+ Tell us about yourself
My name is Natalie & I am a 28-year-old Florida native currently residing in Orlando. I am recently married to my husband Brandon & together we have two fur babies named Maisy & Brutus. I’ve been living in Orlando for 10 years now because I came here to go to the University of Central Florida (Go Knights!) where I graduated with a Bachelor’s & Masters in Health Services Administration. I currently work full time as a data analyst during the day but at night I own & operate my side hustle Resinate Company. It is a handmade epoxy resin art business that specializes in creating things that are colorful, creative, & memorable!
+ What was your favorite part of your wedding?
It’s impossible to pick just one favorite thing about our wedding because our day was honestly perfection. Everything was as we hoped it would be and more. If I had to pick one moment though I would have to say it was our ceremony. Time stood still while my husband and I were exchanging our vows. It was truly magic.
+ How did you start your career?
So, interestingly enough, I kind of fell into the world of data analytics. When I started my studies at UCF, I initially thought I wanted to become a teacher. But I quickly realized that the teaching profession was not meant for me and I ended up switching my major 5 times after that before landing in Health Administration! From there, I took on a series of internships to get me experience in the field, one of them being a data analytics internship. It was hilarious because if someone had told me that I would fall into a career working with numbers I would’ve never believed them because math was my least favorite subject growing up. Now I work with numbers every single day and I am wildly addicted to it.
+ What makes you unique?
I consider myself to be a multi-passionate kind of person. I am obsessed with learning and working with my hands, so I am continuously looking for new hobbies or crafts that flex the creative side of my brain. I am an Aquarius so we tend to be the kind of people that like to dream and go big with our ideas, which I feel accurately describes my personality. I am not afraid to try things or to dive into something that has sparked my curiosity. If I want to do something I just go for it - unless it’s something like jumping off a cliff, then I would think twice about that.
+ What problem(s) are you trying to solve with your service?
I wouldn’t say that Resinate Company solves a problem per se. But, what I do think it does is encourage people to dream and to fantasize over things that highlight their personalities. A large bulk of my business consists of custom tumblers and to some people, that may sound like a silly thing to make. But I LOVE bringing the joy out in my customers, especially those that have an idea in mind but they just don’t know what that looks like on paper or how to articulate their vision. I also really love it because what I am making for my customers is something they cannot find anywhere else and is totally unique to their personalities. It is so incredibly special because they are trusting me to make something special for them and because of that I put so much time and love into everything that I make so that it delivers on what they are envisioning.
+ What type of work environment do you prefer?
If I am working on something that is process-oriented, I 200% need to be listening to music. I cannot function if I do not have some kind of music in the background keeping me focused. It is the weirdest thing but music heightens my ability to concentrate and lock into whatever I am working on. On the flip side, if I am writing something, I need to have complete silence. I cannot articulate my train of thought if there is any sort of noise or if there is a conversation going on around me. I don’t know why it happens like that, but it happens consistently enough for me to know that’s what I prefer in that scenario.
+ What advice would you give to soon to be brides getting married in the upcoming months?
Ask and / or hire help to plan everything! I vastly underestimated how much time wedding planning would take from my day, especially as the wedding date got closer. It became very overwhelming very quickly and honestly took away from our ability to really enjoy the wedding planning process. Also, if you have a vision in mind for your wedding day, stick to your guns and plan what you have in mind. As perfect as our day was, my husband & I definitely changed our minds/vision a bunch of times to accommodate the perspective of others. Although we did it with good intentions it added a lot of stress for us leading up to the wedding and that was not fun to deal with in addition to everything else.
+ Are you a hunter or a gatherer?
I would say I am a hunter. I was listening to Joe Rogan’s podcast with Kevin Hart a few weeks ago and in that episode, Kevin Hart stated, “Hunter’s hunt. Those that don’t get ate.” Something about that comment really resonated with me because it spoke to my desire & ability to hustle. No matter what challenges I may come across, I have realized over the years that I will always figure out a way to get through them. I don’t stop working on a problem until I figure out a solution to said problem. That’s something that has been ingrained in me throughout my entire childhood because family always came first. No matter what, my parents always taught me that you need to do whatever you need to do to not only take care of yourself but your family as well. And I’ve never stopped pushing forward and pursuing what I want because of that.
+ What are your pet peeves?
One of my biggest pet peeves would probably be people that are incessantly pessimistic. I have learned over the years that the kind of energy you project out to the world is also the kind of energy you will attract. So, with that in mind, I try to consistently be as optimistic and positive as I can be. And the keyword to that is try because realistically it doesn’t happen every single day - I am human just like anyone else. But people that are incessantly pessimistic bother me because no matter what they do or you do (assuming you are friends), nothing will ever be good enough to make them happy. And that’s a major problem to me because if it is someone you are close to like a family member or friend, they can drain you of your energy with their negativity and that just isn’t right.
+ What is your favorite song from your childhood?
Faint by Linkin Park (R.I.P. Chester Bennington)
+ What are 3 words that describe you?
Ambitious. Thoughtful. Resilient.
+ A penguin walks through the door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?
He definitely says, “Hola fishes - are you ready to party hardy?” and he’s there because if it is a Taco Tuesday part and he wants to drink a big fat margarita.
