"There's something to be
said for putting your best face forward when you're marketing yourself,
but when we're just together we need to show each other our soft
underbellies." Melissa Boyack was answering a question that has been on
my mind a lot, which is basically why people pursue difficult goals.
Why do I pursue photography even though it makes me feel deeply, and
sometimes painfully vulnerable? Why is Melissa spending her time and
resources sacrificially in order to launch an exceptionally unique
product? Is the payoff worth the risk?
The question, as Melissa pointed out, is a very, very big
one. But she's a deep thinker, and even though she described herself as
in a headache induced fog that day, she emanated quotable
wisdom in every other other sentence.
Melissa has been on a somewhat
unusual adventure that has involved magical powers, potions, and a
supportive family, and it started because she gets bored easily. The quality of being easily bored
doesn't come in handy if you are going for a 9-5 job and the first thing
Melissa talked about was how she didn't fit into that mold. After earning a degree in fine art, she took a job as a part time receptionist, ended up in marketing, and
eventually into freelance graphic design.
The last cycle of boredom hit right around the time she was doing graphic
design for a start up company for some women entrepreneurs. She
always thought of business as a yawn inducing endeavor but this company
caught her attention. For the first time in her life she was intrigued
by business and began to do some research.
The two formative books that
she mentioned were "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and "The Mom Inventor's Handbook" by
Tamara Monosoff The former transformed her thinking about what success
really is. "It's artifical. The hierarchical model of success only exists to the
extent that we buy into it." The CEO of Dell and the guy picking up the
garbage are on the same level. The latter made her realize that the
people who make this work are the people who decide to make it work
(within reason).
When her daughter, Casey, was approaching five and asked for magical powers and
potions for her birthday, Melissa inadvertently created a prototype for a
business that would completely renovate her life into something without
even a remote resemblance to boring.
Opal & Twig is a set of "potions" made from natural, water based materials intended for children for imaginative play but equally fun for adults. The products include Goblin Snot, Mermaid's Tears, Blackbeard's Brine, Veil of Secrets, Troll Sweat, Enchanted Forest Thicket, Moonlight Mist and Miracle Listening Serum. Each potion has a story behind it and a very appealing special ability, including but not limited to chasing away the grumpies, posessing the power of a pirate and having sweet dreams (to see the whole list check out the website).
Opal & Twig is a set of "potions" made from natural, water based materials intended for children for imaginative play but equally fun for adults. The products include Goblin Snot, Mermaid's Tears, Blackbeard's Brine, Veil of Secrets, Troll Sweat, Enchanted Forest Thicket, Moonlight Mist and Miracle Listening Serum. Each potion has a story behind it and a very appealing special ability, including but not limited to chasing away the grumpies, posessing the power of a pirate and having sweet dreams (to see the whole list check out the website).
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Casey explaining how Moonlight Mist gives you sweet dreams. |
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Casey reading the original list of magical potions and their abilities. |
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The original set of magical potions. |
How does a birthday present go from
being just a birthday present to a business? For Melissa it involved a
paradigm shift away from the perception that other people's
success is personally unattainable.
Successful people look like they have it all
together. The blood, sweat and tears aren't visible, which makes sense
from a marketing perspective but not interpersonally. "When we're just
together, we need to show more of our soft underbellies."
What does Melissa's soft
underbelly look like? Before I finished asking what the
most difficult thing was, she said, "When I feel out of balance, that's
the hardest thing." When I asked about the point of no return she said,
"When I went into debt there was no backing out," but she accepted that
as beneficial. "It's scary to go into debt but if you don't then it's
harder to stay committed. Things are really about risk and reward - the
rewards should not come easily." If they did, they wouldn't be
rewards.
![]() |
Melissa working in her office space at the Village Gate. |
Melissa and her business partner, Sara Bumby, are
slaving away preparing for meetings with investors to launch Opal &
Twig into a national market. She wants her story to inspire other women
to pursue business ideas that are outside the box. She envisions
herself speaking to local business groups and helping other women who
don't have access to the same resources to start their own businesses.
And when those women attain their goals, they can share their soft
underbellies too.
~~~
This article will be a series about awesome women. It was inspired
by Chase Jarvis who said that photographers and other creatives need to
have their own personal projects that are above and beyond their usual
workload. Like Opal & Twig, the project was birthed out of boredom,
only I was bored with the typical photography blog that delves no deeper
than "this family was great to work with." It made me introspect about
what I would find interesting. So I'm traveling back to my
photojournalism roots and writing some stories about people. Because
honestly, that is something that is never boring at all.
This project is in its early stages. If you know someone interesting who you would like
to see featured here e-mail debra@debrawallacephotography. com.
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