We were lucky to catch up with Heidi Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heidi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The journey starts back in Hudsonville, Michigan in 2012 when I created Sarah’s Tiny Treasures in loving memory of my 3rd daughter, Sarah Faith, who passed away shortly after birth of that year. Shortly after losing our daughter, I needed an outlet to grieve; then in December of 2012 after I participated in an “Online Ornament” swap with the “Still Standing” online magazine between other bereaved parents. During this time, I created custom-designed infant loss ornaments for grieving parents to remember their sweet babies in heaven. It was such a blessing to create these special ornaments for these families and share a little piece of my journey and my sweet Sarah Faith with them. But after experiencing another loss in late 2013, our son Stephen Thomas, shortly after birth again, I decided to take a break on making the infant loss ornaments after the loss of our son. I felt God prompting me to slow down and just focus on raising our two daughters and just focus on healing.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am the owner of The Whimsical Butterfly, where I create hand-dyed and digitally printed silk treasures, which include various styles of flags and scarves for churches and dance studios.

After the loss of our two children I had taken a break for several years and really jus focused on healing and raising our two daughters. A few years later in 2018, my husband was led by God to move our family to sunny Fremont, California! It was at this time; at the church we attend now I was introduced to worship dance and flagging. All my life, I had attended church but never experienced so much freedom and breakthrough like this before in this new expressive way of worship! I didn’t know there was so much more to worship and such a unique way to experience the presence of God! I fell in love with it immediately! Shortly afterwards, my pastors saw a need for more flags and asked me to make worship flags for our church. I hesitated at first because I didn’t feel led at that time… plus I really didn’t know how to use a sewing machine. So, in 2019, I felt God prompting me to start… if my pastors and God wanted me to make flags, then I will make flags! It was not easy at first; lots of trial and error…and dye spills! But with God’s help (and some YouTube videos), I was able to find my unique style/technique and create flags for His glory! If you are wondering about how I came up with the name for my business, I wanted my flags to represent transformation and “out of the box.” And that is how “The Whimsical Butterfly” came to be!

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Cor. 3:18

I love working with my clients directly and making sure they are involved in the process every step of the way if I am creating a custom order for them. I am committed to providing the best customer service I can and I strive to live by the Golden Rule…. “treat others as one wants to treated”. I have learned in the worship flag making world that everyone comes from different religious backgrounds so its very important to remember that even though we may worship differently or have different customs, the most important thing we have in common is we all worship the same one true God! It has been a joy and blessing to meet new clients all over the United States and even several countries such as England, France, and Puerto Rico!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is seeing your creations brought to life and the smiles on my clients faces when the worship with my creations. It brings me so much joy and blessings to see clients worship God with the flags I am led to create. I also find it very rewarding to partner with others and be able to give back to local communities and organizations.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

With anything in life that you want to be successful, it is going to take hard work and many mistakes. I like that saying, “Nothing in life worth having comes easy. Nothing in life that is worth having is free. Nothing in life worth having is not without a fight.”

For me personally, I want my flag creations to be unique. It was hard for me at first to not compare myself and be intimidated by other flag makers out there. I got discouraged a lot at the beginning because I was still perfecting my technique and finding the best materials to use, so lots of trial and error. I also felt very vulnerable putting my designs out there for all to see.

Once I let go of perfection and my insecurities and just let God use me, it got much easier, and I was able to find my own unique flag style. Still today, I remind myself that God has made us all unique, just like each flag, and will use our talents in different ways to glorify Him!

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: thewhimsicalbutterfly
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWhimsicalButterfly
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Thewhimsicalbutterfl