CELEBRATING BIG MOMENTS
When I first started thinking about doing a blog, I remember asking myself how I could share my experiences in a humble way where the spotlight was more on the lessons learned and memories made, rather than shining directly on me. Very similar to those thoughts, when I started Amelia's I knew I didn't want my name on it. To this day people ask why the trucks aren’t “Mattie’s Flower Truck” - without hesitation, I always say that I wanted to be able to separate myself from my business. I never wanted my business, whatever it was, to be my only identity. This idea has always been very important to me, so I never even considered my name for the brand. Personally, I have done a really great job separating myself from Ameila’s. So good that I almost feel disconnected at times; in any given moment, I hide behind the flower trucks and let Amelia shine, never Mattie. When the business gets recognized in really big ways, I feel like an observer of those big moments and find it hard to celebrate and let it really sink in. I used to think this was a healthy way to see my business, but as Amelia's grows, I want to be able to humbly celebrate those moments and recognize that this is my business and it’s okay to be proud of it. I’ve always felt uncomfortable talking about myself, but with each post I am learning to treat this blog as more of a ‘round table’ than a stage. I imagine myself talking to my friends and getting really excited to share new happenings with Ameila’s. So here I am, making strides towards celebrating in the really big moments that Amelia and I have been able to be a part of.
- DR.SCHOLL’S SHOE CAMPAIGN
The opportunity to be a part of the Dr.Scholl’s campaign was really random – like “pinch me, is this real” random. I got an email from someone asking if I’d be interested in partnering with a shoe company. I am always open for new PR and Marketing ideas, so naturally I was interested. When we finally setup the phone call to discuss the details, I learned the shoe company was Dr. Scholl’s, which definitely surprised me. The person I spoke to encouraged me to go to the website and look at their shoes before I made a decision. Who knew Dr. Scholl’s had great, stylish shoes? This girl right here sure didn’t! They proceeded to tell me about their Pursue Your Passion Campaign and how they wanted to highlight small business owners and entrepreneurs who are on their feet all day. They loved Amelia's and the story, so they really wanted to highlight us! I was thrilled and super excited about the opportunity. Next thing I knew, the team was flying to Nashville for production and I was getting free shoes in the mail – AMAZING! The day we shot the video and did the photoshoot was unreal. I felt so pampered and cared for. I kind of wanted to get used to the feeling, but my lovely friends Kellen and Ginger cautioned me about not getting an ego too soon (or at all for that matter). Side Note: find friends who keep you grounded. I was very aware that this was the rare occasion and that I would probably never have three people fixing my hair, my outfit and my makeup, simultaneously. To add to the potential of getting a big head, I was also mistaken for Taylor Swift that day - an article was written with the headline "Has Taylor Swift retired her 'Bad Reputation' and gone back to her roots in Nashville?" HA HA! The article included 5 videos that were filmed from a high-rise above us. All you can see is me just walking around the set. So ridiculous, but hilarious!
Being a part of the Dr.Scholl’s Shoes campaign opened up a lot of really great (and also really random) opportunities. I was able to go to St.Louis as a guest judge for the Art in Bloom event at the St.Louis Art Museum. I’d have to say the craziest of opportunities was when I received a call asking if I would be interested in being on their ad space in NYC. UMMM WHAT!? Who would say no?! So there I was in St.Louis filming new footage for an ad that would be played near Times Square. It felt like it all happened so fast! Gosh, what is life? Obviously I had to go see this billboard, because when will I ever be on a billboard again?! Unless maybe Taylor Swift needs a double for a video – HA, joking. Anyways, off to NYC I went with my dad and friend KT to see this ad. For someone who doesn’t love the spotlight, it certainly felt so weird to be standing on the busy streets of New York, staring at myself on a massive screen.
Since this was such a huge deal, I wanted to share this moment with y'all. We made a little video about the trip to New York. Since I am so blog savvy now (6 blogs in – lol) I thought I would call this a VLOG, HA HA. Enjoy!
xx Mattie