Rentelov

I still carry around with me two things on my stethoscope; my RN charm and my cross charm. These two pieces are very special to me. I was gifted these when I graduated nursing school. The cross charm was given to me when I received the Nurturing the Nursing Profession Scholarship. When I was President of my school's student nurses association, we volunteered to help this scholarship fundraiser annually. The organizer of this scholarship was such a kind soul and remembered me when I would volunteer. In addition to the scholarship, she also gifted me my stethoscope charm and a great big hug. The RN charm was given to me at my pinning ceremony. A pinning ceremony for a nurse is a right of passage to transition from student to healthcare professional. For some, this ceremony is more important than the actual graduation ceremony itself! In addition to being pinned from an RN, three awards were given out to students. Two were chosen by faculty, and one was voted upon by the student's...

I'm obsessed with how absolutely adorable these headbands are. One of my coworkers suggested that I add headbands to my shop. So I did some research and I found the most amazing fabric to make Turban Inspired Knit Headbands . Saying that this fabric is soft doesn't describe how buttery soft and smooth it truly is. It's so comfortable that the Turban Inspired Knit Headband can be worn for long hours at work, working out, or practicing yoga yet stylish enough to wear out for all occasions. I usually have a big problem with most headbands where it slides all over or is too tight and doesn't look quite right. However, after making these, I wore the Turban Inspired Knit Headband in snake print yesterday to go hiking with my husband and it was so comfortable that I forgot I was even wearing one! 

I am part of a Facebook group online called "Sewing Room Ideas." My dream space would be a cute sewing space or rather a "she shed" for sewing in the middle of a garden with large windows and a cute little patio for drinking tea or coffee and relaxing. Much like Jane's sewing oasis in Reading, in the UK which was featured on Tilly And The Buttons The seamstresses in my "Sewing Room Ideas" Facebook group have some of the most drool worthy spaces. I applaud their proudly displayed trophy rooms. I always imagine what kind of wonderful creations are made in these spaces. There are so many creative ideas for sewing spaces, and I love to see what people come up with. So it gave me an idea. Why not show where all of the Rentelov creations are made?! My sewing space is small, but it certainly shows you that small spaces can have a very large imagination. My 2.5' x 2.5' table has been plenty enough surface area to fit both my Shark sewing machine and my...

I cannot express how absolutely elated I am about Rentelov's new look! I collaborated with the very talented graphic designer Jasmine from Jasmine Allan Design and gave Rentelov a fresh new design. I wanted to keep with the palm trees but also have a more contemporary "clean lines" look. In addition, I also wanted to add in some gold with the charcoal grey. Well, Jasmine did just that! She created a design board that is absolutely perfect for what I wanted Rentelov to look like. Here's the before: Here's the new face of Rentelov:

I just received some very exciting news for Rentelov today! A few week ago, it was suggested to me by one of my customers to apply to Amazon Handmade. This is an exclusive group of verified handmade artisans to have the honor of selling their items on Amazon. Well, guess who is now an official Amazon Handmade Artisan?! Rentelov! I just had to share the news before finishing up the process. Will post more as we get up and running on AMAZON!

Since opening the Etsy online shop, I began to think about all the places Rentelov items have gone thus far. In just a few short weeks, Rentelov scrub caps and face masks have traveled all over the USA! I have had some wonderful conversations with our customers on how much they love their scrub caps. This is the greatest part about having a small business. The ability to chat with healthcare heroes all over the globe and discover their own personal stories. My recent customer I was chatting back and forth with currently works on a pediatric COVID-19 unit. She was very excited about receiving her Marvel super hero scrub cap to wear when taking care of her young patients. It made all of the medical equipment and PPE we wear not so scary for these little ones. I loved reading her story and knowing that Rentelov can help make these scary times not so scary for both our patients and the healthcare workers themselves. So far, Rentelov has reached 11 different states!

One of the things I mulled over in my mind before opening my Etsy shop was what to actually call my new small business! I wanted it to be personal and short. Something that could easily fit on a small label. That's when the idea for a name came from one of my many favorite front porch conversations. Our front porch is small and cozy. A place that I enjoy having my morning coffee with my family. My husband and I enjoy sitting out there and having conversations and relaxing. One evening, we began a discussion about our last names. My maiden name is Johnson which is a pretty typical and common last name. However, when my family immigrated from Norway, they changed it to Johnson from Johanns to diminish the prejudice that immigrants faced then and unfortunately still face today. My husband then began discussing his family background about the origin of his- and now our- last name. My mother-in-law is a genealogy guru of sorts. She loves to dive deep into the family history and uncover...