We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yvonne Toney a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Yvonne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

The legacy I hope to build is one that tells the story of a woman who accomplished a lot in her life while maintaining integrity, compassion and empathy for the human experience. A legacy built on hard work, creativity, drive and resilience. A person who served her country in various and meaningful ways. From the military to civilian life and maintained the core mantra of the Navy, Honor, Courage and Commitment. I hope my legacy shows my children and others that kindness counts and working towards your goals no matter the difficulty, can lead down beautiful roads filled with sunshine and better days. I hope my legacy is a teacher to those seeking to learn the realness , the grit and the reward of an authentic journey.

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.

My name is Yvonne Toney-Thompson I’m originally from Chicago but living in Aurora, IL since 2009. The Cotton Seed Creative was started in September 2019 and just 5 months layers Covid hit. I’ve always had dreams of having my own space where creativity and vibes could coexist together. Over the years and currently we are still evolving and pivoting to find that sweet spot where creativity, retail and events can collaborate together to bring an experience for those who enter our space.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience has become a thing for me since I started this journey. Shortly after we opened Covid-19 hit and I was forced to make tough decisions. To continue on the journey or quit. I decided to continue through the hard times and use this experience as a growth opportunity. I learned new ways of thinking, operating and ways to keep the boat paddling if you will. I feel like any obstacle after dealing Covid-19 is surely something I can overcome with some critical thinking and creativity.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I’m really big on synchronicities and how they lead to what we need to be doing or help us solve a problem. Recently I had a special moment with a customer. She was jogging past the shop and dropped her phone, when she looked up she saw an 11:11 sweatshirt in the window. She had no intention on coming into that shop ther very moment while on a jog but said that she herself sees repeating numbers specifically that set of numbers.

She then realized why she came in. She has just moved and off to the corner in the shop was a painted desk, black with floral on the front. It was an item painted by myself that was previously used for staging items in the shop and we were getting rid of it. She said she had been looking for a desk that was black with floral on it. We both laughed and I said that’s why you were lead into the shop.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thecottonseedex.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thecottonseedcreative?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecottonseedex?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: https://linktr.ee/yvonnemichelle?fbclid=PAAabneChAw8_3ldWcYxl0K9uccAAJlOOdDHCsx0Wal8ckzoPYwL4Jnw2Yr80_aem_AUNNnIh5HFmoknUVh76-U-rfcl6mm7R5q6l5Bb4KgETyFx2LV8RgNUOuyRZwXvIfrs0