Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Stevie Laurice Rauls, the founder & headmaster of CHLOU, & since I've granted myself the beautiful opportunity to run this operation, I get to cringe while I try to write this piece about myself. Let's freaking go.

I've always been drawn to the arts. I started taking dance lessons when I was four years old & wrapped up a competitive dance career at age eighteen. This was a highly definitive time in my life. I grew up on stage in costumes, moving & expressing myself in ways that could only be felt. My emotional intelligence was molded by praise & feedback from audience members who were moved by the power of the art. I've been compelled to entertain, ever since.

Throughout my formative years, I doodled & wrote dumb little jokes on everything (& still do). Occasionally, my mom sends me photos of some of the keep sakes she finds to remind me that I've always been this way. If I wasn't dancing, I was finding some other creative way to entertain myself & share it with everyone to get a laugh. I hated school. I passed & even excelled at times for fear of being incompetent, but the structure & subject matter never appealed to me. I had a lot of friends, though!

I was the only girl growing up in a house of four children. Yes... I have three brothers who are equally creative & goofy in their own ways. Our house was the place to be. My mom always had the best snacks, & my dad was always outside with us. There was never a dull moment. If we weren't on covert kid missions, we were on bikes or competing at sports that none of us were good at until we started fighting. Then Mom would make us sit & stare at each other until we could apologize & express our love for one another. (This definitely explains my most used phrase being 'love you'.)

After high school, I had absolutely no clue what in the world I wanted to do with my life. This kicked off a decade of self-exploration riddled with the fear & loathing of societal pressures. I tried college & hated it, so I quit & started working in the food & beverage service industry: my first experience in an addictive, toxic relationship. The fast cash & flexibility trapped me. Eventually, I figured my only way out was to go back to school, so I decided to pursue something that interested me. Bada-bing, bada-boom, I got a degree in Crime Scene Investigation. I toyed around with the idea of going into law enforcement, but my body had other plans. A few nasty injuries mixed with a dash of 'this isn't for me' took me out & put me right back where I started.

 This marked the soft launch of what would suspensefully crescendo into a massive identity crisis. Fast forward some years, some relationships, some relocations, & some life changing experiences... to the day I called my dad hysterically crying & unloaded everything that was on my brain. In typical dad-fashion, he calmed me down & brought me to realize that I had allowed a lot of things seem a lot bigger than they were. I quit my job that day & got my LLC. Thanks, Dad.

Building out CHLOU has easily been one of the most beautiful times in my life. It's been bumpy, no doubt, & there's a long way to go, but I've found so much purpose & fulfillment in the process. This is my baby. This is my home, which also currently happens to be in Charlotte, NC, but I'll soon be relocating back home, because my brothers miss me sooo much. 

Now that I've got most of the highlights out, let me mention that writing your own bio is hard & weird & I'm not sure if I've sufficiently covered the necessary ground. But I tend to ramble, so I'm going to wrap up this bad boy with a list of miscellaneous fun facts about me that hopefully seal the deal & bring us closer together.

Here goes:

~ My favorite food combo is chocolate & peanut butter.

~ I hate the word mouthfeel.

~ I have a world-class sassy mouth.

~ I'm from Nashville, TN.

~ My dog is my favorite breathing specimen.

~ I'm an avid reader & book collector.

~ I paint naked people a lot.

~ My favorite colour is pink.

~ If there's a fire, I'm grabbing the dog & my swimsuits.

~ I live in a swimsuit & have since I was a tot.

~ Pizza. If I'm on death row, give me pizza.

~ Oysters are how adults get away with eating boogers.

~ I believe in year-round abs.

~ I have naturally curly hair.

~ My brothers used to call me Chewbacca in the mornings.

~ Sometimes, they still do.

~ I love peonies. Flowers, in general.

~ My favorite band is Led Zeppelin.

~ I freaking love being outside.

~ I'm obsessed with my Mini Cooper.

~ I require cleanliness & order to function. 

~ If I'm picking the restaurant, it's probably going to be French.

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Love you.