Well, Hello 2011!

Whew. I'm happy to say the Holidays are over! Yes, I know this is the best selling time for people like me but I think I always forget that it ends up being all work and no holiday playtime! I did take a bit of a break the week before and after Christmas to do my own thing, drink lots of mexican hot chocolate, have a social life and work on things that I've been wanting to for a while - such as hang up some branches in my kitchen. It was all very nice :)

(The kitchen set up for a New Years dinner.)


Looking back on 2010, I can say that this past year was so good to me and my little business.  I love how organic it's all been so far.....just taking things as they come and seeing what feels good or not. I'm not one of those people who plans out the next 5 years in advance nor do I have any crazy goals. I just want to create work that makes me happy, pay my bills, go traveling and hope that in between others will love my work too. On that note, this past year has had some crazy highlights for me, like getting my work into the MOMA Shop and several other museum stores (Ok, I'm getting that my work does well in museum shops!), being interviewed by some local magazines and not so local, I've taught 3 felting workshops, my work was published in a cool book, I was on tv (by far the craziest thing ever) and I came out with some new pieces.

As tradition, this is the week where I look back on my year and write out my goals for the upcoming year for all to see. Putting it out in the blogosphere helps me feel more accountable and I think that throwing my intentions out into the universe can't hurt either. Before starting this post, I read back to my New Years post from 2010 to see if I made some progress from my last years goals. I think I did pretty good.....3 out of the 5.

-I found some great help from two gals who do a great job crocheting. And they happen to be the sweetest things too which really is the icing on the cake!

-I've really improved my time management and I find that I can get more into a rhythm easier han I used to. Those blogs still beckon but I tell them to just wait their turn dammit! And learning how to say no in general has been a lifesaver yet still a really hard thing for me to do.

-Working on wholesaling with stores and keeping up the relationship. This is still a tricky one and it's something I'm revamping and adding to my current resolutions.

-My pillows....oy, my pillows. It didn't happen last year but I'm very optimistic for this year. There's a little something in the works with a beautiful store that may be carrying my pillows. And this makes me very happy :)

Goals for 2011:

• Join a business group that meets monthly
• Change my website to a gallery site that will link to a shopping cart such as Big Cartel
• Create a smaller wholesale line
• Make smaller, limited edition pieces in my shop
• Carry my pillows exclusively through one or two select shops (for now)
• Saying no is OK! (to friends, other vendors etc)
• Teach more felting workshops
• Find an intern?

This is PLENTY to start the year off with!

Hoping that this post finds you and yours happy and healthy. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! 

Welcome 2010

(New little heart just listed for Valentine's in my Etsy shop....only 6 made!)

Say what???? 2010? Now that just sounds crazy! I always get nostalgic when I have to adapt to a new way of saying the year we're in.....is that just me?

I think I've been in a small state of denial so far this new year. This past holiday season really kicked my booty big time, just wiping me out and making it very hard for me to get my momentum swinging again. I don't like to say I thrive in chaos but it does seem that I can get quite a lot done! (That and some good strong coffee mixed with Netflix instant play) But that's not a good way to live ones daily life, so with this in mind comes my look back at 2009 and my looking forward to 2010.

I can see that I did NOT accomplish some of my resolutions for 2009 which will now be added to my 2010 goals. Regardless of this, I can still say that 2009 was such an amazing year of growth and happiness for me and my little business. I know I've said before how blessed I feel to be able to do what I'm doing, blessed to have the support that I have and blessed for all the amazing people I have met through this adventure that I am on, and I will say it again! 2009 was the year my website launched, my pod series grew, I participated in more shows/fairs, I was fortunate for some lovely press, I attracted more wholesale orders, found out that Canadians and Australians really dig my work (thanks guys!) and I got to travel around Eastern Europe with my best friend.

Here are my goals for 2010....which I love/hate posting because it's out there for the world to see and also helps make me more accountable:

• Find more help! - such a biggie....possibly an intern and looking into local senior centers for crochet help. I'm thinking there are some grandmas out there who can kick my ass at crocheting.
• Find a 2 bedroom home or live/work loft - I did find studio space this past year, but discovered that I love working at home way to much. So goodbye studio and hello craigslist.
• Better time management - I'm addicted to blogs. That's all I can say about that.
• Continue my wholesale relationship with stores - I'm learning how to go about making re-orders with stores who have already made an initial order. This is tricky to me.
• PILLOWS! - Oh for the love of god, my pillows! I plan to start small this year, maybe not pillows but little wall hangings, short runners etc. This ties into finding a bigger place.

And of course, always coming up with new designs! I still work a part time job so my time is more limited than I would like, but this is ok with me in times like these :)

A Happy Belated New Years to all of you reading! Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Looking To 2009

After spending a lovely evening at home with friends to ring in the New Year, complete with homemade limoncello and rum cake, Charlie Bravo and I went for a long and beautiful hike today.
photo - Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
(that's me in the middle, always trying to get Charlie Bravo to catch me in my dorkiness mid-air...doesn't always work)
It was the perfect way to welcome 2009. I'm tired and sore, but I'm feeling really great, renewed and just excited about the year ahead. 2008 was such a big year for me and my little business and I feel so very blessed. So much support came from friends and family (thank you guys :) but also from people I have never met in person, just over the internet - bloggers who featured my work, other small business owners with advice, lovely customers, people who just left inspiring and thoughtful comments. You all ROCK!

Last year, at this time, I wrote down goals for the year ahead. Looking back on them, I think I did pretty good. The website is the main thing that didn't happen, but it'll be up the next few weeks and I can't wait! Here are few for this year:

• Hire an assistant part time
  
• Find a bigger work space
• Collaborate with other artists on combined designs
• Get my pillows going! (I'm giving myself until the end of the year for this one)
• Collaborate with shops creating some exclusive pieces
• Make some smaller, limited edition designs
  

Happy New Year to anyone who comes to visit me here. I hope it is filled with a lot of love, happiness, good friends, good food and a year where you start to make your dreams a reality.
Well, goodbye 2008 and hellllloooooo 2009! So nice to meet you.

Looking Up In 2008

Photo: Alameda, New Years Day
Taking a cue from decor8, and completely agreeing about the fact that writing something in such a public place like a blog makes one more likely to commit to doing it, here are my big goals for 2008!

*Hunker down and create daily, even if this means being out of the loop/society for a while*
I tend to do business first, design second and I feel that this is a big no-no for me and I want to break the cycle.

*Get my website up*
And I'm talking in the next couple of months

*Find a balance with my work schedule and my down time*
So that I'm not killing myself!

*Work smarter in regards to what I am capable of and the quality of work I can create*
If it means creating less but having a beautiful product, so be it.

*Stop the Comparing!*
Ugh, this can get ugly - stick with creating from within even when I see what's out there and start to feel like small fries....I truly believe others will love what I make when I love what I make.

*Stop and breathe every now and then*
Soak in the fact that this is what I've always wanted to do, so do a quick check - am I happy? am I still loving all this? yay! Then keep going!

On that note, I did do a check today and I am still loving it so this is good start to 2008!