About

 

 

Hi there and welcome! I’m Brittany, the owner of Ellison Made, a home goods shop & decorating blog. Along with the help of my husband, Sam, we’re transforming our builder grade home one DIY at a time and bringing you along for the ride. Whether it’s a handcrafted sign from our shop or an accent wall tutorial from our blog, it’s my desire to help you create a home that you love.

 

 

Home design has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. One memory I have is sitting with my mom on our sage green couch watching Room by Room on HGTV, a new television network at the time. I was so intrigued by the power and process of transforming a home, one room at a time.

After graduating high school, I looked into becoming an interior designer, but the tuition costs were sky high, so I opted to become a preschool teacher instead (they paid for my certification). I loved my classroom kids and enjoyed conjuring up creative spaces & craft projects for them, however I eventually moved states and switched careers. In 2009, I entered the healthcare field at a renowned eye clinic and learned everything I possibly could about the eyes (they also paid for my certification).  My desire to learn a subject well and teach it to others led to my promotion as clinic trainer. I truly loved my job, but once I had my second child, the desire to stay home with my kids weighed heavily on me.

It was 2013 and I was on maternity leave with time nearing for me to return to work. After crunching the numbers, we realized childcare costs for an infant and two-year old would take up most of my paycheck. So after some prayer, I asked Sam how he felt about me staying home with our girls and trying to make a little money on the side. We both agreed I should give it a try and if it didn’t work out, I’d go back to my healthcare career.

Without having any sort of business background and not wanting to do direct sales, I decided to combine my passion for home decor & DIY and open an Etsy shop selling handmade home goods. I took what little savings I had and purchased a craft cutter, vinyl, paint, wood & some basic tools. The rest is history!

 

I never in a million years thought that I’d get to stay home with my children, but thankfully my husband and girls were just the “excuse” I needed to go after my dreams and make them happen. Of course, none of this would be possible with out you, our friends, family, customers & supporters, so thank you so much for being here!

 

 

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Florida
Favorite Snack: Beef jerky, olives, seaweed snacks, anything salty & sour
Favorite TV Show: The Office or anything on HGTV & Food Network
Personality Type: ENFP (to a tee) for Myers-Briggs, Type 4w5 for Enneagram, Ambivert (Equal parts extrovert & introvert)
Favorite Way to Relax: A warm epsom salt bath, a full body massage or just dancing around recklessly
College Degree: English major at USF, but only completed my AA because I didn’t want to go into debt
Something That Excites Me: Seeing friends go after their dreams, word puns & quick wit, board games that make you think
Favorite Scent: The lumber aisle in Home Depot or the Fall Harvest candle in our shop
Pet Peeves: Being stuck between people (church pew, airplanes, etc.), but I also have misophonia/leaky sensory gating so certain sounds/noises really get to me.
Enneagram Type: I’m a 4 with a strong 5 wing
Favorite Band: Music speaks to me in a way I can’t describe. Some of my favorite musicians are Johnnyswim, Ray LaMontagne, Sia, Civil Wars, James Arthur, Sam Smith, Lauren Daigle, Florence & The Machine, Shane & Shane, Dave Matthews, Grace VanderWaal, Outkast & more.