Hello! My name is"Velocipe". I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1961. I was raised by wonderful Christian parents in the suburbs of the Cincinnati area, until moving to Indiana in 1982. In 1978, I received a most precious gift from God, my daughter, confidant, business associate, and
"My Best Friend Robin."
When my daughter was still a toddler, I discovered that I had a true passion for helping others. I began working with the aged and mentally challanged individuals, and continued to do social work and group therapy for several years; which lead me to attend Indiana University East where I majored in psychology. During this time, I also enjoyed artwork as my hobby and God-given talent, and began to fine tune my artist skills. Artwork has always been one of my passions. As long as I was able to use my creativity, I was truly happy. When not attending college classes, I could be found painting, drawing, or doing various other arts and crafts activities.
In 1991, I married the love of my life, my wonderful husband, Dave. In 1994, we bought the home and property of our dreams; 307 acres of beautiful, rolling hills nestled in a valley along the Whitewater River. I immediately named it "The Promised Land" (I felt that this must have been how Moses felt when he stood on the hill and looked down from the mountain at the "Promised Land") The land was beautiful, but the huge old house really needed some TLC. The house, formerly know as "The Mansion" from 1849 to the early 1930's, now looked as if no one had cared about it or loved it for decades. It really was quite sad that a house that had obviously been so beautiful at one time, was now just a run down shadow of its former grandeur. What others saw as an old house that hadn't been taken care of in years, I saw as the opportunity of a lifetime! I felt like an artist who was taking on the job of creating a great and glorious masterpiece. The house had such charm and potential.
It was during the renovation of "The Mansion" that I fell in love with the history and beauty of the past. I began to search for period items that were original to the time of the house. As the house began to come alive just as I'm sure it had been in the past, so did my love for antiques and collectibles. As I began looking for antiques, collectibles, and specific items to restore the house; I found that it was quite difficult to find period items and/or reproduction items that would work where I needed them. In 1995, Inspirations Of The Past was officially borne out of my search. If I was having a hard time locating certain items, I was sure that there were many others out there, who like me were diligently searching for those "just right special touches" to restore and decorate period homes and buildings. Inspirations Of The Past began with online auctions for items that I had found during my search, and grew into a full time business. The user name of "Velocipe" came about as a result of my passion for antique and collectible velocipede high wheel bikes. (Continued on next page) |
