A blog about everyday life, pursuing purpose in business, living loved, and encouragement and inspiration for living a faith-filled life.

Hi friends! I’m Tamara. I’m just a small town country girl with a heart for making a difference. And when I say “small town” I mean so small we don’t even have a traffic light here!

From the time I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to do something to help other people. Like all kids, I had dreams. I dreamed of being a nurse, a teacher, and a mom. I remember thinking I’ll have one boy and one girl one day when I’m a mama. That did happen, but my one boy didn’t come until after my four girls. My nurse dream took place around third grade. We had to read a biography, come to class dressed as the person we studied, and give an oral report. I proudly was Amelia Earhart, the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, who also enlisted as a nurse’s aide to tend to wounded soldiers during World War I. I now wear scrubs to work (guess that’s kinda’ nurse like lol!) and I have five beautiful children and spent nearly two decades as a homeschool mom, so I would say I’ve been blessed to have all my childhood dreams come true. Well, almost, but that’s a story for another day.

A little over eighteen months ago I started my own business. Actually, that was my fourth business startup. But this business was different. I didn’t go looking for it, rather it found me. While walking alongside my dad in his fight against lymphoma, Tamara + Company began as just me and a calling.

You see…my good friend, Valerie, introduced me to the art of microblading over girl time with coffee; ya’ never know what you might learn during coffee time! I had absolutely no idea what that was and had NEVER heard of permanent makeup. And if I 

had, as much as I like makeup, I probably would’ve wondered why in the world someone would want PERMANENT makeup! Ya’ll might be wondering how I had made it to almost a half a century and didn’t know what she was talking about, but I already told you I live in a “one horse town” 😉

Not too long after our coffee chat, Valerie started sharing some posts on her Instagram and Facebook feeds about an upcoming microblading workshop that was going to be in Washington, D.C. I “liked” them and moved on.

A few weeks later she shared them again. Now, a little tidbit about me. I’m kind of a nerd and I love learning…a lot! I was intrigued so I sent an email to find out more about the workshop. I received a response and learned that the training was going to be almost $4k, so I was like “forget that”! After all, I was already plenty busy with a large family and helping my husband, Mark, in his masonry business. So that was the end of that story, or so I thought.

What took place in the next few months changed the trajectory of my life. You see, my dad was a year into a battle against stage four lymphoma and cancer seemed to be winning the fight, so his oncologist sent us to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, to consult with their lymphoma specialist. In June of 2016, we learned that Dad had a year to live at best or he could undergo a bone marrow transplant. My dad wasn’t about to give up a fight so he opted to move forward with a transplant. After myself, our two oldest daughters, and two of my cousins were tested we learned that I was the only match for Dad so I would become his bone marrow donor in September 2016.

During the process of preparing for that something quite unexpected took place. I spent time in waiting rooms surrounded by people stricken with cancer, and one day I was moved to make a difference to those suffering hair loss. It was strange how it happened really because I didn’t stop to think about it, pray about it, talk it over with my husband or anything of that sort. I was just sitting there waiting for my name to be called and I turned to Mark and said, “I’m totally going to do that eyebrow thing.” And that, my friend, is exactly how I ended up here.

I had seriously already decided I was definitely NOT going to pursue microblading. When I got the info about the workshop and said “forget that” my sweet and supportive hubby told me to go ahead and do it if I wanted to. I said, “No, thank you, I don’t need to spend that much money to go learn something that I think would be cool to learn.” But that day in the waiting room I was moved. I believed I could make a difference and that, my friends, is something that has ALWAYS mattered to me.

So, here I am, a certified microblading artist. Since then, I have expanded my business to include multiple locations, additional artists, and more services to help women gain confidence and free up time in the morning so they can meet the day feeling beautiful AND still have a sense of peace. Remember, I’m a mom of five so I know what crazy looks like in the morning! What a blessing it has been to see the beauty that women FEEL when they SEE themselves differently! Something special happens to my heart every time I have the privilege of experiencing the expressions and words from my clients when they look in that little handheld mirror and I see their face light up. I fall in love with this special calling more and more every day! It’s crazy because I didn’t see this coming. I was simply listening to that still small voice telling me I could make a difference…for cancer patients. I now know I can make a difference in ways I never expected. Obedience to His word brings joy!

If you’re wondering, “why a blog”, the truth is I’ve been dreaming about this day for over a year. I even talked to a sweet friend of mine over six months ago about writing for it. There are so many things I want to share with you; stories about real people and how our business has impacted them, beauty and skincare tips, how to foster self-care and self-love and how my faith has led to living boldly. I hope you’ll find value, inspiration, and insight when you visit.

Thanks so much for popping by! I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments and feel free to share topics you’d like to hear more about.