We recently connected with Lara Dumler and have shared our conversation below.

Lara , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think that one of the key factors to finding success is hard work and resilience. When you do something that you love, it’s easy to keep creating. Finding a community of creatives who will support you and encourage you is also super important.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello. I am Lara, the maker behind Above the Noise Boutique.​​​​​​​​ I am a retired middle school math teacher. I started doing art on the side in 1996 as an escape from the rigid structure of my day job. At that time, I was just crafting for the love of it. It wasn’t until 2004 that I had a dream of owning my own business. I started going to art shows on weekends, but I didn’t have lots of free time due to my full time job. In 2018, my husband made me a studio in the basement and beds for gardening. In 2021, he renovated a delivery truck to be my traveling boutique. In 2022, I retired from teaching and started my dream of doing art full time with Above the Noise Boutique. I expanded my love of art and gardening through planting a flower farm to sell alongside my art. Each and every piece is handmade and unique. The name “Above the Noise” came from a sermon where we were challenged to live above the noise. I wanted that to be what my art, time and creativity stemmed from. I want to be able to live a life and create art that rises above the noise of the everyday. I want to foster a community of encouragement and friendship that revolves around creativity. ​​​​​​​​

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Art had always been an outlet for me, especially while I was working as a teacher full time. When I retired last year, my side hustle became my main hustle. It was so sweet to be able to finally do what I love most: make art and sell it. As this passion flourished, I began to focus on another passion of mine: flowers. Though I’ve retired, I keep myself extremely busy with the things I love and I get to live my dream.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I wouldn’t be able to make my dreams a reality without the support of my clients. I love sending personalized packages to customers and keeping in touch with them via social media. I also host a zoom meeting called Create Community that provides creators an opportunity to put aside an hour every other week to make art and friends. It is so sweet to be able to do this and meet new creators in the process!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abovethenoiseboutique.com/
• Instagram: @abovethenoiseboutique
• Facebook: Above the Noise Boutique