Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Haufler.
Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I had sort of an “unconventional” way of getting started before I settled into the DIY/Home community on Instagram. When my husband (then fiancé) left for his first deployment in 2014 for 7 months, I created a Twitter account–like a public diary as I’m sure most people know haha! And in it, I found a whole community of military wives all going through the same thing as I was.
We chatted (and bickered lol) every single day but it was always so reassuring to know I wasn’t alone since I didn’t have any friends going through the same thing. When my husband returned, I moved to Camp Lejeune to be with him until his next deployment just a short year later. During that time together (and apart…through many week-long field ops… 2-month training ops…) I turned to art. I’ve always loved to paint but specifically taught myself brush lettering and calligraphy. I shared my work on my Twitter account which I was still very active on and was encouraged by my community to sell my art online.
And thus, an Etsy shop and “sweetbcalligraphy” on Instagram were created. Even after my husband left the military and we moved back to Florida, I still primarily sold military homecoming signs (the signs children and spouses hold up when their loved one returns from a deployment). Shortly after we bought our first house together in Florida, I found a new hobby in decorating, DIY, and raising ducks (bought a couple of those! Lol). Still very active on Twitter, I shared all of my projects, decor, cleaning time-lapses, and duck videos to my feed. So much of it went viral that people were asking for links to older posts and projects so I changed my Instagram to a home decor account and sent my 100,000+ Twitter followers to my Instagram page.
In 2019, I left my job as a full-time bookkeeper to pursue a career on Instagram working with brands to create content for their social media and promoting home products on my own. From there, not much has changed besides the homes we’ve lived in and the number of ducks we have. Today, I still love to DIY and transform spaces in my home. I’ve had the opportunity to work with brands like World Market, Yankee Candle, DISH, Walmart, Hoover, Bissell, Cricut, and so many others that I’ve loved for years.
Right now, I am DIY-ing my way through a 1970s home one room at a time before we finally settle into a new build on our 5-acre hobby farm when it’s completed in late 2024 (hopefully!) But the projects won’t stop there–that’s a lot of blank walls!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Of course, no one is for everyone and home decor is so subjective that over the last 9 years, I’ve certainly had to grow some thicker skin while reading comments and messages. And like most creative careers, I go through what we call “creative blocks”, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome that make it difficult to create content or move forward even when deadlines are looming.
It’s a unique position to be in that not many people have experience with because influencing is still so new. There isn’t an overabundance of information online so things like rates are often unclear and only discussed through word of mouth which can make things inconsistent and confusing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a content creator/influencer in the DIY and Home Design community on Instagram. Although I still learn as I go, I teach and inspire my followers to channel their inner creativity and use power tools to transform their spaces into a place they love to come home to every day.
I feel most proud when my audience sends me photos of something they did in their home that was inspired by my own. Sometimes standing out in this huge niche on Instagram is tricky, but I am usually set apart by my ducks! I’ve raised ducks for over 5 years and share them often on my Instagram. They are part of the family!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My family brings me the most joy. Pursuing this career, while still a full-time gig, has given us the opportunity to spend so much more quality time together as a family–something that was rare when my husband was in the military.
Nothing makes me happier than having this opportunity to be at home with my children and husband every day.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @houseandhens
