Meet Christine Hubal | Artist and Gift Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christine Hubal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christine, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
The two habits that have helped me succeed are patience and perserverence. If something does not work, I will put it aside, think about it, then try another way until it feels right. Being an innate people pleaser at heart, I listen to my customers. The best example changed the course of my business towards the success I wanted to achieve. When I first started making Grandma Broom characters, I was selling them as quickly as I could create them. One customer returned hers and asked if I could make her face with more of a smile. (At that point, they resembled the old time apple head dolls looking somewhat dour and toothless) Inwardly, I felt somewhat insulted, but thanked her for her input and proceeded to re-create their faces to what you see today. I thank that customer each and every day for the sweetness all my grandmas now portray and are famous for.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It all began with a song… Butterfly Mornings & Wildflower Afternoons… One night, in 1980, my husband and I were up late watching a movie called “The Ballad of Cable Hogue”. It was a romantic western starring Jason Robards and Stella Stevens. In one of the scenes, Stella sang a song called “Butterfly Mornings and Wildflower Afternoons”.

We were both enthralled with the movie, that song, and those words. The next day, Glen did a wood carving using those words as flowers and a butterfly and it hung on our porch for the next couple of years.

. At the end of 1983, I became fascinated with the art of soft sculpture thanks to the Cabbage Patch boom. I took a class, made about 25 of those dolls and then experimented with the method using nylon stockings. Before I knew what hit me, the dolls were selling, and my new creation named Grandma Broom also took off.

Without realizing it, I was now in business and needed a name. The words of this beautiful song described the life I felt we already had and the business success we wanted. An artist friend suggested that I copyright and trademark Grandma Broom. Fortunately, I took her advice as a large manufacturing company I had approached about licensing the right to make her decided to do so without benefit of a contract.. We were able to issue a “cease and desist” order through the same attorney.

Since 1983, my husband, Glen, and I have enjoyed creating many items and selling them at countless craft shows, as visiting craftsmen at Dollywood, through sales reps and thanks to the internet and Country Sampler Magazine, and now in our own brick and mortar gift shop in Sautee. Our dream is finally here – making our living doing what we love. Thanks to the support of our friends and family, the many customers we have met and, most importantly, Divine Order from Above, our life continues to be filled with Butterfly Mornings and Wildflower Afternoons.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The mountains of Northeast Georgia, the Sautee Nacoochee area, in particular, is filled with wonder and sweet surprises. Lovely tea rooms, coffee houses, wineries, shopping, hiking, fishing or just beautiful sightseeing. There is literally something for everyone to soothe their soul.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This shoutout is dedicated to my husband, Glen. We have been together for 60 years. Being a very shy person when we first met, he has given me the confidence to try new things and spread my creative wings, always knowing that he is right there to catch me if I fall. We share not only our lives, but our artistic souls. I always say that he is the “temperamental artist” and I am the “crass industrialist”.

Website: https://www.butterflymornings.com

Facebook: Butterfly Mornings & Wildflower Afternoons

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vTXuLa1hOY

Other: Best of Georgia Winner 2023

Image Credits

Christine Hubal