Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Gould.
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2018 when my son was born, I had a traumatic birth and serious post-partum depression. I struggled with feeling like a human being and was extremely hurt over why this had happened. I felt like a complete mess and a failure. I realized that women aren’t taken seriously when it comes to their emotions after birth and there isn’t support for them to understand those feelings. I just wanted to be understood and to feel like a person again. I thought returning to work would fix the problem for me. I threw myself back into my job. Instead of it helping, I missed the time I needed to heal and avoided what had happened to me even more than I had been. I needed an outlet. I started Gould Custom Creations as an outlet for my feelings. A distraction. I needed to do something while trying to start healing and working through everything that happened to me. I started sewing and making items that helped me to express myself, allowing me to be seen and just maybe understood. I knew if I felt this way, there had to be others who would want the same thing. I make accessories that allow people to express their personality and individuality. I love it when I can help someone feel like they are seen and can be themselves. Along the way, I am sharing my experience to hopefully raise awareness and help other women feel like they are not alone.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This definitely has not been a smooth road. Having a baby this year meant a step back from my business to focus on my own mental health. This meant not doing the normal things I was doing that enabled me to be successful up to this point. COVID definitely put a damper on things as well. Instead of going out and doing physical events to get products in front of people I had to use social media, which I am not great at, and hope that my products and message would reach people that way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I make knot headbands, among other things. Those are the most popular item I sell at events. I find unique fabrics with fun designs and high quality and turn them into fun headbands for people to express themselves with.
I also enjoy making patriotic items. A lot of patriotic tumblers and other accessories. Those are some of my favorites.
I think the fabrics I find and the time and personality I put into my items set me apart. My business is definitely me. I try to be professional in how I handle things, I keep politics out of it even though it would be so easy to make those items, but at the end of the day, I feel like I do a good job being true to myself and what I want people to know me for. It’s important to me to be true to myself so that my kids never see someone pretending to be someone else to be successful and happy.
I’m proud that I can do this myself and show my kids that with some hard work, they can do whatever they want to. I go to events and set up by myself, with two kids to wrangle at the same time, and have people watching me trying to figure out how I managed to set up my event tent by myself and make it look easy while I do it. My husband helps and is so supportive of me doing this, but up until this year he always worked on the days I had events so I was there by myself doing all of it. People usually help when they see me alone, but I can pop that tent up all by myself.
I never imagined I would have a business that would help my family make ends meet when I started or that it would allow me to stay home with my kids instead of sending them to daycare every day. I thought it would be a small side hobby, but it definitely grew beyond what I imagined.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
There aren’t really any specific apps or things I use to get things done. I am a paper person so I write things down, lists and notes of what I want to do or remember. I keep a notebook with all my event information so it is easy to find what I need. I have notebooks all over the place in my house so I always have somewhere to write something.
I have been reading and am trying to do Coffee Self Talk by Kristen Helmstetter. Part of coping with my mental health and my PTSD is trying to focus on myself for even a few minutes a day. I take some time and read a book, do some selfish sewing, or scroll through Pinterest. Coffee Self Talk is about taking the time to yourself each day to change how you talk to yourself. I do try to limit my time on social media because there is so much negativity out there and I just don’t need that in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gouldcustomcreations.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/gouldcustomcreations
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/gouldcustomcreations
