Friday Feature: 13 O'Clock Designs

This week's feature is Sonia of 13 O'Clock Designs.

Tell us about yourself.
My name is Sonia Horowitz, I live in Newville PA with my soul mate and husband Adam, our beautiful 2 year old baby boy Liam, and our two rescued dogs. Along with being a mommy and a designer I am also a belly dancer and instructor as well as a Zumba instructor.

Tell us about your shop. What do you sell?
My shop contains a wide assortment of one of a kind and custom hand made jewelry and dance apparel (mostly belly dance). While most of my in stock pieces appeal most heavily to other dancers, I enjoy the challenge of doing custom and specialty work to fit almost any style.

How did you come up with your shop name?
13 O'clock is a concept that stems from the idea that we as a society tend to be constantly fighting so hard for a future of success and prosperity that we have somewhat lost the ability to really feed our dreams and fantasies. How often have you said something along the lines of, "I'll buy the nice jeans when I lose the extra weight," or "We'll start a family when we have more money," or "I'll take that art class when I have more time." We always seem to be waiting for just the right time to indulge our desires, and sadly that time may never come. We may never reach our 13 o'clock.
13 O'clock is about living in the now. No regrets, no expectations, just following your heart.

When did you start creating? Why?
I have been creative my entire life, but had never really thought of doing design work or crafting as an outlet. Actually, my mix of imagination and curiosity often got me in trouble as I was growing up! During my time living in Alaska I took an American Tribal Style belly dance class and I was hooked into the belly dance world! I began by making my own costuming pieces and as I had had no previous experience with crafting or sewing my journey has been mostly a guess and check sort of evolution. I dabbled in costuming and jewelry and had an Etsy shop but wasn't really sure about making a real go of it until this past year. I decided to stop fighting the universe and just go in the direction my heart was really pulling me.

How do you balance your business with your family?
I have never had good balance in any sense of the term. Balancing responsibilities and controlling stress are really never ending battles.The most important thing to remember is that you, yes you Mom are not superhuman. We all feel as if we failed sometimes so I like to go over my checklist in my head before I fall asleep: Are my dogs safe? Is my son happy? Am I sleeping next to my husband? Do we have a warm place to sleep? Ok then, I accomplished the most important things for the day.

What has been the most difficult aspect of being a Mommy with a Small Business?
Starting any small business comes with this bizarre mix of adrenaline, anxiety, and guilt. It's scary to truly be held accountable for your own mistakes, but unbelievably rewarding to reap the benefits of your own successes. If you are also a parent then the stakes become that much higher.

What has been the most rewarding?
There have been so many rewards stemming from this venture! It is really liberating to be doing exactly what I want to do when I wake up: take care my family, design, and create. My husband has been such a huge champion of my work, he is always the one to pick me back up when I let a setback get to me. I owe my development as a mother, artist, and business owner to his encouragement mixed with my bull headed determination. Teamwork like this is the sort of thing that really draws us together. I feel that despite the inevitable bad days and frustrations we have been able to draw even closer together as a result of having the freedom to work together toward both of our goals.

Do you have any tips for other moms with a small/home business?
While sensitivity as a mother is absolutely essential, too much sensitivity as a business owner or artist will not help you. Emotion, artistry, and business are all extremely important but also need to have certain amounts of separation or it becomes very difficult not to take things personally in the business world. Belief in your self and your work, and a rock steady emotional support system are absolutely vital to the health of your business.

What wonderful advice! We hope you've enjoyed and were inspired by this feature. If you would like to keep up with Sonia and her creations, you can find her at the following sites:

Sonia Horowitz
www.etsy.com/shop/13oclockdesigns
www.13oclockdesigns.com/
www.facebook.com/13oclockdesigns
custommade.com/by/13oclockdesigns
pinterest.com/13oclockdesigns/

Thank you for joining us!