Meet Vanessa Garcia

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vanessa Garcia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vanessa below.

Vanessa, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

In order to find my “purpose” I first had to get lost within my own depths and that can be a real journey. it’s safe to say I’m still on that journey but I truly believe that soaking in the process is what makes it memorable in this journey we call life.

This chapter in my life started when I lost my grandfather, it sent me through a real whirlwind but not for the reasons you’d think, I had experience loss prior to this of my own father but this loss was different not like grandpas passing. Different in the sense that it sparked what I can only describe as a spiritual awakening.

In the last moments of my grandfather’s life, I had been avoiding saying my goodbyes as everyone in my family had done, I just couldn’t wrap my brain around actually saying goodbye…..what do I say? so I showered and it was time to go to work, at that time I was a medical historian for an agreed medical examiner for workers compensation and I commuted all the way from Palmdale to century city so I had to hit the road but I still needed to say my goodbyes to grandpa.

When I approached his bedside, he wasn’t really speaking anymore, he was at the end stage breathing a little labored and his lower body was cold due to the lack of circulation in his body. I sat a few minutes with him and my mother, husband and grandmother, when I felt brave enough to grab his hand and in my mind I said “ok you can go, I love you”…..that very second as soon as I finished the thought he clenched onto my hand very tight and gasped, his eyes rolled and turned and just like that the man I knew my whole life was gone. I screamed but not because the hurt but more because of what I felt as he held my hand. I experienced his fear as he left his body for a very split second and then nothing just peace.

I was so confused what had just happened. needless to say, things changed, I developed new fears instantly like of the dark and tight spaces, I started hearing and seeing things, so I started to research life after death but at the same time I had a nervous breakdown, so my husband planned a camping trip in sequoia, big meadows campground in CA. I went out to the middle of the forest and purged, I cried, I was stressed with my job and couldn’t balance that kind of career anymore with what I was experiencing. I developed panic attacks and anxiety, so things had really changed for me, and I think I was looking for answers.

in that forest I released all the pain sadness, and a seed had been planted. Do everything that made you happy, take it back to the roots. so, I did just that, I took it back to my roots, my grandpa and all his Diy projects. once I did that a feeling that I had my whole life of waiting for something had magically lifted. it felt as if I was walking in my truth doing the things I loved like working with my hands, painting, letting arts n crafts just take off and see what else can be done.

when it came to choose my canvas, furniture just really felt right. i wanted to paint but not confident enough to take on a blank canvas but yet wanted the satisfaction of playing with tools like grandpa so I merged it to and upcycling business, giving treasured finds a second chance because even us humans need a second chance at times.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

The main purpose of my business is to provide a service to my community with revamping old furniture id find thrown in the desert, left in alleys or put up for free because it was “outdated”. The artist in me was looking for a canvas and I simply merged my favorite things in this world. painting, working with my hands, thrifting and a satisfying before and after’s.

I seen a need that was lacking at a time that upcycling and thrifting wasn’t really a cool thing but yet we all had existing furniture that we loved but was out dated or those amazing gems we stumble upon and can’t leave behind, that one family heirloom you really want to keep for sentimental reasons but honestly is a real eye sore in your current home style, so you hide it in the garage.

I have a deep love for the old wood furniture that has unique details, those pieces that are dismissed because its dated. I don’t see ugly wood, or old furniture. I see gems with potential waiting to be polished up or given a second chance because well don’t we all deserve a second chance? why not outdated furniture.

This is where mental health ties into what i do and something I’m looking to highlight and incorporate with workshops I have been teaching for the past year. i know what crafting and painting does for my mental health and so i really want to share this with my community, that art does help us heal. the workshops that i offer range from DIY furniture repair classes, beautifully broken mosaic workshops and light up moon workshops etc. I truly just love crafting.

When I take on a new piece of furniture, I’m not just working on a piece of furniture it is also helping me heal. its fulfilling to take something that could easily be discarded and transforming it but at the same time it’s also transforming me in a sense. it’s almost as if I’m healing all at the same time, I may have felt discarded or dismissed growing up, I’m not too sure yet on the why, still working that part out but all I know is that it’s helping my mental health believe it or not.

I have struggles in life as many do with overthinking, stress of everyday life etc. and when I’m working on a piece of furniture nothing else exist, my only focus is doing the best at restoring or making this a work of art with whatever style preference my customer has chosen. the only focus is making that customers vision a reality, and it is a very fulfilling feeling to see the joy on my customers faces at the end.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

personally, the top skill to focus on is basic repairs. this includes filling holes treating wood ect. after that i would say learning your basic tools and its usages maybe even a tutorial or two on how the tools can be used.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

honestly, i calm my energy and put myself in a time out. I remind myself that I can achieve anything. I always try and remind myself that the world is much bigger than me feeling like I’m drowning in my little cup of water and take it one task at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thesunflowerhavenstore.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunflowerhavenupcycling/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunflowerhavenupcycling
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHDxFazRKMDI2ujyKgSImjQ
• Other: miss lillian chalk paint retailer: https://www.misslillianspaint.net/retailer/112/

  tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sunflower_haven_upcyclin

Image Credits

Iliana Aguilar