We recently connected with Bobi Brouse Bertling and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Bobi, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I don’t think there is choice when it comes to being resilient. You can either move forward and keep trying or sit down and wallow. My dad faced so much adversity in his life – but his glass was always half full. He never complained, he never dwelled. He moved forward and took steps to either change the outcome or find a new way to reach his goals. My dad taught me by example, one of the many gifts he gave me.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
By day I work full time for a great dental practice. My free time involves our small business The REplace. My husband and I started the REplace approximately eight years ago. We take old, unwanted things and make new things out of them. Our main focus is lamps – but we do other things as well. Our first piece was my father-in-laws bugle. After he passed away we had this beautiful instrument sitting in its case in our basement. My husband got the idea to make it into a lamp. It turned out so great and now sits in our living room and we see it everyday. As we began to create lamps out of unusual things I felt they all had a personality so I came up with the idea of giving them names and a story. Each lamp has their name and story printed on their tags. We have made many fun things into lamps…blenders, musical instruments of all kinds, tools (sanders, jig saws), shock absorbers, fire hose nozzles, telephones, pencil sharpeners, mannequins…the list goes on. We know this business is very niche but when we meet someone who connects to one our pieces it brings us such joy. We have done many commission pieces as well. Someone’s dad played the saxophone or clarinet, or someone who used to be a bowler and wants their bowling ball made into a lamp. Our pieces resonate with people. Like I said, we do more than lamps, but lamps seem to be our main focus. We have vendor space inside Antiques on Pierce in Milwaukee and we do several art shows a year where we sell our work. When not doing that I like to pain in watercolor and arcylicl.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) Not being afraid to try is huge. Before we ever did a show we walked one we were interesting in trying. We had never done a show, ever. After seeing what type of work was being showcased we knew we would be unique and also bring some fun. We applied for the next show and were accepted. We had such a positive reaction it motivated us to keep going. We have made over 400 lamps so far. 2) It helps being able to look at something and seeing what else it could be. It is so much fun to go to Goodwill or a flea market and see something that someone has discarded and get excited because you know you can make it into something else, something other than it’s original purpose. 3) Pay attention to the details. Every detail matters from the shade (or no shade), the type of on/off switch, the color of the cord, the finial if the shade requires one, the name, the story…it all matters. Be picky about your work.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Our biggest challenge it finding shows to participate in that are a good fit for us. Our product doesn’t fit the usual craft show. And so many of the art shows take place during the summer, outside. Well, lamps down’t showcase well outside not to mention no power source. We have battery packs – but lamps just don’t look the same when they are competing with sunlight. We consider our work functional art and would love to find more shows for makers, original artists. We are constantly looking for new opportunities, shows we haven’t tried or ways to promote our work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thereplace.com
- Instagram: thereplacemke
- Facebook: The REplace
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