There's no one more supportive of his daughter and her business than my Dad, Tom. Since the very beginning he has been there whenever I needed something whether it was moral support or to build something I needed.
My first display was a case that I bought from a friend, the second one Dad built. Cases that were interesting and would fit in my MGB! Then I decided I needed a small roof so Dad designed that as well. It broke down small and compactly, perfect for shows in a tiny car.
Since then he's been designing and building all kind of things for my studio as well, including my workbenches. I need a new rack for something, I call Dad. Of course then I end up with something much nicer than expected!
But he could be embarrassing as well. In my early days I showed my work in the Art Sales tent at the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts every June. The tent was one block from my Dad's office so he delighted in standing in my booth calling all his friends over to "buy some of my daughter's jewelry". Since he knew EVERYONE, this was totally mortifying to his daughter. It took a few years before I embraced what he was doing. Now I just laugh and enjoy it!
One of the many father-daughter traditions has been that he always helps me set up my booth at the Reeds Lake Art Fair here in Grand Rapids. He's now 83 and still meets me there before 6 am to help set up and then we go have breakfast.
But that's just the beginning of his "involvement" at that show. All day long yesterday people asked me if I was related to Tom! Young, old and in between, a whole lot of people know my Dad. So with a big smile, I proudly answer yes, he's my Dad!
Love you Dad!!!
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