We were lucky to catch up with Future Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Collins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Future Mr. & Mrs. Christopher , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’ve all been there before where things are tight financially and we start asking ourselves in the small/simple joys like a cup of coffee is worth it. Have you had an experience like this and if so how did you think about this sort of spending?

For much of my adult life, I was married to an engineer and money seemed to always be readily available for any want or need I could ever think of. To me, it was something tangible that I always seemed to have in my hands. Unfortunately, with that money came an abusive relationship (mental, emotional, financial, and eventually physical)where power and authority took the place of love and affection. What was supposed to be a happy and loving environment turned into being a cold and callous thumb holding me down from reaching my true potential. Leaving that environment meant leaving behind the money, but gaining a new life. With that new life, I was blessed to find Christopher, and his love and affection poured into me, and I felt like I could breeze for the first time in my life. Together we continued to build a Backroad Soul. We had to find ways to build our business without spending money, which often times meant we were not getting paid, and the business was. Everything that we did became an extension of our company, and we watched our business grow, even though we weren’t reaping any financial benefits. For us, watching our business grow meant more to us than personal financial gain.

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

Our business, Backroad Soul Boutique designs, custom T-shirts, earrings, wooden signs, totes, and much more. People have asked us where the name came from and we would love to share a little bit about that with you. Have you ever been driving down the back roads to wherever you’re going because the main roads are just too busy and clustered and often times filled with frustration? We have found that often times, that seem sentiment can be said about life. We decided to name our business Backroad Soul because it is on the back roads of life that we find peace and fulfillment. We drive the back roads, with our windows down, and our music blaring, and we become one with the earth and with nature. For us, being a backroad soul, isn’t just about promoting our business, it’s about being our best and truest self. We are a family owned and operated business, and we only use products and materials that come from other small, family owned businesses. Every single item that is sold through our business is handmade, custom designed, and crafted with love and artistry that comes directly from our hearts.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Christopher and I started out as friends who shared a similar interest in evolving ourselves because we both experienced traumas as children. We were a part of the same educational group learning to find healthier coping mechanisms for grief. He was a student and I was a teacher. We started a friendship that after 5 years evolved into a romantic relationship. He is now my fiancé and we are continuing to build our legacy with Backroad Soul Boutique. We are equals and we both provide creative direction.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When we first started out, we were taking our merchandise to local flea markets in hopes to gain public attendance, and get our name and our brand out to our local communities. It was freezing cold, we had our children with us, and we ended up having to pay for our spot in the flea market. We got there early to set up, and got all of our products that we were selling out and organized to be able to sell that day. Everyone was so cold, but we are hopeful that it would be worth it, and that we would have sold a decent amount of our products, and if not, at least we were getting seen by our local community. Unfortunately, because it was so cold, nobody showed up. The flea market ended up closing early and we ended up losing money because of the cost of our vendor spot in the flea market, and having to buy food to feed our family. Everyone felt defeated at the end of the day, But instead of giving up, we went home and made more product, and created more custom designs, and put more effort into our online presence that ended up, providing us with online sales and purchases.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @backroadsoul_
• Facebook: Backroad Soul Boutique

Image Credits
Explicitly Feminine Photo Backroad Soul Boutique