I'm Kelli and I have an arts & crafts brick & mortar business that I have poured my heart into for the last 14 years. I have worked hard and have been blessed to meet and work with some amazing people while going through the ups and downs that life throws at you. I always push through and I try to look for the positive in whatever comes at me. I've had to move my business now for the fourth and (I really mean it) final time. I consolidated the businesses when my dad passed, survived COVID, and now the property being sold at my current location has facilitated these moves. This final move has had delays, which I have worked through, but they have tested me.

If you know me, I've always battled through everything and have said, "This is not what is going to break me."

Honestly, this past week, I broke.

While I've been processing what has happened, I have cried so much and have been pretty defeated—honestly because I don't know how to fix this. It's a significant financial impact. So I am putting it out there and asking for your help, which my friends say I'm the worst at.

So what happened?

When I learned I was going to be moving earlier this year, I needed to start getting things sorted and organized with all the moving parts and pieces. One of the things I did was move my cutting dies into "storage" so that they were out of the way but easy to access in the chaos of when I actually moved. What I discovered last week (I was going to start on Valentine's products) was that where I put the dies has a water issue, and consequently, they are now damaged with mold, mildew, warped wood, and rust. Water is truly the worst thing that could happen to them.

These dies are the core of my business—boxes, containers, the bases of most everything I do start with these dies. I have purchased/collected these dies over the last 10+ years. There are some custom ones, retired ones, and some big sets, and honestly, some I'm looking for because I'm not sure if I packed them away—it's a lot, and I still have a few to go. The dies were purchased over the years; some are from the thrill of the hunt, saving money to buy, a great sale, gifts from my dad—you get the picture. Almost 200 dies in my inventory, and just a handful are not damaged. I am angry, frustrated, heartbroken, & overwhelmed, and frankly scared. I need to start replacing them to keep my business going. Honestly, I am not financially in a position to do this. So I'm putting it out there because the replacement costs on these are $95 up to several hundred dollars each depending on the die/set.

So here I am asking for help. If you can donate, it would be amazing. If you can't, I get it, but I would ask if you have a creative artsy friend who likes to support other creative types, maybe you would share this with them. I would really appreciate any good thoughts, energy, prayers—whatever you believe—be sent my way. I'm gonna need them. I truly am afraid I can't get through this one, but I am holding my head up with a big smile on my face and trying my darndest to put creative energy out into the world.