It’s hard to believe I started my journey into the martial arts nearly 30 years ago. Like just about everything else I’ve ever done in my life, my journey has hardly been typical. Most people take one of three different paths: They either try it and move on for one reason or another after they’ve advanced a couple of belts, they progress steadily through to their first degree black belt and decide that’s as far as they need to go, or they make martial arts a lifelong practice. I thought— scratch that, I was certain—that my path would be the third.  Instead, I took none of these paths.  I started training in martial arts in my hometown, La Grange, Texas....

I worked today. Not long. Maybe 4 hours. But it was the 4th of July, and while most people were having backyard bbqs and beers with friends, I was waxing, putting D-rings on, and stamping pieces that either need to be photographed or shipped. At some point, it occurred to me that it was a holiday and that I could probably be relaxing in front of the TV or taking a nap. There was a time when I probably would have gone down the self pity route. But instead of thinking “Why me?”, I felt grateful.  I can’t say that I always feel that way, and I would be lying if I said I felt that way last week. Truth...

I was scanning through our Instagram feed the other day and reflecting on how our style has changed over the almost decade that we’ve been making reclaimed wooden art. If you’ve recently stumbled onto our site or social media feeds, you might think we’ve always been about bold colors and a retro aesthetic, but those of you who have been with us for a long time (thank you, by the way!) know that our style has changed a great deal over the years.  The truth is, I always wanted to try using retro colors in our pieces, but I had to overcome some fears before we were able to successfully pull it off.  For the first 4 years of our...

“This is the year, Kris!” I’ve lost count how many times Kelley has said this at the start of a new year. It’s a running joke between us at this point. (She even said it at the beginning of 2020. Ha.) I tease her for it, but honestly, many of the milestones we’ve had with Hemlock & Heather began with that optimism and forward-thinking attitude. We balance each other out The truth is, I’ve never been the optimistic one in our relationship. As much as I hate to admit it, for many of the obstacles we’ve overcome and projects we’ve taken from concept to reality, my first thought has often been how we can’t rather than why we can.  I...

“Stay in your lane. Comparison kills creativity and joy". - Brene Brown  For years I've been telling myself that "Comparison is the thief of joy", yet Kris has always pointed out that it's just another empty platitude if you don’t actually put it into practice. I'm still guilty of it; I still scroll through the endless feed of pictures and posts and compare myself or our business to everyone else's. You know what it does? It kills my joy. Every. Single. Time. Kris is really good about staying in his own lane and not caring what everyone else is doing, what they're creating, or how successful they seem to be on social media. He keeps his head down and stays...