GOODBYE 2o2o & 2021
Happy New Year, thank goodness 2020 is behind us all!

To brighten your screens with colours of hope and blooms of joy, as we patiently wait for spring and better days, I have adapted my bright and beautiful floral rainbow
​into this month's free desktop wallpaper.  

If you would like to get this FREE desktop wallpaper,
​then here's a link to where to join my mailing list:

JOIN MY MAILING LIST HERE​

What is there to say about 2020 other than good bye at last!

I am under no illusion that 2021 is going to be much different for a while, but I am hopeful that as the year pans out, things will improve greatly.  

 The world of science and medicine has given me great hope.  Thank goodness for all those who have worked tirelessly this year to take care of everyone and search for a safe, effective vaccine.  It's with huge thanks that I dedicate my rainbow blooms to all the NHS, scientists and key workers who have got us all through 2020.

I'd also like to say a notable thank you to everyone at Royal Mail.  Without their hard work and commitment to providing a regular service, my business would not have survived 2020.  I am certain that I am not alone, I know of many other small businesses that have relied on click and drop services to get through this year.  Watching projects get shelved, stockists shops close their doors for months has been tough, but I have been one of the lucky ones, all your online purchases kept me going and I am forever grateful for each and every order this year. 

My heart goes out to all those who have fallen through the cracks.  It's also been hard to watch local businesses that have been at the heart of our community suffer so much this year - especially in hospitality and the arts.  

Adapting to working from home has been easy for me, because I've been doing it for years.  What always made that work was the ability to escape to the coffee shops, restaurants and bars nearby to meet with friends, eat, drink and listen to live music (oh how I have missed live music). To stand shoulder to shoulder, singing at the tops of our voices, dancing, laughing, seeing each others smiles and being able to hug - feeling truly connected to those I hold dear, not just through a little screen on a gadget.  
These are all the things I will relish when we are able to do them all again, never to be taken for granted ever again....

While it's hard to do the usual New Year resolution, goal setting and planning that tends to go with this time of year - these are not normal times.

This year my focus is to keep going with hope and gratitude
​and to try to support others as I go. 

I certainly have plans to support some of my favourite British print companies in January as I restock my Etsy shop and prepare it for the coming spring (more about that in next month's blog post)...

I also have plans to pay my annual donation to Secret World Wildlife Rescue from the donations raised from sales of my 2021 calendar.  Thank you so much for all those orders and enabling me to do this.  Each year your calendar purchases help protect some of our local, endangered wildlife, which in turn helps preserve our beautiful Somerset countryside which greatly inspires my work.  This year charities have struggled, with charity shops closed during lockdowns and donations cut.  To be able to significantly increase my donation from last year is simply wonderful - thank you so, so much!

If you ever need a dose of goodness and wild animal cuteness to escape this harsh world,
I highly recommend following their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/secretworldwildlife

Sending you all love, hope and thanks
for all your continued support and custom. 

Wishing you all a very safe, healthy, peaceful and happy 2021!
Take care

Happy October!

With the autumn equinox last week, this month's desktop wallpaper for my email subscribers has all the autumn feels.
​
This sweet little Jack Russell and his friend Jenny Wren are enjoying the rich and fruitful autumn harvest.  This illustration is very much inspired by the Somerset countryside.
​
If you would like to get the FREE desktop wallpaper, then here's a link to where to join my mailing list:

JOIN MY MAILING LIST HERE

September was a busy, inspiring and reflective month for me.

I was very lucky to get to a couple of fantastic and much needed networking events.

It can be very isolating and lonely running a small business from home and even though we all know the importance of meeting up with other likeminded souls, it's often easier said than done when there are lots of responsibilities in your life.  Like many others in their 40s, we're caught between two generations as ours is a family coping with children and older relatives who also need some of our care and attention.  So to get to two networking events in one month feels like a massive result for me and it has been immensely worth while...

The first event was my first ever Somerset Etsy Team meet up.  I've been wanting to get to one of their meet ups for at least a year now, but the timing never seemed to work out for me.  I am so glad that I was able to attend this meet up.  It was wonderful to get to know so many other designer makers who live so close to me.  This event was on the back of the recent Etsy summit, so our team representative who attended it fed back all the details about the changes and updates that Etsy has made.  Also, Becka Griffin, one of the UK's top Etsy sellers and Etsy Liverpool Team Leader, came and gave us a very helpful and insightful talk to help bust the myths that fly around about Etsy and help us know how to get the most out of our Etsy shop.  Becka's talk was fantastic and I learnt so much from it. It was a day that seemed to fly by and my head was buzzing by the end of it.  The next day, I was raring to go and feeling all empowered by what I'd learnt and started to implement it, confident that it would be time well spent.  

Thanks has to go to Joanne Hawker, our Etsy Team Leader, for organising such a great event and also to Company in Taunton for providing the perfect venue...

The second event I escaped to, was one I've been excited about going to since the last one, last autumn.  Creatival is an annual networking event for Creative Businesses.  This year there were two events in Sept, one in Manchester and one in Exeter to ensure both ends of the country are covered.  The Exeter one was based at Powderham Castle - a glorious and grand setting for a glorious and grand event!

I road tripped down to the event in great company with Quantock Makes and The Crafty Cabin, two lovely creative business owners from my town.  The day out really began from the moment we all set off together, with plenty to chat about on the way there.

The agenda for the day was packed, we were greeted with lots of inspiring talks and break out sessions with opportunities to learn about aspects of running a creative business we felt most relevant to us.  I did break out sessions on planning and legal.  The day was filled with energy, enthusiasm, warmth, friendship, ideas and creativity.  All made perfect by the setting and the sunshine.  It was a day to remember for all the right reasons and I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who worked so hard to deliver such a great event.  Especially my friend Helen from The Creative Business Network, who organised and hosts the events and puts her all into each one - she did us all proud!  Credit where it's due - a couple of the images above are from The Creative Business Network and were taken by the very talented Georgia De Lotz.

For me there was a particular talk at Creatival that really helped install a new sense of motivation and determination - that was a talk by Sas Petherick.  It's one of those that arrives at the right time with the right message.  The message being don't stand in your own way by allowing self doubt to thwart you, there are ways to quieten that nagging voice and move forward with growing confidence. During her talk she did a quick exercise with us all on how to turn negative self doubt thoughts into realistic, positive thoughts to help move past them.  It was a definite 'a ha!' moment for me and a strategy I can carry forward from now on.  Working on your own throws up lots of those negative doubtful thoughts.  However, in my experience, none have ever been helpful and have often turned out to be untrue in the long run.  Yet those thoughts have sapped so much time and energy from me over the years.  To have something I can do to help move past those thoughts is gold dust for me and my business.  

​Here's a link to the Sas Petherick website, after hearing her talk, I think it's definitely worth a bookmark:

https://www.saspetherick.com

Alongside all the event attending, I also had a new collection of paper craft kits launch with Create and Craft TV!

"Whimsical Woodland' is a collection to follow on from my first one a couple of months ago 'Summer In Bloom'.  This one has a far more autumnal feel with plenty of woodland animals, toadstools and foliage to play with.  And play with them I did!  The image above was from when my artist's sample packs arrived with me.  Here's a link to view the new collection:

Whimsical Woodland, Create & Craft, Paper Craft Kit Collection

​

And finally!
Thank you for getting this far on this long blog post.
My last piece of news is that my 2020 calendar has arrived and is now listed over at my Etsy and Folksy shops.  It's 26 pages, each page is A4 sized with the top page being a full page image and the bottom page being a full page for the months dates.  That gives you 12 full page illustrations that can be recycled into framed wall art at the end of the year, making it a gift that just keeps giving.  Also, like last year, £1 from every sale will be going to a local wildlife rescue charity.

Here's a link to the Etsy listing so you can take a closer look at the illustrations for each month:

2020 Wall Calendar

I hope you have a wonderful October!
Best Wishes