Passion Perspective Interview

Part 3 of a 5 part series featuring Annie Bruce owner of “Brooklyn Owl”

We have organized Day 3 of our “Passion Perspective” to include an interview format that allows you to see into the heart of our guests. You will feel their passion and begin to understand what motivates them and what draws people to their products and why we feel privileged to be sharing their heart and passion with you.

Here are Annie Bruce’s responses to her interview about Brooklyn Owl:

How has your faith played a part of this journey?

• Challenges-expected and unexpected:  “My faith has brought me through the darkest moments of running my business, and allowed me to step back and gain perspective on the fact that it isn’t the end of the world if something is late, or an unexpected thing goes wrong.  God is still the most important thing and that doesn’t depend on how things are going.”

• Blessing-expected and unexpected:  “My whole business is an exercise in faith because it never made sense, on paper, to do it at all.  But I prayed hard about it and felt that it was something I needed to do.  I see kids wearing my stuff when I walk around the city sometimes and it is a blessing to feel that something I made is a part of making someone happy or more confident.  The kids in my neighborhood call me “the unicorn lady” because they see me at the craft fairs or walking around in one of the horns I make, which reminds me that, good or bad, I am setting an example for little eyes every day, and I want so badly to set a good one.  It is little things like that that bless me and make me want to do this forever.”

What tidbits of wisdom have you gained that you would like to share with others?

“Make something you love and believe in. Make it well. Make it cute. Make it last.  People will buy it.  If they don’t, repeat the steps.”

• Positives and negatives while pursuing your dream: “Too many to count, on both counts.  I spend so much time dealing with taxes, health insurance, invoices and paying bills, that it is amazing there is any time left over to make things!  The nitty gritty of running a small business is hard.  It is like running a small country.  But the independence and the feelings of achievement that come with each baby step are indescribable, and more satisfying the harder you worked for them.”

• Wisdom you have gained personally: “I have so much to learn!  I am still making the mistakes that will one day crystallize into wisdom, but for now are just a pile of papers on my desk at 3 am.  I know how hard it is to get stuff done.  I know that making things locally is more expensive and challenging, but worth every penny.  I know that if my business was a person, I would be proud to know them, and that is worth all the hard work.”

• How you have grown: “I have grown in a lot of ways since I started Brooklyn Owl.  I can now DO so many more things, and I know how business is done.  I have grown a lot as my patience and endurance have been tested at every turn, but I am still growing.  Every new day brings a new challenge and I am trying to learn how to accept the things I cannot change or change the things I cannot accept.  My business and my self are works in progress and Lord willing, we are striving to grow in the right ways!”

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