Meet Kelsey McDonald | Customer Experience Professional and Owner of Viola and Beatrice Stationers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelsey McDonald and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
I’ve though about this a lot the last few years. And I will say I think it’s something that is different for everyone. I have a busy life. family, friends, full time job, small business on the side, hobbies, etc. There have been many times in the past several years where I would talk with my partner and say, “Why am I doing all of this? What if I just stopped?” And his answer was always very simple, “What if you stopped?” From there I would proceed to talk myself through a hypothetical path and I would always come back to the fact of, “I don’t think I can stop.” As my life has ebbed and flowed, my brand and business has along with it. I have tried to shift my thinking into accepting that I can’t do it all at the same time, but some of these things don’t need a time line. I have a business because I would be working on these ideas anyways. I also really love trying to bring people together via writing letters and snail mail. I do think, when something, really anything, in your life is moving you farther from joy instead of closer to it it’s time to examine it. That doesn’t mean it won’t be tough or hard work, but it’s its not feeding your soul, moving you closer to a goal, or making you more Gollum than Bilbo, something might need to change.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Viola and Beatrice Stationers was named for Twelfth Night’s Viola and Much Ado About Nothing’s Beatrice. These women are two of Shakespeare’s strongest female characters, heroines even. Both push against the status quo and do it with wit, confidence, and grace. We wanted a brand that reflected those qualities of wit, confidence, and grace. What started out as a small wedding invitation adventure out of college, has now grown into four separate businesses and a passion to help and support others on their own business journey. I have had an artistic flair for most of her life. Setting up play art galleries at home with my artist mom, and dreaming of becoming a USPS Postal worker, my passions lead me into a career of design and customer experience. Viola and Beatrice specifically became a way for people close to me to create together. Stationery is a perfect combo of design, witty writing, and craft making. What has been easy? Thinking of things to create, make, share with people. What has been hard? Finding the time to create, make and share with people. That way I have tried to manage this is by really trying to have metered and realistic expectations–this is really hard for me though. I have also had to just embrace the scary things of putting myself out there and seeing what happens. You only fail if you DON’T try.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Goodness…..there is a LOT to do. I would start in Old Town, ideally on a summer Saturday so we could begin at The Farmers Market. Grab some iced caffeine drinks at Bean Cycle or something and walk the streets up and down–lots of cute stores and shops to go in. Maybe there’s even music playing at the square. that’s a full day right there after stopping at Retreat Bakery and Bar for dessert and a glass of wine. Other things I would love to get on the itinerary would be a concert at the Gardens on Sprint Creek, a tour at Morning Fresh Dairy and snack at Howling Cow Cafe, even ducking into the Discovery Museum with the kids in tow. We would also have to hit up some gardens stores to refresh the flower pots. I would love to take them up to a hike either in RMNP or Lory depending on how much walking they would like to do. I’m sure we would also try a brewery and food turck or two…that’s kind of a must.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This life totally take a village and I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without my husband’s support and encouragement along with my two little humans and fur baby. They push and inspire me everyday. Also, a handful of wonderful friends who put up with all my crazy ideas and my fantastic mastermind group who keep me motivated and inspired on the regular.

Website: https://www.violaandbeatrice.com/

Instagram: @violaandbeatrice

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdmcdonald/