Western General Boutique

10/31/2026

Click here for an update from Frayla Boutique & Hair Studio!

10/30/2026

I shared a version of this on my personal page as it was happening. I think it’s been enough time passed to share it here 😉 I hired a social media marketer to create my posts for me, and instead received a very intense AI generated calendar that I did not have the skills, time, resources or desire to carry out. This calendar absolutely loved behind the scenes, especially me drawing s**t and specifically me doing a lot of s**t at sunrise. Ok y’all, I CANNOT and DO NOT draw in the very literal meanings of those two words. As in, I CANNOT and therefore DO NOT draw. Furthermore, if you ever see me at sunrise, it’s because I have not yet gone to bed.
I came up with these earrings in my head, which is exactly how I came up with everything I’ve ever made. No need to pull out a sketch pad, it’s already fully formed in my head. Head to pile of materials to finished, that is all. But I added this extra step for your viewing pleasure 😘
I wore these earrings to a market and got several compliments by the way.

10/28/2026

I realize I’m still on here and I said I don’t want to be. Here’s the dilemma. EVERYONE ELSE IS HERE. If I’m not here, where am I? Can a business exist without social media? The pressure for businesses to be present on and create content for social media is absolutely INSANE 🤯. Folks, it’s intense, and if you don’t run a business or have a business account (lucky), it may be hard to grasp how much has changed in the last few years.

There was no pressure when I created my LLC and Etsy store in November 2020. Now Etsy is suggesting that I add photos and videos of “my process” and work space to my listings so I supposedly have a better chance of making a sale. When I started my Facebook and Instagram accounts, there was no pressure to create content and feature films. Now I’m supposed to film every single thing I do all day everyday, literally have a “B reel” of footage in my phone just ready to spend hours editing a video for social media. The TIME the entire process takes is a ridiculous expectation to put on anyone’s shoulders. As if life and business don’t exist outside of “content” and “sharing.”

We need to take a step back and analyze this a little bit. Why is there an expectation for a small business, or anyone for that matter, to spend dozens of hours a week creating videos and carousels to post? To spend dozens more hours actually posting, sharing, engaging and ultimately scrolling? Let’s think about that- is all that to benefit YOU and YOUR business, or is it to benefit the owners and shareholders of these platforms?
Find me at www.westerngeneralboutique.com

10/27/2026

I spent 6 hours taking photos today. Real photos of real things I made. No AI model (you know putting your item on AI model means your item is now AI and not real, right?). No generative AI 🤢 (you lazy f*cks, sorry not sorry). No ChatGPT text, clearly 😉. Just real s**t by a real person spending real time.

Keep shopping small. Stop shopping on Amazon, SHEIN and Temu. Stop using AI for everything because you’re going to get stupid while you are stealing from artists.

Thanks!

10/27/2026

💙

10/23/2026

From Etsy on the use of AI. Thoughts? Let’s discuss.

10/22/2026

I wear this hat once or twice a year. It was meant to be WORN at the rodeos. It represents all that was and all that will never be. Always bittersweet.

10/21/2026

Here is a POSITIVE post! Etsy makes selling internationally easy. Somehow my entire Etsy shops translates to any language, therefore opening up the opportunity to sell worldwide. They also collect the VAT for you. I actually have made sales to I think 19 countries. Etsy even translates messages for you, so when this customer wanted to change their order, we had no communication barrier. 4 bolos going to Bologna, Italy! That’s right, Italians wear my Colorado made bolos 😘

10/21/2026

10/21/2026

Hi y’all! Here’s an updated version of my “I’m over social media and I’m leaving” post. I am still very much over social media. As I am less than one month away from my 6 year anniversary on Etsy, I am incredibly burnt out on my business and social media. I am sick of suggested content. I am sick of ads. I am sick of billionaires controlling what we see. I don’t like this new version of social media where everything must be content and the algorithm controls who sees it.
As far as my business goes, it is a hobby that came from losing what was my passion. It has never been my job (even though most weeks within the first 4 years I put in full time hours), it isn’t a side hustle to make money, and I know this one is going to be weird because we aren’t supposed to say this out loud: it isn’t my passion and never has been. The amount of time I have put into my business and the level of stress it has caused, are disproportionate to the importance my business carries in my life.

I do enjoy wearing jewelry, and I do enjoy making it every once in a while. The rest of it? I do not enjoy. Truth is, my husband and I have an awful lot on our plates, and all of it is more important than me making and trying to sell jewelry. This is just reality folks. Everyone wants to hear the “real story” behind a business until the real story isn’t all butterflies and roses.

Why do I keep going? Most days I think I should give it up. However, I have hundreds and hundreds of finished pieces, plus materials to make thousands more. I do like buying materials. I don’t like to walk away and leave things unfinished; I don’t like to give up. With all the pressure to be on social media constantly, I am ready to give that part up as far as my business goes.

So, if you have made it this far, here is my updated Yellow Pages ad. Please note, I am no longer a consignor at the Backyard Farm Shop.
*NEW!! I have MY OWN WEBSITE! www.westerngeneralboutique.com (link in bio). Here you will find an upcoming EVENTS PAGE, BLOG and of course be able to shop.
*Etsy: www.westerngenboutique.etsy.com
* Frayla Boutique 18 E Fountain Blvd in downtown Colorado Springs
*Select dates at the Backyard Market in BF