FORT IRWIN, Calif. – As the holiday season approaches, each family gears up in their own, special way by decorating their house, inside and out, and Melissa Speek’s house will be the one house on the block you won’t want to miss.
Speek is a United States Army spouse here at Fort Irwin with a special arts and crafts talent – creating decorative wreaths and starting her own business, Speek About It.
“Everything is hand-crafted. Everything is my idea. The designs are all mine,” said Speek.
Hand-making each wreath, Speek can customize it to any holiday, birthday, anniversary, season, sports team, or even a special critter team. It doesn’t take too long to get your specially ordered wreath though,
“Usually if it’s not a specific fabric or color scheme I can definitely get it done in a day or two,” said Speek.
Each wreath is made of a sturdy metal frame with precisely cut pieces of fabric tied into knots. The placement of the fabric pieces is no accident as each wreath has a special pattern. Speek has an assortment of fabrics of different colors and textures. No two wreaths are alike and she puts forth so much effort that if she doesn’t like the way something looks, she will take it apart and start over from scratch.
“I’m a little OCD so it’s like if there’s even one piece off you’re probably not going to notice it, but I will,” said Speek. “There’s equal numbers everywhere.”
These wreaths will last and last and although Speek has about 40 in stock, they sell fast. Recently, Speek made her business debut at the Fall Flea Market but isn’t stopping there. In addition to having an email address devoted to her business, she’s currently working on expanding to a Facebook page as well as showcasing her items in Kaleidoscope Crafts and Creations located here.
Speek started creating the wreaths right when she arrived to Fort Irwin about three months ago giving her something to do and a way to network and meet others.
“I probably made the first wreath about two weeks after we got here,” said Speek. “We unpacked real quick because I missed my crafting stuff.”
Speek is slowly creating her own health and beauty line also as a part of Speek About It.
“There is going to be more décor coming soon,” said Speek. “There’s going to be an organic baby line, bath soaps, detox soaps, bath oils, and facial scrubs.”
At the end of the day, Speek summed up her passion of crafting and creating organic health and beauty products.
“These wreaths are just a beautiful mix of color and textures,” commented Speek. “I love to decorate and give a burst of color to my crafts.”
