Hi, I’m Sandi Silva, and I’m an Independent Designer for Chalk Couture. When I was young, I remember sitting in classrooms year after year just watching kids doodle on note pads, book covers, desks… whatever. I was so envious of their talent! They drew horses, dogs, people. Later, Kilroy and Marvin Martian were big. No matter how many times I tried, I just couldn’t draw anything other than a stick figure. But hey, I nailed those stick figures!
As an adult I’ve always been partial to crafting as a hobby. I particularly enjoyed painting, rehabbing old items I found at garage sales, upcycling things as I could. But what do you do with piece after piece of furniture and dog beds (I made some really cute ones!)? I sold a few, but storing all those things until they sold was a challenge—just ask my husband! Also, due to a neck injury that caused me to get migraines when I look down for very long, working on these types of projects were not worth the pain.
A few years ago I decided that because I have summers off, plus a few weeks of vacation throughout the school year, maybe I would get a side hack. Just something where I could make $300-500 a month. It had to be flexible. I knew a direct sales company would be a great fit, but the market seemed to be saturated by a few of them, and I didn’t want anything that required me to keep stock on hand.
In early 2018 I was searching Google looking for a direct sales company that sold crafts. I had no idea what kind of crafts, but something. As I scrolled through the results a company named Chalk Couture came up. I’d never heard of it before and was intrigued by the name, so I clicked the link and what I read filled me with excitement! Someone had thought to make chalk into a paste, then make several colors of it! Brilliant! And not only that, they designed a stencil-like thing called a transfer, but this is made from a thinner material so it’s flexible and has adhesive on one side to keep it in place. Smartest. Person. Ever! The variety of transfer designs ran from cute everyday sayings to beautiful floral designs and more. And the chalkboards they sold to put these beautiful designs on were gorgeous! I was overjoyed that I might have found not only a way to make additional income, but also a new hobby!
Once I was finished memorizing the website, I researched anything and everything I could about the company, and the reviews were fantastic. I watched video after video on their YouTube channel. It looked so easy to create these beautiful designs. I could create decor for every room in the house!
I researched designers and found one in particular that stood out to me and I emailed her. She called me within an hour and her energy was fantastic! She was upbeat, fun, smart, and a go-getter. She wasn’t pushy at all, which was important to me. Best of all, she had answers to every question I asked. Finally, when I asked what the commission was and she said 40% of retail, I was sold! That is way above industry standard! Then she told me that designers also get 40% off the retail cost of the product. There was a brief pause while I lifted my chin off the floor. The starter kit was just $99 and came with tons of stuff to get me started. “I’d like to sign up under you,” I managed to say. “Can I do that?” I asked. “I’d love to have you on my team!” she responded.
A few days later my New Designer Kit arrived. It was glorious! It had a beautiful Chalk Couture apron and everything. I felt so official! After looking at pictures online of what was included I had already decided what my first creation would be: Home Sweet Home. I went through the steps and within 10 minutes I’d finished my first piece of artwork, and it was so cute! And it really was as easy as it looked in the videos. If I got tired of the design or made a mistake, I could just wash it off and do it again OR do something completely different! The paste dries on and stays in place until you wash it off with a paper towel and water. I see a Nobel Prize in their future, I thought.
I had my talents growing up: softball, gymnastics, cheerleading. Art had never been one of them, as much as I always wanted it to be. Now with Chalk Couture I could create artwork… no talented required!