À propos Breads & Threads
Partnering with our communities to help empower the fiber arts!
Hello, and a hearty welcome to the Breads and Threads Handmade Page!
I am Linette, the founder/creator/heart and soul of Breads and Threads Handmade and one half of Breads and Threads, the magazine. I am delighted that you decided to visit my blog to learn more about me and my creative venture. This has been a long time coming but when you live life like I do, schedules and being on time aren’t really a thing lol.
Let me start by telling you about myself and how I came up with the idea of Breads and Threads.
Our story starts in 2007 when I started my first business at a local farmer’s market. I had been crocheting for some years but never really seen it as a talent or a marketable skill. It was just “something I did”. That week i heard a preacher speak about how lots of people overlook their natural God given talents and replace them with what we feel society expects from us. I was crocheting at the very moment. I looked down at what I was doing and knew right then that what I did naturally was exactly what God had established it to be. I just hadn’t put it into action. I launched Breads & Threads that following weekend with no name and no exact purpose or mission, with one table, a pop up tent and a calculator at the local farmers market. I learned so many life lessons and perfected my baking skills at that market. Through the vendors there I learned community and the art of working together as a team. I didn’t really know that before because in the business world you’re kind of subjectively taught the art of “every man for himself”. It’s a cold world the business world. Business progressed quickly and even expanded into retail space and at that moment the name Breads & Threads and its concept came to be. It was pretty obvious that should be the name as I was known as the breads and threads lady at the market. Time passed and many things changed. Some for the better and some for worse and by 2019 my priorities were different. I yearned to be home with my family, doing the things I love, like farming and being creative. I wanted to be successful in what I defined as success.
Isn’t it funny how most of us strive to fit society’s definition of “successful,” even when it makes us miserable? Well, I realized that I don’t have to earn millions to be successful. Being “me” makes me successful. I hold the key to my happiness, and it was high time to seize the opportunity. I’ll tell you more detailed stories about this topic later.
So, after much deliberation, I decided to scale down being a full-time businesswoman to focus on my home, family, and farm.
Let me just say that it was the best decision ever!
In no time at all, I had closed up Shoppe and moved everything home to begin building my stay at home business. And then Covid hit!
So there I was with a crochet business that was 100% not essential, a bunch of animals, a mini farm, kids and a world on fire so to speak. I knew I had to reinvent what Breads & Threads was and what it meant to you, our customers. I had to give it a purpose. If I believe God provides all my needs then I had to believe the skill He gave me would be the means to provision. So, I gave in completely to Breads & Threads being more than just a woman who crochets because within that, existed the Chicken Lady, the farmer, the advocate and so much more. I wasnt just the breads & threads lady. I was so many things I had been afraid to bring forth for so long. But now it was time! I qucickly and inexplicably managed to transform my mini farm into an oasis of abundance. I was growing and harvesting fresh green vegetables in a hoop-style greenhouse. I kept poultry for meat and eggs and even had a few adorable pets. Our four goats and two charming pot-bellied pigs played a big role in animal-assisted therapy. Everything was going well put side of the therapy animals not having jobs. The therapy pets became unemployed and not eligible for the PUA due to quarantine orders. I love to tell people that they were ineligible for the PUA but were considered unemployed😀 They get a big kick out of it.
Creativity and believing in yourself gives Silver Lining a whole new meaning. I was no longer acting or reacting based on what I felt others expected but I was being “me”! I was alive with new ideas and possibilities!
Creativity has always been one of my biggest assets. When you are creative, your imagination is always gushing forth with unusual ideas and exciting thoughts. So, the unpleasant turn of events did not crush me, it only made me think harder. I kept an open mind and decided to explore new ideas and take risks; break boundaries and find the way forward. Plus, my unwavering faith in Gods plan kept me convinced that He stood behind that silver lining.
I knew that I had the skills to succeed. So, I decided to put my trust in God and put my skills to the test. I was confident that it would help me reach a whole other level of success. But more importantly, this choice would let me be content and happy on my mini farm with my family.
Thus, the new and free Breads and Threads was born! We went virtual, started teaching, begin delivering and grasped just about any new concept and opportunity that came our way.
This online venture of mine is all about sharing what I love with you. It is a creative outlet for me to make beautiful handmade items, sell them to people who appreciate them, teach others and make a living through it. Or at least pay a few bills lol
As the year progressed so did the brand and its innovations. In November 2020, the Detroit News wrote a story about that silver lining and my little shoppe. That article catapulted Breads & Threads into a whole new dimension. I am so grateful to my creative friend Jocelyn and her ability to see the visionary journey I was walking in. In the creation of a photograph for said article, Keri and I created a marketing photograph along with Sam, our photographer friend. This photograph would promote one of my shawls in the newspaper article. The newspaper refused to use the photograph which left me with the decision of what to do with this photograph. The wheels of creative and my crazy started rolling and it began to unfold. A whole new branch of Breads & Threads was on the horizon and I don’t think we even knew that in that moment. We took that picture and created a magazine cover to promote the shawl, a cover that would expand our brand in a whole new and unexpected way. Boy, were we shocked when we realized just how excited people were about this fake magazine that did not exist. In a short, incoherent conversation with Keri, we agreed that we were Breads & Threads the magazine and in THREE days we launched the magazine. God is so amazing that He provided all the writers and our kick off advertiser in less than 24 hours. Here we are, three months later, and actively doubling our readership numbers with the help of talented writers and photographers.
I haven’t created all of this alone. I may be the visionary but without my right hand, Keri Larange, there would be no Breads & Threads brand. I’m still not sure what allowed her to believe in my ideas but I am most grateful for her commitment to just some crazy chic with a funky hippie hobby. Keri creates all creative design and visual appearance for the magazine, the website and she aligns my ideas into functionality.
We strive to continue being an example of self advocacy in every way. We will continue to grow the magazine and place into that magazine stories and articles that will impact women in every aspect or stage in their life and to we hope to continue my joy of living off the land. My life as Linette and the Chicken Lady are one in the same just in different interpretations. I hope you stick around for the ride and maybe learn a little something new.
Know that I’m always open to suggestions and constructive criticism, but I don’t strive for perfection. I strive for joy in my life and the active knowledge that Gods plan is in action.
Oh and I almost forgot, I wrote a book somewhere in that timeline while my husband battled cancer. Hope you’ll read that too one day. You can purchase it here:
Let’s see where this journey goes from here!
Linette
The Chicken Lady
Hello, and a hearty welcome to the Breads and Threads Handmade Page!
I am Linette, the founder/creator/heart and soul of Breads and Threads Handmade and one half of Breads and Threads, the magazine. I am delighted that you decided to visit my blog to learn more about me and my creative venture. This has been a long time coming but when you live life like I do, schedules and being on time aren’t really a thing lol.
Let me start by telling you about myself and how I came up with the idea of Breads and Threads.
Our story starts in 2007 when I started my first business at a local farmer’s market. I had been crocheting for some years but never really seen it as a talent or a marketable skill. It was just “something I did”. That week i heard a preacher speak about how lots of people overlook their natural God given talents and replace them with what we feel society expects from us. I was crocheting at the very moment. I looked down at what I was doing and knew right then that what I did naturally was exactly what God had established it to be. I just hadn’t put it into action. I launched Breads & Threads that following weekend with no name and no exact purpose or mission, with one table, a pop up tent and a calculator at the local farmers market. I learned so many life lessons and perfected my baking skills at that market. Through the vendors there I learned community and the art of working together as a team. I didn’t really know that before because in the business world you’re kind of subjectively taught the art of “every man for himself”. It’s a cold world the business world. Business progressed quickly and even expanded into retail space and at that moment the name Breads & Threads and its concept came to be. It was pretty obvious that should be the name as I was known as the breads and threads lady at the market. Time passed and many things changed. Some for the better and some for worse and by 2019 my priorities were different. I yearned to be home with my family, doing the things I love, like farming and being creative. I wanted to be successful in what I defined as success.
Isn’t it funny how most of us strive to fit society’s definition of “successful,” even when it makes us miserable? Well, I realized that I don’t have to earn millions to be successful. Being “me” makes me successful. I hold the key to my happiness, and it was high time to seize the opportunity. I’ll tell you more detailed stories about this topic later.
So, after much deliberation, I decided to scale down being a full-time businesswoman to focus on my home, family, and farm.
Let me just say that it was the best decision ever!
In no time at all, I had closed up Shoppe and moved everything home to begin building my stay at home business. And then Covid hit!
So there I was with a crochet business that was 100% not essential, a bunch of animals, a mini farm, kids and a world on fire so to speak. I knew I had to reinvent what Breads & Threads was and what it meant to you, our customers. I had to give it a purpose. If I believe God provides all my needs then I had to believe the skill He gave me would be the means to provision. So, I gave in completely to Breads & Threads being more than just a woman who crochets because within that, existed the Chicken Lady, the farmer, the advocate and so much more. I wasnt just the breads & threads lady. I was so many things I had been afraid to bring forth for so long. But now it was time! I qucickly and inexplicably managed to transform my mini farm into an oasis of abundance. I was growing and harvesting fresh green vegetables in a hoop-style greenhouse. I kept poultry for meat and eggs and even had a few adorable pets. Our four goats and two charming pot-bellied pigs played a big role in animal-assisted therapy. Everything was going well put side of the therapy animals not having jobs. The therapy pets became unemployed and not eligible for the PUA due to quarantine orders. I love to tell people that they were ineligible for the PUA but were considered unemployed😀 They get a big kick out of it.
Creativity and believing in yourself gives Silver Lining a whole new meaning. I was no longer acting or reacting based on what I felt others expected but I was being “me”! I was alive with new ideas and possibilities!
Creativity has always been one of my biggest assets. When you are creative, your imagination is always gushing forth with unusual ideas and exciting thoughts. So, the unpleasant turn of events did not crush me, it only made me think harder. I kept an open mind and decided to explore new ideas and take risks; break boundaries and find the way forward. Plus, my unwavering faith in Gods plan kept me convinced that He stood behind that silver lining.
I knew that I had the skills to succeed. So, I decided to put my trust in God and put my skills to the test. I was confident that it would help me reach a whole other level of success. But more importantly, this choice would let me be content and happy on my mini farm with my family.
Thus, the new and free Breads and Threads was born! We went virtual, started teaching, begin delivering and grasped just about any new concept and opportunity that came our way.
This online venture of mine is all about sharing what I love with you. It is a creative outlet for me to make beautiful handmade items, sell them to people who appreciate them, teach others and make a living through it. Or at least pay a few bills lol
As the year progressed so did the brand and its innovations. In November 2020, the Detroit News wrote a story about that silver lining and my little shoppe. That article catapulted Breads & Threads into a whole new dimension. I am so grateful to my creative friend Jocelyn and her ability to see the visionary journey I was walking in. In the creation of a photograph for said article, Keri and I created a marketing photograph along with Sam, our photographer friend. This photograph would promote one of my shawls in the newspaper article. The newspaper refused to use the photograph which left me with the decision of what to do with this photograph. The wheels of creative and my crazy started rolling and it began to unfold. A whole new branch of Breads & Threads was on the horizon and I don’t think we even knew that in that moment. We took that picture and created a magazine cover to promote the shawl, a cover that would expand our brand in a whole new and unexpected way. Boy, were we shocked when we realized just how excited people were about this fake magazine that did not exist. In a short, incoherent conversation with Keri, we agreed that we were Breads & Threads the magazine and in THREE days we launched the magazine. God is so amazing that He provided all the writers and our kick off advertiser in less than 24 hours. Here we are, three months later, and actively doubling our readership numbers with the help of talented writers and photographers.
I haven’t created all of this alone. I may be the visionary but without my right hand, Keri Larange, there would be no Breads & Threads brand. I’m still not sure what allowed her to believe in my ideas but I am most grateful for her commitment to just some crazy chic with a funky hippie hobby. Keri creates all creative design and visual appearance for the magazine, the website and she aligns my ideas into functionality.
We strive to continue being an example of self advocacy in every way. We will continue to grow the magazine and place into that magazine stories and articles that will impact women in every aspect or stage in their life and to we hope to continue my joy of living off the land. My life as Linette and the Chicken Lady are one in the same just in different interpretations. I hope you stick around for the ride and maybe learn a little something new.
Know that I’m always open to suggestions and constructive criticism, but I don’t strive for perfection. I strive for joy in my life and the active knowledge that Gods plan is in action.
Oh and I almost forgot, I wrote a book somewhere in that timeline while my husband battled cancer. Hope you’ll read that too one day. You can purchase it here:
Let’s see where this journey goes from here!
Linette
The Chicken Lady
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