About

 

My little family. I’m Brittany, my husband is Sam, and our three daughters are Ryen (7), Breyley (5) and Stella (3).

 

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, 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 with your own two hands. And who can forget Candace Olsen and Divine Design? Not me.

After graduating high school, I looked into becoming an interior designer, but the tuition costs were sky high. My parents couldn’t afford it and I didn’t want to take out student loans, so I opted to become a preschool teacher instead (they paid for my certification). I loved my classroom kids and 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 after starting at the bottom. 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 2014 and I was on maternity leave with our second daughter. Time nearing for me to return to work. After crunching the numbers, we realized that 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, but 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!

Ellison Made officially launched on March 31, 2014. In addition to our home goods shop, I recently launched the blog to accompany all of our own home & DIY projects. Of course, none of this would be possible with out you, our friends, family, readers, customers, collaboration partners and supporters so please allow me to give a great big THANK YOU for allowing us to be a small part in your life.

 

 

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Florida
Favorite Snack: Beef jerky, olives, seaweed snacks, anything salty & sour or a charcuterie board
Favorite TV Show: The Office or anything on HGTV & Food Network
Personality Type: ENFP (to a tee) for Myers-Briggs, Type 4 with a strong 5 wings for Enneagram, Ambivert
Favorite Way to Relax: A warm epsom salt bath, a full body massage or just dancing around recklessly
Favorite Sports Team: Tampa Bay Rays
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 anything with warm amber/vanilla type notes
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.
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.