Today we’d like to introduce you to Dena Holley-Stormer.
Dena, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2012, shortly after getting engaged to my husband, my mom died in a car accident. I was working in property management at the time and took a leave of absence to attempt to grieve, plan a wedding, and handle my mom’s estate. Over the course of those three months, I realized that life is just too short to work in a place where you feel trapped or miserable. With the support of my husband, I chose not to return to work and basically sunk myself into all things creative. I started sewing more, flipping furniture, playing around in photoshop, just basically exploring. I knew I wanted to put a name on all the stuff I had created but wasn’t sure what. One night after a few drinks, I was watching “Wet, Hot, American Summer” and was inspired by the “arts and farts and crafts” line during the talent show at the end. The word shart had recently entered my vocabulary, so that was that. As soon as I shared with a friend that I was naming my business Hearts and Sharts, she gasped in horror and I knew I had picked the right name (I live for an awkward moment).
By this point, I had amassed an obscene amount of flipped furniture and signed up to do a free craft fair in Wylie to try to get rid of it and make some money to fuel my furniture habit. Around that time, my dad gifted me a book called “God, I Have A Question” by Dr. James Merritt, a Pastor in Duluth, Georgia. I took the book with me to the craft fair and read the entire thing while almost selling out of the furniture. I accepted Jesus as my savior that weekend and life took on a whole new trajectory. I knew I wanted to get baptized and considered doing something as crazy as flying to Duluth to be baptized at Dr. Merritt’s church. I put it off but just two short months later, my husband was offered a position in Atlanta, Georgia, just miles from Dr. Merritt’s church. It felt like such a strong sign, how could we say no? So we moved to Atlanta and I was baptized. We spent five or 6 years in ATL and I continued my creative journey and started a DIY blog. I put my furniture flipping addiction to work and volunteered for Dwell with Dignity, a Dallas based charity that had just started a provisional chapter in Atlanta.
The work was incredibly rewarding and I met some amazing people and some really talented interior designers (shout out to Cody Ables of Codarus and the incredible duo Gordon-Dunning). These connections led to an opportunity to attend a Lunch & Learn hosted by a freelance editor for Better Homes and Gardens. The editor basically went through everything she looked for in a home submission. I took furious notes, sent her before and after pictures of our home and nine months later, our home was published in Makeovers Magazine, a Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication. In anticipation of the magazine being published, I hustled to rebrand to make the website more “sharty” and in the process rediscovered my love of drawing. I began creating repeat patterns and tea towels from my drawings and having them printed on fabric to sew up myself. Shortly after, I got into greeting cards and entered the wholesale world. And that long ass story brings us to the current iteration of Hearts and Sharts.
Great, 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?
Mom’s death, planning a wedding and moving a thousand miles away all within nine months was definitely a struggle. There’s also just the regular creative struggles: creative blocks, falling into the Instagram hole and comparing myself to others, finding the money to create new products…. regular stuff. Also SEO – and saying no to bacon cheeseburgers and whiskey…. and cussing in front of children.
Hearts and Sharts – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Hearts and Sharts tagline is “a little cute, a little unexpected” and I think that defines the brand pretty well. It also gives me license to make either something really cute or something cheeky and borderline obscene. My favorite part of doing markets is watching people trying to process the “sharts”. The name sets it apart pretty well. I’ve been asked several times if I know what that means or if I just wanted something that rhymed with hearts (c’mon guys). There’s a whole page on the website dedicated to the pearl clutchers who have some kind of opinion on Hearts and Sharts. It used to bother me but I just don’t have time for it anymore. I’m just trying to be myself while making you laugh. I think that’s what I’m most proud of – all the laughs. I love it when people just gather around the card wall and laugh their asses off.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being published was super cool. I think mostly I’m just proud of the fact that I’m self-taught in almost every aspect – I got here on my own. I don’t know where “here” is, but…
I’m also pretty proud of myself if I shower two days in a row.
Pricing:
- Greeting Cards $4.50
- Tea Towels $18
- Toiletry Bags $18
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heartsandsharts.com
- Email: dena@heartsandsharts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartsandsharts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartsAndSharts
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
