D's Crafts and Things

Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/557518025381242/?ref=share

This grower has a photo album.

Craft and sublimation tumblers
Hello,

My name is Deanna Bynum. I live just outside of Cabot, and I am a graduate of Lonoke High School. I have a wonderful family that I am very proud of. My husband, Adam, and son, Branden, are my biggest supporters. They believe in and encourage me even when I doubt myself.

I’d like to give you a brief back story on why I chose to start a small business in hopes of helping others as much as I can. In 2016, while at work, I started having trouble finding my words, speaking, and started noticing confusion. I went to many doctors who could not explain the reason that I was experiencing these symptoms that were keeping me from continuing my normal, everyday life. Because of this, I found myself dealing with depression, I still struggle today, but I have found hope. A few years and many neurologists later, I found someone who thought I could be showing early signs of dementia. Due to my age, the doctor did not want to diagnose me with dementia. After careful review of my medical records and past test results, I was diagnosed with a frontal lobe disconnect, short term memory loss and low blood pressure.

My neurologist suggested that I start to do something to help keep my brain active. As a young adult, I always enjoyed any type of art. My son has graduated, and I there isn’t much to keep me busy. This is a perfect time to revisit my love of art. I cannot drive very far without getting lost or get confused so I have plenty of time to work on my many hobbies. Last Christmas, my husband bought me a sublimation printer to get me back to designing and working on my photography this has become my favorite thing to do!

My friends have always encouraged me to sell my crafts and signs. I love to make others happy and give my heart, so I have always given my crafts as gifts and have not sold them for profit. Being unsure of myself from time to time also kept me from ever imagining that this could becoming anything. I noticed in April that the farmers market was looking for vendors and decided to take a leap of faith. On May 7, 2022, I set up my first booth and loved it! I loved the middle school kids coming over and asking questions and telling me about things they have made and how they loved it.

I’m very much a people person but my frontal disconnect keeps me from enjoying the little things in life. I would love to be able to help others understand that if you are willing, you can do anything, even if it’s not as perfect as what you know you can do or have done in the past. There is someone who will like what you have done and enjoy learning how you did it. I was pleasantly surprised that more paintings than tumblers sold. This made me feel very much myself again. I would also love to be able to do demos for the kids at some point. If anyone would like to help with this, it would be very much welcomed and appreciated. Because my husband is the bread winner of our household, he is unable to help me set up and work the booth most of the time.

I’d like to thank the Cabot Farmers Market for giving me the opportunity to try my hand at selling my crafts. This will allow me to buy supplies to keep doing something to keep my brain working on some level and live life. Thank you to everyone who came out last weekend and supported me on Mother’s Day weekend and I hope to see each of you soon!

Thanks again,

Deanna Bynum with D’s Crafts and Things