Mommaprenuer: Kim Lapacek, Kim’s Crafty Apple and The Apple

Tell us about yourself: I am currently a 27 year old apple orchardist/crafter/stay at home mom of two beautiful girls, Mercedi (2.5) and Capri (17 mo.). My husband, my in-laws and I, own and operate an apple orchard just North of Madison, WI. I make a little bit of everything from quilts to blingy rings to hand dyed clothing for children. Creating is my outlet from the world…when I’m being cranky and stressed my husband says, “Why don’t you go downstairs and make something?” It always seems to help.

How did you start creating your artwork? As most crafty people will probably say, I have been crafting as long as I can remember. When I was 5 years old, I hand-sewed a ‘quilt’ for my older brother’s birthday. I used the rags from my mom’s rag bin…including the furry toilet seat cover…of course he ‘loved’ it.

I took every art class I possibly could in school and had some very encouraging teachers. My middle school art teacher told my parents to buy me whatever supplies I asked for because I would use them…they listened.

I didn’t make as much as I would have liked in college – I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. But I was always the girl people would come to when they needed something fixed or made. I still remember being at a house party and a strap on a friend of mine’s tank top broke. I didn’t have a needle and thread so we ripped the other side off and created a halter…worked great! I had a lot of guy friends in college since I was an engineer and they were always having me make necklaces and things for their girlfriends. It was fun being known as the one that had the supplies for anything and everything.

I married into a crafty family. My mother-in-law taught me how to quilt and my husband has supported me 100% of the way.

How did you make the decision to pursue your art career and work from home? In the summer of 2007 I was pregnant with my second child (my kids are only 15 months apart), working full time as an engineer and working on the family apple orchard. I was overwhelmed and I hated missing out on my daughter growing up. After a lot of discussions with my husband and soul searching I decided to retire from the engineering field. I have always dreamed of being a street vendor (I literally told my mom that was what I wanted to do when I was younger) and decided to do some craft fairs in the summer. I found out about etsy and things have progressed from there. I am no where near making the money I did as an engineer…making any money for that matter but I am happy and I love seeing my girls grow.

How do you balance work and family? My kids are very independent (knock on wood). In the mornings they typically play together or by themselves contently and I can work on the computer. I still have to intervene at time but my house is an open set-up so I can always keep an eye and ear on what’s going on. My husband gives me an hour of ‘work’ time an evening so I can either sew, make jewelry or work on promoting. It’s definitely hard…there is so much you can be doing on the internet to get your name out there and it’s hard to walk away for awhile, especially since I really enjoy it. Sometimes I just have to close up my laptop and leave the room. I purposely don’t have a fancy phone so I can only do computer stuff when I am at home. Grandma also has the girls two days a week so I can really work on things. (thanks Grandma!)

If you could go back in time to the beginning stages of your venture, what advice would you give yourself? Don’t open a shop on etsy 5 days after having a baby (a second baby, for that).

Tell us about your average day: Wake up, get the girls up, publish my blogs (I run three right now…yes, I’m crazy), breakfast, catch up in forums, renew a few things or list some new items, read through some blogs that look interesting, nap for Capri, lunch, gym or play outside with the girls, nap/quiet time for girls, work on computer for mom, dinner, hour of work time, winding down time, bedtime for girls, pre-write blog posts for the next day, make anything I have the energy left to make, bedtime.

What do you love most about owning and operating your own creative business? I love being my own boss…no one tells me what to do and I only do what inspires me.

Besides your work and family, what else do you enjoy doing? Reading, shopping, kickboxing, selling at the orchard store, having coffee with friends, movie watching

Why do you think consumers should shop handmade? It’s different, it’s supporting someone’s dream, it’s unique, it’s creative, it comes from the heart…what more could you ask for?