Happy February!

Love is all around this month and these little Blue Tits know it. 
What better way to warm any heart than with a lovingly home baked cake!
​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

January felt like a slow and steady way to ease into the year.  
It's been a funny one because the same time last year we were all in lockdown.
Yet this year, it has felt far more typical to the years before the pandemic...
but also not the same if that makes any sense?  
After the past 2 exhausting years, slow and steady is just what's needed.

It has been a great month to reflect, take stock
and work out what lessons have been learned in the past two years.
Also work out what I want to take forward and
​what things can be left well and truly behind...

​My main lesson has been to always ensure you have the logistics for a plan B in place.
 I've always called it building my ark..
because it's always good to have an ark ready.
Moving forward, my business plans now need to always factor in a 'just in case'.

This year, my focus will be finding more ways I can spend less time on logistics and fulfilment and more time on creating.  This is a big deal for me right now as I feel like the balance isn't quite right, so that needs to be addressed head on.

It was always all about creating for me, but as things have grown, time always gets diverted elsewhere especially when you are a soloprenuer wearing all the hats in your business.  However, after making a start on some research, I'm learning there are LOTS of things available to help with that -more so than ever.  

Perhaps that is one little silver lining to the past two years for small businesses like mine - that bigger businesses have found new ways to adapt.  Consequently, they have identified the true value of all the little creative businesses as a potentially huge market to tap into, therefore serving our needs much better -
​meaning we can offer better to our customers too! ...
​

It's certainly something I shall be exploring lots this year, as I want to be able to offer more choice to my customers, without taking away precious creative time to develop new designs and collections.  It's a tricky balancing act because my shop orders equal creative time, and creative time feeds the shop - one thing supports the other.

That's why it is really exciting to see the possibilities I'm discovering are available.  
There are so many tools to help businesses manage sales, stock and product production - many of which are focussed on cutting carbon footprints and finding sustainable, planet friendly ways to do things.
​
It gives me lots of hope and I can't wait to move towards
​adding some new things this year...

The good news is, I made a start in January with clear focus and a renewed sense of hope.

​Sometimes that's all it takes, the first few steps to put you back on the right track.

It feels good to be creating new illustrations and patterns again,
​I look forward to sharing these with you soon.

So here's to a new month with a new season emerging,
bringing with it green shoots - hopefully for us all!
Wishing you a wonderful month
Best wishes,

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