Michelle Rusk
@chellesummer.bsky.social
Storyteller, author, designer, PhD, inspiring through Chelle Summer, my boutique lifestyle brand. Modern design with a retro twist. Albuquerque, NM. www.chellesummer.com
We all have light– and darkness- in us because part of life is continually seeking light and hope. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/10...
Seeking Light — Chelle Summer
“There is darkness in all of us.” What was said around that doesn’t matter because it’s all about that one statement. It was one that made me pop my head up at mass Saturday, resonating in a way that...
www.chellesummer.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM
We all have light– and darkness- in us because part of life is continually seeking light and hope. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/10...
I had a long day to create on Saturday, something that feels like a luxury because most days I have learned that I have to fit it into so many other aspects of life. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/...
An hour here, fifteen minutes there — Chelle Summer
Cyndi Lauper taught me one of the most important lessons for my creative life. I read once where she said that she would write songs while she was ironing. This struck me because I was learning earl...
www.chellesummer.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:06 PM
I had a long day to create on Saturday, something that feels like a luxury because most days I have learned that I have to fit it into so many other aspects of life. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/...
Reflecting back, I now see that the suicide loss of my sister Denise might be the reason I embrace colors and prints so much as it caused me to embrace life even more, too. Read more at www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/10...
Seeking Hope in Loss — Chelle Summer
Last month, when I was a featured speaker for a zoom group for people who have lost a sibling to suicide, I was asked if I had been suicidal after my sister’s death. I very much understood the importa...
www.chellesummer.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reflecting back, I now see that the suicide loss of my sister Denise might be the reason I embrace colors and prints so much as it caused me to embrace life even more, too. Read more at www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/10...
The 1970s Barbie Country Camper is now a handbag. And Barbie has a new dress to match. Find it in the boutique at www.chellesummer.com. #itswhatIdo #handmade #chellesummerstyle #boutiqueshopping #vintagebarbiestyle
September 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
The 1970s Barbie Country Camper is now a handbag. And Barbie has a new dress to match. Find it in the boutique at www.chellesummer.com. #itswhatIdo #handmade #chellesummerstyle #boutiqueshopping #vintagebarbiestyle
Seeking shorter goals within a big goal helps us keep the bigger goal in focus– and renews our excitement for the road to accomplishing it. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/...
Keeping Focused — Chelle Summer
Most of the journeys we take aren’t short. They aren’t something we can do in one day, especially the more meaningful ones, the ones that we can’t complete in a short time. For me, my journeys– whic...
www.chellesummer.com
September 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Seeking shorter goals within a big goal helps us keep the bigger goal in focus– and renews our excitement for the road to accomplishing it. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/...
While I've always wanted to reach everyone who has lost a loved one to suicide, I was reminded last night at our church prayer service that it's also about praying for those who aren't there– and the reasons they choose not to attend. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/...
Praying for Others — Chelle Summer
For the many years (I’m not counting!) that I’ve been speaking at suicide-related events or planning them, one of the hardest parts always has been getting people to show up. I have done events where ...
www.chellesummer.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:50 PM
While I've always wanted to reach everyone who has lost a loved one to suicide, I was reminded last night at our church prayer service that it's also about praying for those who aren't there– and the reasons they choose not to attend. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/...
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and this is my yearly message, my thoughts on the lack of help for people on the how of going forward. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/... #worldsuicidepreventionday #wspd #hope #light #inspiration #movingforward
National Suicide Prevention Month — Chelle Summer
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, this week is National Suicide Prevention Week, and Wednesday is World Suicide Prevention Day. Please always remember that if you’re worried about yourse...
www.chellesummer.com
September 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and this is my yearly message, my thoughts on the lack of help for people on the how of going forward. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/9/... #worldsuicidepreventionday #wspd #hope #light #inspiration #movingforward
There's something to be said about the quiet as darkness becomes light in the early hours of the morning. #inspiration www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/...
Early Early Mornings — Chelle Summer
I don’t jump out of bed at 4:00 am; it’s more like I roll out of bed. But once I start running and I look up at the night sky and the stars, then the first outline of the Sandia Mountains as the sun...
www.chellesummer.com
August 26, 2025 at 3:15 PM
There's something to be said about the quiet as darkness becomes light in the early hours of the morning. #inspiration www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/...
Life (via people) often squashes us getting to know ourselves and loving ourselves, too. It's a challenge, but well worth the journey. Yet many choose not to take it. Read more at www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/... #inspiration
Embracing Ourselves — Chelle Summer
On my desk, I have a small stack of newspaper clippings that I’ve kept for some sort of inspirational purpose. One article, from The New York Times in 2022, is about Ben Crowe, a mind-set coach who ...
www.chellesummer.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Life (via people) often squashes us getting to know ourselves and loving ourselves, too. It's a challenge, but well worth the journey. Yet many choose not to take it. Read more at www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/... #inspiration
Sometimes it's just about holding on for the ride. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/...
The Endurance of Faith — Chelle Summer
I saw Fr. Gene, the Norbertine priest with whom I do my spiritual direction. here at their Abbey in Albuquerque, on Friday. We were discussing world events and how they impact the reactions of many pe...
www.chellesummer.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Sometimes it's just about holding on for the ride. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/...
While I always say that Chelle Summer is rooted my '70s childhood and '80s teen years of fun colors and prints, it's also because I found in life I never really felt like I fit in. Instead, I finally learned to create my own "place." www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/...
Finding Chelle Summer Style — Chelle Summer
I bought a Lilly Pulitzer sweater recently (sweaters, sunglasses, and shoes remain out of my realm!) and on the tag there was this: “It all started with one incredible woman who had the courage to f...
www.chellesummer.com
August 5, 2025 at 2:19 PM
While I always say that Chelle Summer is rooted my '70s childhood and '80s teen years of fun colors and prints, it's also because I found in life I never really felt like I fit in. Instead, I finally learned to create my own "place." www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/8/...
You know what they say- you can take the girl out of the '80s, but you can't take the '80s out of the girl. Swim coverup made from a late 1980s beach towel.
August 4, 2025 at 6:42 PM
You know what they say- you can take the girl out of the '80s, but you can't take the '80s out of the girl. Swim coverup made from a late 1980s beach towel.
Happy 10th birthday, Chelle Summer! It was a decade ago today that I created the first bucket bag, made from a vintage dress I had found at an estate sale, that I then called the Eleanor. I had no idea what that bucket bag would inspire or where the journey would lead me.
August 4, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Happy 10th birthday, Chelle Summer! It was a decade ago today that I created the first bucket bag, made from a vintage dress I had found at an estate sale, that I then called the Eleanor. I had no idea what that bucket bag would inspire or where the journey would lead me.
I never set out to use vintage patterns to make handbags. They started as the inspiration for the most recent book I wrote– Ida Lee. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/7/...
Pattern Stories — Chelle Summer
The original title was “Pattern Stories.” I envisioned each chapter was a pattern and the dress that that particular pattern became, a dress that was made for a special occasion. But as the story un...
www.chellesummer.com
August 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I never set out to use vintage patterns to make handbags. They started as the inspiration for the most recent book I wrote– Ida Lee. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2025/7/...
I believe fear to be the biggest challenge most of us face in our lives because it crosses so many aspects of our existence. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2024/11...
Popping Fear — Chelle Summer
This photo describes fears so well. I remember in high school, as a runner, being told that fear comes down to not knowing what’s going to happen. On that morning in Maine last summer, as seen in th...
www.chellesummer.com
November 19, 2024 at 2:52 PM
I believe fear to be the biggest challenge most of us face in our lives because it crosses so many aspects of our existence. www.chellesummer.com/blog/2024/11...
New Chelle Summer handbags made from a vintage Vera Neumann rainbow tablecloth. Now in the boutique at www.chellesummer.com. #vintagetextiles #rainbow #handmade #handbag #chellesummer #boutiquestyle #veranuemann
November 13, 2024 at 8:21 PM
New Chelle Summer handbags made from a vintage Vera Neumann rainbow tablecloth. Now in the boutique at www.chellesummer.com. #vintagetextiles #rainbow #handmade #handbag #chellesummer #boutiquestyle #veranuemann