We’ve all done it: we mindlessly drag our feet through the week, with eyes glazed over and frowns painted on. We tell ourselves that the weekend will be better and that we’ll be happy once we have a day off – that’s when we’ll truly live. But who says that a Tuesday night can’t include kitchen dance parties and champagne toasts just because? When did gifts, cards, and baked goods become birthday-only items? Darling & Bliss is on a mission to make every day worth celebrating by bringing beauty back into our daily lives.
Sarah Anne Hayes combined her heart for encouragement and design prowess to create Darling & Bliss in 2014. Her goal is to reminder others that they are dearly loved while filling their lives with beauty, encouragement, and a bit more joy. Darling & Bliss provides all three through gorgeously designed handmade prints and cards featuring inspirational words from literature, music, and Sarah herself. “I truly believe that every person in this world is under-encouraged in some way,” she says. “We’re beaten down day after day with hard and frustrating situations and often the thing that can turn that all around is the smallest bit of encouragement.”
Sarah knows the impact that words can have on a day because of the way an Elsie de Wolfe quote has become a huge part of her life. Upon hearing “I’m going to make everything around me beautiful. That will be my life,” the words immediately struck a chord with Sarah and became the words she lives by. “Just like we believe Cinderella’s rags to riches story is just a dream and a pretty story, we often believe living a life we truly love, infused with beauty from top to bottom, is the same. That, or it’s only for people who get really lucky. When I heard that quote, I knew it was true — I could make my life beautiful, if only I chose to surround myself with it.”
Darling & Bliss represents new beginnings – not just in it’s products, but in Sarah’s own life. Before the debut of Darling & Bliss, Sarah started a design business that never truly took off. “When I started my last business, I didn’t fully realize the time it would involve — both the time I needed to dedicate to running and building the business, and also the time it would take for the business to grow. I wanted results now, but wasn’t ready yet to put in the time necessary to get them.” Despite these setbacks, Sarah remained resilient, put in some patience, and rebranded the business to become what it is today.
She says the key to overcoming the difficulties and stress of being a small business owner is to surround yourself with a community of people who are just as excited about your vision as you are. “I knew this was something I couldn’t do alone, so I reached out to other small business owners I admired — some in my field, and some outside of it — and said, ‘Hey, you do this, and you do it well.’ I asked for advice from some, inquired about collaborations with others, and with others I simply said, ‘Can we be friends?’ and that has made a world of difference.” Sarah stays inspired day in and day out by reading, taking walks through nature, and surrounding herself with beautiful, lovely things in her home and work space. We frequently find ourselves filling up on inspiration just by reading Sarah’s genuine blog posts about business, life, and creativity!
Her final piece of advice for those looking to infuse more beauty and encouragement into the world is this: “Start small. Recognize that you can make your life, and by extension the world, more beautiful simply by deciding to do so. It’s a simple shift in thought process that changes so many things. When your goal is to make life more lovely, you begin to notice the little things — the way you treat the barista at Starbucks, your level of patience when waiting in line at the grocery story, and so many more things. This shift in focus then leads to action — leave an extra tip, send a note of encouragement just because you can, surprise a friend with a gift, pay for the person behind you in line. There are so many little things we can do that make this world a more beautiful place and most of them aren’t hard at all.”
You can support Darling & Bliss by visiting their website, liking them on Facebook, and following them on Instagram and Pinterest. You can also add a little bliss to your life with our giveaway below!
