Week One: in Business: Chaos, Coffee, and a Cauldron Full of Dreams

Starting a small business is a little like casting your first big spell -- you gather your ingredients, cross your fingers, and hope the magic holds. My first official week of running WhichCraft Studio has been… well, let’s call it equal parts enchanting and exhausting.

Here’s what went down:

✨ Painting & Designing – I spent most of the week with a brush (and stylus) in hand, creating original artwork that will be sold right online and in the brick and mortar shop in Maplewood NJ. Because if there’s one thing my future shop needs, it’s walls full of color, whimsy, and just the right amount of witchy flair.

🌍 Sourcing Products – Beyond my own art, I’ve been scouring the world for treasures to bring into the store. Crystals, candles, clothing, magical home goods… if it sparks joy (or a spell), I want it on my shelves.

🛒 Shopping for the Shop – There’s nothing quite like buying products not for you but for everyone else. I personally think of it as retail therapy but with spreadsheets. The goal: create a space where every shelf feels like a discovery. This part is really fun, it scratches my own "need to shop" itch. 

💻 Business Mode Activated – This week also included setting up business accounts, wrangling paperwork, and making friends with QuickBooks (we’re still in the awkward small talk phase).

👩👧👧 Balancing Motherhood & Magic – All of this while raising two little witches-in-training. Picture me typing up product descriptions while someone asks for a snack every three minutes. It’s chaos, it’s exhausting, but it’s also kind of exhilarating. The truth is, starting a business while being a parent feels like living in two timelines at once -- terrifying and thrilling, draining and inspiring.

So yes, I’m tired. But I’m also buzzing with the kind of energy that only comes from building something you love from the ground up. If week one is any indication, this journey is going to be wild, messy, and magical.

Stay tuned—I’ll keep sharing the behind-the-scenes of opening a brick-and-mortar shop in Maplewood, plus sneak peeks of original art, handpicked goods, and the real-life spellwork of small business ownership.

Stay witchy fam, 

Alex