Blue Raddish is about living. And doing.
And not waiting. Blue Raddish is about designing a life with few regrets. My story starts with parents who didn't stay married but who have a lot in common. My mom raised my sisters and I in an organized and spontaneous home where #girlpower was a kind of a religion. If we had a good idea, we did it. My Mom kept a clean and orderly house. We worked hard. And played harder. We never learned how to watch TV but we learned how to clean a toilet with a toothbrush. We learned how to exercise alongside Jane Fonda with our own leotards. We did some epic walking, talking and shopping. We always had a place to create. We always had a place to go to make a mess and typically that place had a door. My mom always sewed. She still does in a glorious quilt studio where her 18 grandkids still love to spend time.
While my Dad didn't participate in our daily lives, his inspiration, his words, his life and sense of humor were a constant thread in our lives. He was moving. Doing. Sending letters. Calling us. Provoking us with motivational words and letters that were well.....very different than our friends' dads. We always wanted him to be more normal. Now I realize that he was giving us what he had to give us and that had staying power. He always told us that if we turned out normal, he and mom had failed miserably. I hope they both are proud.
In their own unique ways, our parents taught us how to work hard and chase dreams. In a recent visit to my Dad, he said "I have never had to have a good plan get up and do something or go somewhere." Yes. This is Luke. My Mom, on the other hand, has lived a very contented life full of cooking, quilting, gardening and loving us hard. She lives this part of the Benedictine Rule perfectly, "Idleness is the enemy of the soul."
Blue Raddish has been a creative outlet for me for the last 20 years. Something that is mine. Something that can change when I need it to change. Something that can keep my right brain turned on until midnight. Something that tames the mania. Something that I hope is part of our kids' story.
As much as I would like to position Blue Raddish as a lifestyle brand, it is really a brand that reflects what is important to a me, a wife and working mother who won't give up living a rad and creative life. I created Blue Raddish 20 years ago, before the birth of 3 kids, 15 different jobs and 5 moves. And now a mega career change.
And it lives on. It is like a little nano-brand-shadow that follows me around like my old imaginary friend who always kept me company. Some things never change.