Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandy & Kayla Bernica.
Hi Sandy & Kayla, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My daughter, Kayla Bernica, and I began our journey as small business owners in November 2019. Previously, I worked for a local city for 35 years, while my daughter has worked in the Entertainment Department at Disneyland since 2013. We spent the first year of my retirement enjoying life and traveling with our family, yet we always dreamed of opening up our own Mother/Daughter business. In April 2018, a small studio space opened up in our area, and we took the leap to pursue the Mother/Daughter business we had always dreamed of — now known as “Busy Bee-ing Creative”. We were just two creative minds with a love of crafts, design and DIY-ing. Though we weren’t sure where to start, we initially decided to try our hand at flipping furniture. We spent countless hours researching other furniture artists, techniques and products on blogs, YouTube videos and books to learn enough to begin our first piece. After the first piece of furniture we refinished (a small student desk), we were hooked and knew this was the business for us! With many generous donations from friends, family and referrals, our furniture inventory continues to grow. Sure, we’ve made plenty of mistakes, but we’ve learned so many new techniques and art styles/designs to customize our pieces and take them to the next level!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Not having any prior experience or knowledge on the art of furniture refinishing, we have made PLENTY of mistakes, and we continue to learn something new with each piece of furniture we work on. We’ve learned that each piece of furniture has its own individual needs (i.e., cleaning, repairs, prep work, etc.). As cheesy as it sounds, each piece of furniture has its own personality and characteristics which require different care from the other pieces we work on. Another struggle we face is finding creative ways to market our pieces to the public, considering our pieces are typically large and not easy to ship. It’s difficult for customers to come in and shop our pieces in person because we still don’t have a physical storefront. Building out a robust storefront and learning more about the shipping process are goals we hope to achieve within the next few years.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As furniture artists, we take pieces that others may consider garbage or outdated and breathe new life into them. We’ve repainted and refinished dressers, dining room tables, nightstands and much more. Besides the furniture we refinish, we’ve also found lots of success handling custom orders from clients. For instance, some clients bring us beloved family heirlooms — pieces that often mean something special to them — to update, refresh and preserve. Using both creativity and collaboration from our clients, we paint and design each piece of furniture to give it a more updated, contemporary look that will match their home and decor. We give each piece the “TLC” and makeover it deserves; in fact, we take pride in our attention to detail, which is a MUST if you’re looking to bring your clients’ ideas to life. Not only do we paint furniture, but we’ve recently expanded into painting clay plant pots and creating custom wooden signs and decor. And yet, we’re still hoping to further expand our inventory and push our design limits.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Thankfully, we’ve found that other furniture artists and creators in our community are very open and willing to share their tips and tricks with us without reservation, animosity, or competition. We’ve been able to network with other artists from across the country and even throughout the world, exchanging advice and bouncing ideas off of one other. If you want to find a mentor or network, don’t be afraid to ask questions and reach out to similar creators in your field. If you reach out, you will find that people are more willing to help you and share their experiences and ideas with you.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.busybeeingcreative.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busybeeingcreative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/busybeeingcreative
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@busybeeingcreative
