable, just as you would if you were going to Canton Trades Days or heading to the ball park. There are big doors that are open for the breeze to come in, lots of fans in the building and all of the vendors are bringing fans for their spaces (we've got two and may add more), and they are adding new ventilation this week. Free water will be available as well. With it being under cover, we will never have to worry about the show getting rained out, our tent and displays blowing away, or inventory getting wet! That's a win in our book as we always dealt with rain or wind on set up day! Oh and it's FREE parking and entrance!

A Day in the Life of a Gypsy Farm Girl!

A day in the life of a gypsy farm girl.... 

At midnight I was sewing up my “gypsy sassy pants” (converting skirts to palazzo style pants.) They are so dang fun and cool to wear! I got stopped several times today and ask “is that pants?” “I love those!” 

Me: “Thanks, I made them!”

6:10-6:30 slapping the alarm clock. 

7:30 Packing up wedding orders to ship out. 

8:30 Meet up with Angea to go junkin, pickin’ and the post office, followed by a “board meeting”. 

These folks know how to host an epic garage sale! Great signs marking the way, everything priced, they brought us shopping baskets when they saw me snatching up the vintage lace and doilies, they had a tent, holding area for the big items we wanted, and even used a cash register to ring up purchases! 

11ish  Board meeting aka business lunch, aka what we do after Thursday morning pickin’. Some of our best ideas have came at the corner table at La Finca! Tea and green sauce, yes please! We’ve got visions for our Mineola Antique Fair space that are exciting! Can you make sense of the scribbles? 

12:30 A trip to the store for all the soaps - laundry, hair, and Jeff’s “old man soap” as he calls it and cat food. Got to keep the boss cat happy and everybody clean! 

Home again.

3:00 Hook up trailer and head to the farm. 

We dated in this truck, sold it 15 years ago and it came back home this weekend. ❤️ It just feels right in the red farm truck! 

The start of this blog post came, while Jeff drives to the farm. I’m typing on my phone, windows down, the air and ideas flowing through the truck. 

Farm chores

We got the cow herd up in the pens and sorted some heifers to take to market. I grabbed a light weight, long sleeve shirt, should’ve grabbed a hat too... gotta little sun on my face. 

That one in the center looks all sweet... Let me tell ya, that is one crazy heifer! Our herd is usually very calm, but this one was a wild one to pen and thankfully no one got ran over by her! 

Ronnie D Donkey kicked up his feet after he got turned out and he said “see ya” as we left out with our trailer load. 

7:45 Our calves were delivered and now we are home again. The dogs were ready for supper, their nightly run outside, and we had supper to fix.

Along the way, we’ve sold some candle stands, answered and read email, and handled some other business.

My jeans (and me) were splattered with cow poo, so baths and clothes washing also happened. I can usually load cattle without getting too dirty, but the heifers were a messy bunch today!

11:20 Finally finishing up my blog post and getting it to a computer to finally publish. There used to be a blogger app, but a few phone updates back, it disappeared, which makes it harder to blog on the go. 

Tomorrow we ship more items out and I plan to stay home and work most of the day! Weddings, sewing shirts, making tin signs, who knows what all the day will entail? No day is ever the same and I like it that way! 

I started out sewing and wearing my gypsy pants and ended it sitting with my girls (dogs) on the couch! I’d call it a great day!!! 

GypsyFarmGirl Seven Year Anniversary with Highlights from My Favorite Projects

7... Seven years ago today, I did something

big, crazy, and scary

all while 

sitting on my couch.

So what exactly did I do? 

 I listened to the encouragement from Jeff and the friends who always said "you need your own store". That night, I opened an Etsy store, established an email account, and this blog with the name GypsyFarmGirl, but I didn't tell anyone but Jeff. Quite frankly, I didn't think it would ever work. My goal was to use my creative passions to make a little extra income on the side. 

I only went by Janice from Texas, because I didn't want anyone to know, in case I failed (or for it to interfere with my day job). I started using Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram because all my friends were on Facebook. True story- I didn't create a Facebook page for a long time! 

 Honestly, the first year was super slow and it would have been easy to give up, but I kept blogging and occasionally sharing what I was making. I got featured on some blogs, with some of my projects that weren't necessarily related to the things in my etsy shop, but it brought some exposure to my blog and in return my shop, so I continued on. 

Here are a few of my favorite projects and features from way back then.

This little vignette in our bathroom was featured by

Funky Junk Interiors.

Burlap and Belt Buckles Chair Covers  - this was inspired by The Junk Gypsies and Miranda Lambert's wedding. I still remember how I excited I was when the Gypsies tweeted me and then Tip Junkie picked this project as a Top 10 Crafts to Make This Week and claimed them perfect for a western themed party. 

It looks like I have a thing with chairs! 

Jeff and I toured the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails a couple of times and my pictures and story were included in FOLK Magazine.

 A bucket list item was to be featured in a magazine! 

The week before my one year shop anniversary, I made a burlap bouquet and things started to pick up and you started asking me for custom wedding bouquets! I found my niche and I've not quit making fabric bouquets since then! Six years ago, there was less than 10 fabric bouquets with burlap flowers in them on Etsy, so I guess you can say I'm a pioneer in the burlap and lace bouquet business! 

The Original Burlap Bouquet in my Shop! 

A few other highlights from the past seven years.

 Funky Junk Interiors, once again featured a project and y'all went crazy over my rusty bucket of flowers. My post on how to plant in a bottomless bucket is my most popular blog post ever! 

Of course, our gazebo makeover and the reveal of our "junk yard" was another fun project, a reader favorite, and featured on many Facebook pages and blogs! 

One day, I received an inquiry for turquoise burlap in a bouquet. I had no idea such colors of burlap existed, but I found the fabric, completed the order, and shipped it out for a wedding in Canada. Now I have over 40 colors of burlap in stock and have shipped to over 47 states (at last count) and several countries! Turquoise has remained one of the most popular wedding colors, along with navy.

Along the way, I found an ugly camper and turned her into 

"Miss Gussie the Glamper" and I quit my day job! 

 For years, I just knew a camper would be a part of my future. Knew it deep down in my soul and would be so upset when I couldn't find one or couldn't afford the one I found. One day, I deposited my Valentine's overtime check into my savings account (for a florist, that was the very best pay check of the entire year and I do miss that bonus.) The very next day, I withdrew it and bought a 1959 Arrowhead Camper! That was in February 2014. Little did I know at the time, I would be quitting that job before the end of the year and GypsyFarmGirl would be my full time business. Miss Gussie has found herself the backdrop for many product shoots, gone to fairs and vintage markets and even got her picture in Mary Jane's Farm Magazine!

In October 2015, Angea Howell and I teamed up to do a show together and it has led to us having a blast junkin', more shows, and now we have a year round booth in Uniques and Antiques in Mineola, Texas. 

 We went big with our first show setup! See Miss Gussie hiding back there?

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for all allowing us to be a part of your special events over the last seven years! I love helping all of you and you've all been amazing to work with! I never dreamed all of this would ever happened or that I would be celebrating 7 years with this business. I look forward to helping you for many years to come! 

Some of my friends think we won the lottery and didn't tell anyone. We did not. We hustle, we work hard, and we have faith that everything will work out some how, some way. (We may be known to stress about a few things as well, but we won't go there...)

I hope along this journey, I can be an encouragement to you to

  dream big and follow your passion!

 Warning: Some days require more strength and patience than others.