If you don’t know me, hi! My name is Bella and I am the owner and creator of Happy Heart Art Co. I think everyone remembers a little time called March 2020 when the world suddenly stopped. I was working in a restaurant at that time (along with various other part time jobs), got laid off and suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. I went through all the quarantine phases including sleeping a lot, binge-watching Netflix (although I can proudly say I did not ever subject myself to Tiger King), working out (that lasted a good three days) and of course aimlessly scrolling through TikTok. I started seeing a lot of calligraphy and lettering videos on TikTok and I loved watching people write. I got inspired and thought, hey I can do that! So, I got some brush pens and a sketchbook and started practicing.
I got it in my head that I wanted to start a business. Now, did I know how to start a business? Absolutely not. Do I now know how to run a business? Still no. But, I’m taking things one day at a time and figuring things out as I go along. And, I’m having a great time! There are so many challenges and I have Googled the most ridiculous questions but I am determined to succeed!
A little about my business -
I started seeing a lot of weddings on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. I love love and weddings and pretty things so I was all about this kind of content. I started thinking about what all goes into weddings and how much freakin’ stuff you have to buy. Plus, Facebook Marketplace is filled with people selling stuff they purchased for their weddings like plates, decorations, tablecloths - all things that will never be used again. There’s a lot of waste at weddings. I wanted to start a business that kind of minimized that waste. I started buying ornate mirrors that I could write on with semi-permanent ink (so it would stay on throughout the duration of an event), but it would come off with a good scrub so I could reuse them. I offer rentals of these mirrors that people can customize to say whatever they want, I write on them with pretty writing, drop the signs off at the event and pick them up when it’s over. That way, the couple doesn’t have a ton of signs left over saying welcome to our wedding and here’s the dinner menu cause who really wants that after the wedding is over?? No one, that’s who. Once, I got a lil inventory built up, boom! Happy Heart Art Co. was formed.
What’s in a name -
I knew I wanted to start this business but I struggled for a long time trying to figure out what to call it. With one of those Google searches I mentioned before titled “How to come up with a business name”, I quickly became overwhelmed. You see, there are a lot of criteria and things to think about when naming a business, apparently. You want it to be simple so people can remember it, but not boring. You want to be unique but also when you think you’re being unique, that name is already taken. It was a struggle. I was talking to my boyfriend about it trying to come up with a name and he asked me a very important question: What do you want people to get from your business? I thought about it and I said I want people to have an enjoyable experience when working with me and I want their hearts to be happy seeing the products I have created for them. Well what do you know?! There’s my business name.
What’s next -
I have a ton of plans and ideas for directions I want to take my business. But for now, I’m focusing on building a network within the wedding industry here in Portland and booking more events for my rentals. We’ll see how I do with this whole blog thing!
Thanks for being here!
