I love my job(s)!
People are always telling me how lucky they think I am to do the work that I do and they are right, I am very lucky to have a job singing and teaching others to sing, but every so often I feel like having a change. As they say 'a change is as good as a rest' and because I totally agree with that I am launching a new business. This is the reason for not blogging, tweeting or facebooking much lately. I've been busy setting up 'Handmade by Yvie'. Of course I will never give up my other work completely but I will be cutting back a bit on the hours I spend doing it and I am really looking forward to doing something completely different alongside it.
For a few years now I have been making cards, tags and the odd bit of stationery. I love working with paper and over the last while there have been some huge leaps forward in the techniques and materials that can be used to create these items. Many of these new techniques have become popular because of the great Tim Holtz, Creative Director for Ranger Industries. There are new inks and tools and techniques and no longer do handmade cards have to be twee (I love that word) and really only suitable to give to an elderly relative. They can now be works of art, limited only by imagination and suitable for absolutely anyone. And so I have decided to take my crafting to the next level and have set up an online shop selling handmade cards, tags, stationery and small gifts and accessories.
As people who read this blog regularly will know I am a great believer in following your dreams and this is something I've wanted to do for some time now. I love working with paper etc. and I love the idea of running a shop. The obvious thing to do was to open an online shop selling the things that I love creating.
People have asked me what I will do if this project doesn't work. I explain to them that I am not giving up my other jobs, I am just cutting back a bit on the amount of time I spend doing them so that I can spend more time on my new project. If this project doesn't work out then I can up my workload again however, in my mind, failure is not an option. I have always had that attitude towards everything I do and I have always been successful in every venture that I've taken on. When you're self-employed you have to have that attitude. You can't afford to set up a business, regardless of what that business might be, if you think for a minute that there is a possibility that your business will fail. You may have to change direction a few times, rethink your business plan and diversify but, most importantly, you have to have self-belief and the will to succeed.
How many of you go through life wishing you could get a different job, work for yourself, learn a new skill, write a book etc. etc.? You think about it but the time just isn't right; you'll do it when you have a bit more money saved up, or you'll start after Christmas or next week or when the kids go into secondary school or university or once you're a bit thinner. I thought this way too until Sandra left a comment on one of my blog posts about Feeling the Fear She basically said that when she wants to do something and isn't sure whether or not it's the right time to do it, she asks herself the question 'If not now - when?' If you go through life putting things off until the 'right' time comes around you may actually never achieve the things you really want to do and so my new attitude is GO FOR IT!! If there is something in your life that you've always wanted to do then my advice would be to stop thinking about it and actually do it.
Anyway, you will no doubt be hearing more about my new venture as it grows and I will let you know when the shop is fully up and running. It's called 'Handmade by Yvie' (Yvie (Yvonne) is my middle name) and I hope you like what you see. Filofax fans watch this space - there may be something for you too.
Until the next time,
Denise x
People are always telling me how lucky they think I am to do the work that I do and they are right, I am very lucky to have a job singing and teaching others to sing, but every so often I feel like having a change. As they say 'a change is as good as a rest' and because I totally agree with that I am launching a new business. This is the reason for not blogging, tweeting or facebooking much lately. I've been busy setting up 'Handmade by Yvie'. Of course I will never give up my other work completely but I will be cutting back a bit on the hours I spend doing it and I am really looking forward to doing something completely different alongside it.
For a few years now I have been making cards, tags and the odd bit of stationery. I love working with paper and over the last while there have been some huge leaps forward in the techniques and materials that can be used to create these items. Many of these new techniques have become popular because of the great Tim Holtz, Creative Director for Ranger Industries. There are new inks and tools and techniques and no longer do handmade cards have to be twee (I love that word) and really only suitable to give to an elderly relative. They can now be works of art, limited only by imagination and suitable for absolutely anyone. And so I have decided to take my crafting to the next level and have set up an online shop selling handmade cards, tags, stationery and small gifts and accessories.
As people who read this blog regularly will know I am a great believer in following your dreams and this is something I've wanted to do for some time now. I love working with paper etc. and I love the idea of running a shop. The obvious thing to do was to open an online shop selling the things that I love creating.
People have asked me what I will do if this project doesn't work. I explain to them that I am not giving up my other jobs, I am just cutting back a bit on the amount of time I spend doing them so that I can spend more time on my new project. If this project doesn't work out then I can up my workload again however, in my mind, failure is not an option. I have always had that attitude towards everything I do and I have always been successful in every venture that I've taken on. When you're self-employed you have to have that attitude. You can't afford to set up a business, regardless of what that business might be, if you think for a minute that there is a possibility that your business will fail. You may have to change direction a few times, rethink your business plan and diversify but, most importantly, you have to have self-belief and the will to succeed.
How many of you go through life wishing you could get a different job, work for yourself, learn a new skill, write a book etc. etc.? You think about it but the time just isn't right; you'll do it when you have a bit more money saved up, or you'll start after Christmas or next week or when the kids go into secondary school or university or once you're a bit thinner. I thought this way too until Sandra left a comment on one of my blog posts about Feeling the Fear She basically said that when she wants to do something and isn't sure whether or not it's the right time to do it, she asks herself the question 'If not now - when?' If you go through life putting things off until the 'right' time comes around you may actually never achieve the things you really want to do and so my new attitude is GO FOR IT!! If there is something in your life that you've always wanted to do then my advice would be to stop thinking about it and actually do it.
Anyway, you will no doubt be hearing more about my new venture as it grows and I will let you know when the shop is fully up and running. It's called 'Handmade by Yvie' (Yvie (Yvonne) is my middle name) and I hope you like what you see. Filofax fans watch this space - there may be something for you too.
Until the next time,
Denise x
Comments
If there's something you want to do I say - go for it!! :-)