FLASH BACK - Looking back at my first blog post & looking at where it's growing.

FLASH BACK!! It's lovely to look back of old blog posts you have written. For those of you that write a blog have you ever taken the time to look back at your very first blog post? I have been blogging since 2008, not always as frequently as I would like, but I have had some written with some kind of consistency. My blog as far as I am concerned is still not where I would like it to be, but I am OK with that. I do what I can do, and I do it best I can do, but life as a mama can get in the way. Kiddies always come first. But it's been a journey of love & finding my creative style, so I have to be grateful for that. Yes I cringe as some of the photos & the way I have presented things, but I believe every post I have written has been an improvement on the one before.

So here it is my first blog post  called "The Beginning", & her is the photo that I put in it. I can't say I dislike them as it's of my beautiful, & very round baby boy Hudson. I say very round because he was, it's so funny as he is a bean pole now!

I want to write more & have so for a long time, the next 6 months I have decided to focus a little more on this craft. Have a real go at it, it's always been something I have aspired to do but never gave it a real go, making too many excuses.

Blogging is changing I have seen & becoming more of a go to for information. With all of my experience on putting together fashion ranges, illustration, sewing, working in the handmade community, & lots of business advise that I have learnt along the way, I feel I have so much more to share.

Stay in touch I do love to hear from you.

Exciting additions to my business

I am really excited at the moment as I have made some new decisions with regards to my business. I am expanding a few new areas & also removing some. I have been feeling a bit like I had hit a creative wall for the last couple of months. Not fun. It wasn't anything specific, I love what I do, but being a creative person I was craving for something new to reignite that love & passion, searching for a spark. Those like minded souls will know exactly what I mean, when there is a calling you just have to go with it.

It was as simple as getting back to my roots. No not just drawing, but my love of design in the pattern sense, & sewing. It's been a LONG time since I have drafted a pattern & made something. Did you know I studied fashion design? I have a huge education in pattern making, not just at college but on the job. While on the job I also had further learning, I was sent to a private tutor, who was this incredible woman with an Italian heritage. She taught me to draft European style!!!!! With square rulers, in European sizing & methods that were never taught to me at school, it was so incredible & amazing. I was really good at one stage & I could literally measure you, take down those numbers & draft something pretty much made to measure. A skill I am eternally grateful for.

I haven't done any pattern making for a while but I ave this itchy feeling to go back. I want to go back to clothing a little, & also create patterns that are useful, like decor items. It really excites me just thinking about it. I don't have any desires to reinvent the wheel just make practical items. My plan is to put them in to action & offer them to you, so you can create your own unique pieces. With the added bonus of my incredible DTG machine, I will be able to print loads of lovely new designs to hopefully not only make me squeal with excitement but you. I want to design beautiful DIY kits that will be personal & useful for you & your home. I really can not wait, I am working behind the scenes & will be sharing snippets as I go along. Here is the beginning of something new right here.

Here are 2 dresses I made a long time ago when I used to enter bridal wear competitions. I never won, but the excitement & exposure was incredible. Please be forgiving as these designs were created in the late 1990's. I have written in detail about my desires of wanting to be a bridal wear designer here & here if you're interested to know more.

There is another area I am introducing into my business, but I will leave that for another day. All this planning at the moment makes my heart race with absolute excitement & it's the most amazing feeling to have my passion burning pretty high at the moment. I have had these nagging feelings for a while, being a HUGE believe of listening to your instincts, it's time to sit, listen, accept & act on them!!

I am ready to print

My new printer is here & ready to rock n roll!!

I had my final day of training yesterday which was brain exhausting, all the things I have had to learn. There is a whole lot of maintenance involved that now needs to become part of my daily routine. The machine is a little bigger than I predicted which means I have lost quite a bit of valuable work space in my room. I also ned to get some new electrical points put in to place, which has worked out well as I needed some new ones around the house anyway. You can see here just how tiny my work space is.

So here it is, all squished into my room.

I have been printing many new samples testing colours & using treatments for dark & light colours. I have been having to re format some of my work also which is becoming a long & tedious task.

But you can see below some samples I have done. I grabbed some old singlets & made them new again for the kids. I just can not believe how amazing it all looks. It's not been all roses though, I have had a couple of blunders which you can see on the left navy & white star. Eeeeeek that looks like that as I didn't use enough pre treatment.

the kids have definitely reaped the benefits so far. It's great as I have gotten their demands out of the way so I can start focusing on some new Tiges and Weince work.

YAY!!

I finally bought a direct to garment printer

I have been waiting to release this news for what feels like weeks, which really only been a few days. I feel like I have been a kettle ready to let out steam.

For the last 12 months I have been wanting to buy direct to garment printer so much, but needed to grow my business I felt a little more. I also had doubt & worry about the money side of it as I would have to finance it which is a massive step for me. I stress a lot about having a lack of money, it's just one of those worries for me. The last 12 months I have literally work my batooty of in order to grab this dream. I did it!! 

Early this year I contacted a supplier & went down to his show room to check it all out. I had been researching & reading reviews about it as much as I could alone before I decided to enquire. I also had to make sure it printed all of my current products, because if it didn't do that, well whats the point? I had a page of notes & questions to ask, a bag full of products I currently make, as well as the future cotton I wanted to printed on. My dad came with me to have a sticky nose he says, but I think he wanted to make sure I was not going to be influence into anything I didn't want. Being protective never ends. But once he saw my bags of products & goodies & page of notes I think he felt at ease.

The man who sold me the machine was wonderful. He showed me how it worked from inside to out. What it couldn't do & what it was capable. Here it is.

direct to garment printer

He printed a sample of my work on to a t-shirt for me, I was very impressed. Please note it was a daggy white large adult tee so looks a bit odd. But it was all about quality & hand feel.

My monster mash personalised cushion design on tee

I found myself at one stage day dreaming a bit, as he was telling me about it as my mind was literally racing. The ideas & so much inspiration was churning around inside, I have to admit I felt a little nauseous. I snapped out of it though & asked him to repeat himself hehe!

My excitement s a bit out of control at the moment. I have so many thoughts & opportunities to finally create new products I have always wanted. As my current products are really purely decorative, it is brilliant beyond belief that everything now will be completely machine washable. I am also wanting to tap into many DIY areas & projects. Being able to sell my panels for kits will be a great idea for those who sew well. Last but not least, I am seriously think of some clothing being added to my Tiges and Weince brand.

I am not sure exactly when I get the machine I am assuming later next week & then I will need some training. So I am assuming the first week of Feb I will be able to get some photos of how it looks & so forth & share them. Oh do you think I need to name this machine LOL? Any suggestions?

I'm excited!

Things I am doing this new year ....

With all of the chatter about new year resolutions, I am here to admit I don't do the damn things. I have tried & failed, so the last couple of years I just haven't bothered with them.

This year is a blank slate so I can decide to do it my way!!
Instead of new year resolutions, I want to focus on things that went really well in 2013 in my life, & how I can improve them.  I also want to try & go back to basics a bit & get back to my roots, that being my LOVE for drawing & design & why the hell I started with my business.
The last couple of years I feel like I have not stop pushing & pushing to make it grow & work. It got hard & a little robotic at times.

I have always read happiness & enjoyment manifest success, so in 2014 I am going to let the universe play a little part in my journey

Happiness & Gratitude.

I am a relatively happy person, I can get a little stressed & high strung at times (due to my perfectionism), & I am very grateful for my happy little life. But I would like to be a little happier, & not worry about the little things so much. When those low little grey thoughts creep into my mind, I want to change my mood, I really want to make an effort to shift them. Move them on. Kick them away. Say see you later. This may involve me going outside for a moment & breath some fresh air, get some sun on my face, look in my garden, cuddle my kids or walk puppy.

Turn a negative into a positive.

This relates to all aspects of life. We all have crappy days & all have even crappier little events take place. So when something goes wrong, I really want to see the positive side, you know see the glass more half full than empty. Even laugh about it.

Look for beauty.

Have you ever really sat down & looked around you? There is a lot of beauty from colours, to pattern to touch. This will also help with my inspiration. I admit to not doing it enough, it's time to sit a bit & take a look around.

Check in with my goals.

I get slack here, I have to admit this, I write them down & forget about them. But this year I have completed the amazing 2014 biz workbook by Leonie Dawson, which has been one of the best personal exercises I have ever done. Its not your typical business book, it is so much more. It's almost a declaration of your soul, thoughts, dreams, hopes, loves, hates & everything in between. I have written my dreams from loves to financial goals, in such a beautiful & soft way. It's creative & wonderful & so highly recommended. I have committed to myself to check in monthly & quarterly, & by not doing it will only let myself down. I feel so serious & committed to this process this year as I know it will help me grow & stay on track. Can't wait!!

Improve my running & fitness.

I worked very hard the last few months getting back into running, its be a hard journey, but so god damn rewarding. This year I aim to keep this maintained & even extend. I am aiming to run 8km this May at the annual Susan Mother's Day fun run. I feel scared & pray my knees hold up. To maintain this I have to improve my flexibility. My new goal this year is to limber up. Stretch, stretch & stretch. I am going to incorporate some yoga & Pilates to help. It's going to hurt, but I will so happy to be able to touch my toes without pain.

Be more caring & gentle with myself.

Basically stop pushing myself to my limits. No more burning the candle at both ends. My diet is fine I don't have an issue there, but I need to listen to me a little more. If I am tired go to sleep. It's pretty simple actually, a well slept me, is a happy me.

More Art

Retuning to what I love. I love to draw & create. Love. Love. Love. It makes me so happy. In 2013 I drew so much but it was under a lot of pressure. I was doing art classes plus churning out new designs for my business. Sometimes the pressure gave me a little stage fright, & I just couldn't get what I wanted out. This year I am dedicating a small amount of time several times a week to just draw. Just me, my sketch pad, pencil & eraser. It will be a doodling dream.

Get back to my roots.

Time to check in with why I started my business. Because I love to draw & I also love to inspire. I have a lot of friends & family come to me with ideas & plans & thoughts about things happening in their world. There is always a general consensus, they always tell me I inspire them, help them with ideas & suggestions they have never thought of. these conversations range from colour, to food, to fitness, to the garden & everything in between. I love bouncing ideas with people & brainstorming. With that reminder I am looking forward to infusing my daily life, business & personal with inspiration, which I hope can inspire others.

So there is where I want to go this year, & I look forward to the journey ahead.

Whats your 2014 plans?

Happy New Year & a little 2013 reflection.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

There has been a bit of a gap from my last blog post......I made a decision mid way through December to have a forced break from blogging. It really bothered me to be honest, but  I was so busy with Christmas orders, busier than I had ever been, my priority was to get everyone of those created & posted. Even my social media interaction took a dive. On the plus side I can not begin to tell you how grateful I was, my hard work during the year was an an incredible pay off.

I too have had a big year. It all began when I sold my party plan business in May 2013. Such a scary decision to do so, as I truly believed in it's potential. But I sold it with confidence in the end to someone who has greater skills than I have in management. I knew it was in good hands, & it certainly has proven so, as it has doubled in size since leaving me. Fantastic.

This left me to concentrate solely on my art, & devote my time to learn. I decided to give myself six months to learn as much as I could, so I can take my business to a new level, & with some new direction in mind. It was almost like it was time to nourish me, I had never ever done that before. I also completed two very intense art courses with Lila Rogers which were so eye opening, hard, a little intimidating, & incredible all rolled together. You can read about my journey here, & there will be loads of links about signing up if you're keen. Be prepared it's not all roses. That was one of the hardest journeys of my life, yet so incredibly rewarding. It has given me some much need art direction, & insight to a tight industry.

I also started running again & completed my very first fun 5km run on December 8th (my birthday), the Susan classic. That achievement was one of my happiest days of my year. I never thought I would do it, especially as I had double knee surgery just over 12 months ago. After achieving this, I just knew that there are more personal goals to come, something I will be writing a lot more about. Truly, it was exhilarating.

Another big surprise during December was how busy my gorgeous kids lives became. I am starting to believe they have a better social life than me!!

Hudson finished kinder this year, I just can't believe it. School next year OMG how did that happen?
He is also really involved in Taekwondo, & loves his Milo Cricket.
For Taekwondo there were gradings to learn & take, which he passed! Then the awards & Xmas party.
Also his important 4 year old kinder graduation & yearly Christmas concert.
Lastly his weekly summer Milo Cricket sessions which he absolutely LOVES!!
Weekly swimming, how could I forget that, but I look at that as a life lesson & compulsory.
Ohh how could I forget his preparations were also underway for his entry into Primary School. Weekly orientation sessions, & parents nights.
So much going on,

Charlotte's passion is dance, & this was a roller coaster ride I never expected. She had been doing it for about a year & a half already, but this June I put her in a proper dance school. Finally I could relieve my duties of mummy & me ballet!! It was a learning curve for me, & something that has made my daughter grow in confidence. On top of her weekly class of jazz ballet, tap & a bit of singing, towards the end of the year I had costumes to bead, a lesson on stage make up, professional studio shots, studio rehearsals, then actual venue rehearsals, & finally the big night, also an awards day. She took it all in with love & enjoyment, & I can't wait to see how she grows with it next year.
She also has her weekly swimming.
But next year starts 3year old kinder. My baby is on her way to becoming a big girl, I simply can not believe it.

Looking back it was an exciting & busy 2013, no regrets, a few extra lessons learnt on time management, & how important it is to look after my own body. 

I have a really great feeling about 2014. What I have learnt during the year I am so anxious & excited about applying to my business. It's going to be so much fun! I am in the middle of planning my business year so I know the path I am taking & so I can forecast & mange what I want to achieve.

I am so excited!!

Happy New Year again, & I hope your goals & path make it an incredible beginning to 2014.

MATS week 4 - editorial

I haven't had a chance to post my week 4 submission for MATS. I kind of struggled with this one a bit, only due to lack of time, I normally  put my 120% into it. Christmas orders have kept me a little crazy at the moment. No complaining, I am so happy :)

So editorial something you'd find in a magazine, newspaper, on a map etc. The best part of this assignment was the opportunity to create some hand lettering. A favourite past time of mine.

The brief was to create a map, or an identity of your city, where you live. Coming from Melbourne I picked the most iconic places that came to my mind straight away. Again, Lilla managed to throw me out of my comfort zone as usual. I mean take a look, does it look like a piece of art that I would normally create? No way hozay!! But it did give me an opportunity to stretch myself, see how I felt, ask myself if I loved it, & once again see what I could do & where it would take me.

So here it is, bright bold & very Melbourne.

Creating editorial art would be amazing, but I would hope to potentially gain work in areas that would be a little more in my comfort zone.

Burn out....I am a repeat offender.

I fell off the wagon last week, I literally dropped like a bag of lead. Last Wednesday I was feeling a bit off, nothing in particular, just off. By Thursday it hit me I had a sore throat, my chest ached & I was so incredibly tired. Friday I laid around all day, & managed to get Hudson picked up & dropped off at kinder. Bonus!!

I am quite confident I know what it was, burnout.....Burning the candle at both ends.

I am a repeat offender of this, it happens yearly to me. Every year I promise to not allow it to happen, but it does. Like all mums we take on too much, not on purpose it just happens. The life of a busy mum with very active kids, working my dream job,  looking after the house, & fitting in my exercise & other odds & bobs  eventually can take it's toll.  I am a bit of a perfectionist & I do like to keep busy. I have trouble saying no, as I want to live the fullest life possible, not just for myself but the kids.

I could sit here & say it's too much, but I won't it's just not my style. I think I just need to manage the situation a little better, maybe a bit more sleep could definitely help out a little. Not only will it help, it may also reduce some of my tired & grumpy days!

Doing it all with the kids in tow will always be a challenge & every week my routine changes a little, but I am always trying & thinking of new ways to complete things quicker than I did last time.

The only way to stop burnout is to clone myself, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon, so I must soldier on.

I am just REALLY glad to be feeling better, being unwell is such a time waster. I tell you I am not looking forward to the catch up.

Such is life, onwards & upawards.....I hope it was a great Monday.

Inspiration & Creativity - part 3

This is my favourite area of imagination & creativity. I love colour. Colour inspires me. Colours excites me. Seeing colours I am drawn too can bring ideas flooding to me, really quickly.

Colour can speak so many words happiness, moodiness, memories, comfort, excitement & joy. We are surrounded by colour from the moment we open out eyes in the morning, until we go to sleep at night, even then we can dream in colour. 

Colour inspires the seasons we design for, spring, summer, autumn & winter. 

So how does it inspire me? The colours that inspire me are almost like an instinct, I just know, it's a natural tendency that my eye is drawn constantly to. My logo is a give away to what I love. At the moment I can never get enough of turquoise, I adore raspberry red, tangerine, white, grey & recently chartreuse. 

A great way to find out what you naturally gravitate to, & inspires you, is grab some books, magazines, or jump on pinterest & just look around. Pull out or pin what you are drawn too without thinking about what you're selecting. You could easily do this for an hour, time flies when you in the land if inspiration. When you have had enough, have a look at what you have selected & see what you notice? Have you selected similar colours? Patterns? Shapes? It's amazing how obvious it can be.

You will be amazed at what you see. I did the exercise only 6 months ago, & noticed a lot of what you can see in the colours above. These colours make me happy & feel creative. To me they are fresh, bright, summery (my favourite season) & fun. It was for an online course I was taking, & here is what I collected as colour inspiration. Pretty close isn't it.

I also use two fantastic sites for colour research.

Colour Lovers - This is a wonderful social website that in filled of colour inspiration & creativity. You can join the community & become a member, or even just search on it for colour inspiration. When I am design something I usually jump on there & type in the search bar what I am looking for. At the moment I am drawing a princess range, & I knew I wanted a great pink colour palette. I typed in candy pink & a tonne of different combinations appeared. It was heaven & saved me hours of research.

The next is the glorious design seeds. Wonderfully collated & themed images are used to create palettes. It's just spectacular. From a photograph the colours taken from it to create divine palettes which are truly amazing.

Pinterest is another place I visit for colour inspiration. A place I used a lot for my own inspirations. It's a blessing isn't it that we don't really need to bookmark websites anymore. Our pins do it for us. You can find my colour board here.

There are so many ways to let colour inspire you. Take a seat & just have a look around you. Who knows what your eye will find. I truly believe that colour inspiration always finds you, & you inner thoughts deep down are always sub consciously on the look out. Just remember to keep your phone on you so you can take a photo!

Searching for simplicity

I had one of those moments during the week, one that shone all the lights brightly in my head & gave me the aaaha moment. I was listening to a podcast on blogcastFM, which is a fantastic place I go to when I need to inspiration from successful creative entrepreneurs. There was an interview with Alexandra Franzen, someone new & amazing I have just discovered. 

The questions revolved around how she makes some really important creative decisions in her business, how she goes about it & how she markets them. She seemed to be a really big advocate on stripping everything back to the bones & looking at your goals, intentions & strategies in the most simplest of forms. To me it came across she wanted to create as little work as possible. Sounds good to me!! It was also discussed how perfectionist (like me) try to make tasks far more complicated than they are.

At that point I started to feel like they were talking about me. I do that quite a lot. I work so hard, & try so hard at everything I do, & I know I have made my working goals at times more complex than they are.  I plan, & plan, & sometimes get a little lost in the planning that I become too overwhelmed about it & just don't do it.

I know I am not alone here. 

It has really got me thinking. I need to think about the business goals that I have at the moment & look at them simply, don't over complicate them & just get them done. 

The first one that sticks right out like a sore thumb is my art licensing dreams. I am crazy busy getting my folio ready for submission to art directors. Hence why I am doing the MATS e-course. I am constantly improving & changing things for the better I believe, waiting for the moment of 'readiness perfection'. I think it's time to stop over complicating this, ask myself whats the goal, & then simplify the actions.

The goal - Completing my folio for submission

The simple action - Just submit it. I know what I have to offer is acceptable. 

If I keep messing about with it waiting for the right time, or the perfect moment, I am going to lose my potential opportunity.

I also need to start doing this with daily tasks. When I start working, I work off my "to do" list, but I tend to have a problem with slightly reworking the task differently making it seem substantially more complex than it is. It's like I am over thinking it, & making it more perfect, it's such a bad bad habit.

By doing this I am limiting how productive I really am. My time is limited having to kids, I can only work solidly when they are asleep, or at kinder/care. Lately I don't feel like I have been having any R and R & I know I deserve it too.

The words simplify have bee really floating around in my head, like crazy, almost like neon light flashing. I am just so focused on how I can simplify everything in my life so I can have more time to do what I want. Like catch up on some trash reality TV haha, or maybe do some of the DIY's I pin, & what I really love, play in my garden.

The concept of simplifying my life has had quite an impact on me, that I still know there is more room to discuss this. Such a simply word haha.

I'd love to know how simplifying tasks in your life would improve you.

Inspiration & Creativity - part 2

Imagination & creativity are so important to me, I rely on it all the time in order to fulfil my dreams of working as a full time artist. However I am only human & get road block, & have several times starred at a blank sheet of paper wondering what the hell to draw. I have several ways I tap into this & have been searching around to explore other methods.

Last week I talked about bring peaceful & being quiet. Learning to let go & just the mind be still & see where the imagination goes, which generally always leads me to some creative surge.

Doodle.
Definition; A doodle is an unfocused or unconscious drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be abstract shapes.

It doesn't get much easier than this. Grab your self a blank sheet of paper, your art journal, notebook, or that book you keep your ideas in. I always start with simple shapes like circles, squares, triangles. I draw several of them & then add. What I mean by add is, I may add small dots, some stars, create some flowers out of the, flowing lines, even some curly scribble. The above doodle word is a perfect example. First I drew the word, & started adding shapes around the edges aimlessly. You can just go on & on, each line & shape or scribble leads to the next. Join them together & start to discover what magic can happen.

The wonderful thing about doodling is that you don't have to being an artistic genius, anyone can do it. It's such a relaxing activity, I still recall my mum (who is not creative at all), being an avid doodler. Long before the mobile phone, when she would sit on the phone talking to friends, if she had taken down some details on a scrap of paper, by the end of the conversation she had aimlessly drawn lines, triangles, squares & loads of geometric shapes. Without even realising she still does it today on magazine pages, diary pages, even her mail.

The best thing is doodling it's free, is appropriate for all ages, & for so many people with different interests. You don't have to buy anything to do it. You can use any pen, paper, or paint brush & a blank scrap of paper & you're ready.

If you would like fantastic prompts, or more info on doodling, I bought this book a while back & it is absolutely fantastic for discovering different styles. I highly recommend it.

After reading through the book I found my style quite similar to these two styles. Interesting. I love how your natural style can be similar to others, yet very different. I love softer rounded objects, a little floral, also a little cursive.

Have a play around & discover your natural style. I'd love to know what it's like, let me know.

Join me on an imagination & creativity journey

Constant creativity can be tough. However I love it & could never dream of another life, but when you've hit the wall it can be so damn frustrating, even debilitating. Yes I know sounds drastic.

I am asked all the time, how to you think of the things you create. Especially from my non creative friends & family. It kind of makes me giggle as I believe everyone is creative in their own unique way. It's a matter of tapping into it, whether it be art, food, exercise, writing, organisation, woodwork or decor.

An artists creativity needs to be constantly nurtured, otherwise it can dry out. A bit like a plant you don't water, it shrivels up a bit. If I don't exercise this & allow my mind to wander, have quiet time, listen to music, read, or if I don't keep my eyes open, it's easy to lose it & it can wither a little. It doesn't always come naturally to me. like light bulb moments, at times I have to go elsewhere to get it.

I have lots of things I do, & things that I knows others do, too many to go over in one post. It's such an important topic it's going to take a few posts to go over everything.  In this inspirational journey, I will be focusing on creative types like myself, finding the inspiration to create art, products & decor.

Be peaceful. Be Quiet.
This would have to be when inspiration hits most. Being peaceful & letting your mind wonder is so powerful & unpredictable. I absolutely love it, you just don't know where your mind is going to end up. Some people like to meditate, if thats your thing great, my problem is I can't sit still long enough!!
By being quiet, peaceful, & (when possible) alone, it's perfect. My quiet time is when the kids are playing & for 15 minutes I lay on the couch with my eyes closed, or when I'm in the shower. It's lovely to just start thinking about what work you want to create in the future, new design & concepts. Let your mind completely zone out so you naturally start imagining, & start seeing in your mind what you want. It could be designs, objects or colour. Remember when your mind does this, it's a natural course & direction. I know when I do this, which is quite a lot, & I start thinking of ideas I start to take notice of how I feel. You should too. When your mind is in a wonderful imaginative state, usually a top notch idea or thought comes into your head, if your heart races a little, you belly flutters a bit, take hold of the idea. I truly believe thats your intuition chatting to you about it, it's clearly telling you you're on the right track. Whatever you do at this point NOTE IT DOWN!!! Don't lose the idea.

I would absolutely love you to join in & contribute to the ways that you find inspiration whether it be commenting below or letting everyone know about it on face book. By adding your thoughts, you could help others, & possibly give you that light bulb moment.

Inspiration always comes when you least expect it.

A bit of branding & starting to find my way

You may have noticed I have changed my brand/logo design a few times? And have done so again today. I love switching it up & I think that is purely because I never REALLY new what I wanted. It's taken some time for me to get to a point of starting to understand my own style & creating what I love & adapting it to the market place....My very important customers.

I have always LOVED colour & I am completely obsessed with raspberry red & turquoise together. I can't help myself. Keeping it in my branding is really important to me, so are my other 2 colours. I am kinds head over heels about dove great & chartreuse, more on the yellow side, not green.


It's also been a HUGE step forward to actually use my name. Kylie Loy. I actually feel quite uncomfortable about it but getting used to it slowly. I have been discussing it with a friend about doing it, so I suppose I have been preparing myself slowly. As part of the big picture for my business, you all know I want to have a go at licensing & will also be offering a design service. More on that later. So it seems the right time to actually been known as someone other than Tiges and Weince.

positivity print here

So here it is. I feel like for the first time in ages is that things are starting to fall in place. It's a great feeling, not one to be complacent about, but it's almost like a sign.....keep going.

It's a great feeling & looking forward to taking the ride & seeing where it goes.

Feelings of change & being brave

Since May this year I have felt a real shift in my business & me especially. The way I think. The way I look at things. Ideas I have, & the direction I want to move in the future. Everything is positive & it excites me to my core. I absolutely love to illustrate & create, I just can't imagine doing anything else. I have worked so hard the last couple of years & have reached a stage where I know its time to grow & expand. I am far from bored, but feel the need to change a little. I have become a lot more grateful for the opportunities that I have created, & reflective of my accomplishments. I am learning also to smile about the good things that have happened with my business, & know its OK to do so. However I feel like this year is starting to become a time to focus on growing as a person, learning news skills & techniques, developing my business to the next level, & chasing my dreams.

Print by Jessica Swift

This print sums me up at the moment, it's perfect isn't it?

Being brave is what I need to be as I have some dreams at the moment which will force me to push myself out of my comfort zone, which is not always my happy place. As you know (I completed the MATS course), so I am working behind the scenes here building my portfolio up so I can submit my work to art directors looking for new opportunities. Eeeeek what a scary & exciting place!

I also would LOVE to start to get back into painting again. I haven't done it since college & I remember how much I loved it back then. I am really scared about this one as it's been years. I would LOVE to learn mixed media techniques also, but I do have one dilemma....kids! I just can not get paints & things out & concentrate (being the key word), & experiment when they are around. They are just way to interested in what mum is doing, & just hover around me & I just can't work. I would love some hints from those who manage that.

So there are a couple of new goals & dreams I have shared & can't wait to start sharing it as I progress along, who knows where it will end up.

A new & exciting chapter in my life

The last few days have been a complete blur. I made a BIG decision a fortnight ago to sell my other business Quirky and Quaint.

image source

I have been very fortunate to have created a business that was good enough to sell, & it was a great feeling just knowing that someone else believes in it as much as I do.

The last 2 years have been a completely whirl wind of work, & complete and utter busyness. Between Tiges and Weince growing bit by bit, & Quirky and Quaint snowballing into 10 girls selling the brand & product all over Australia, it was just becoming too much. As you know I have 2 kiddies at home, & they need my attention so much. From a career perspective, I was also feeling that I wasn't being able to completely give myself to what I love, digital illustration & surface design, 150 per cent.

Fortunately for me an unexpected buyer came along, who has a really popular online home wares business called Belle and Elle. Jodie who runs it has loads of sales, product, & management experience, which is just brilliant!! Also, she has been a stockist of Tiges and Weince, so we have already a business relationship. I honestly couldn't be more excited & thrilled, for two reason. The first that I can focus on my nagging dreams that I have expressed here before, & also that Jodie is a perfect buyer. She will make the brand bigger & better, which is what I want for the girls who took a chance on me when they signed up as Quirky and Quaint consultants.

So within the next month there will be lots of work to hand over & making sure everything is in 100% working order for Jodie. While this is in progress, there will be lots of dreaming for me to do, fine tuning the plans, & the dreams that I have, with so much excitement knowing that I will have the time to explore and chase them. I will be able to direct some goals, & finally get those "to do" jobs crossed off my list.  It makes my heart race just thinking about them.

I just am so excited about my future :)

Have a great day,

Thoughts about 2013

Time is passing incredibly quickly at the moment, between juggling the Christmas rush, & the kids activities, is making my days just zoom by.

It has got me thinking of my business, about what I plan to do with myself next year.
My goals.
My ideas.
My business model. 
How will I change & freshen it up.
What new things will I create. 
What look or trend will I be inspired by.

I have grown so much this year, I feel the need to sit back & have a look at where everything is going. Thinking about it all makes me so excited. I love the ida of reinventing a product, making it better than before. Initially I find this process daunting, & suffer from almost stage fright. Over the next few weeks it's time to start drawing from inspiration I have found throughout the year. Think about my colours & start creating some mood boards. Giving base to some solid story collections. Doing this will keep me on track. I have to think about 2 ranges, one for Tiges and Weince, and the other for Quirky and Quaint. I know next year I want to separate them a fraction, so they have their own look. How I will do it I am not sure yet, but it will be part of my exciting journey.

Have you been thinking about what, where, & how you will plan 2013. I know one thing for sure this year I will be making far more use of my monthly calendars  I will make sure the squares are large & pinning it up on my wall so I can plan & project through out the year. I didn't do it this year very well, & suffered a bit for it at times.

While I think & jot down my goals I look forward to sharing them.

In the meantime I was so completely inspired about the delicious colour palette of these shoes. I know they are completely irrelevant, as this is summer, I am needing to think about winter 2013.
regardless, I was so inspired I bought them.

It's important my feet are happy.

Have a great day,

My Christmas time management & working with my kids

I am feeling like a machine at the moment, I am certainly on auto pilot, but that's to be expected considering the time of year it is.

Below is literally what this last 2 weeks has been like & I will admit I have been finding it hard to fit it all in. I love my work, & always have the crazy attitude, "where there's a will there's a way". Regardless of attitude there is no negotiation, I need to get my stockings & cushions & other odds & bobs ordered made in time for my customers.

I have had a few people ask me, & say to me constantly, I don't know how you do it. Well here it goes, for the moment anyway......I have been getting up at about 5.30/6 am, generally closer to 6 am, even 6.15, but hey at least my intentions are there for a 5:30am rise. I have about an hour before the kids wake, on a good day an hour and a half. During this time it's beautiful, quiet, & peaceful & just me and my cup of coffee. This is when I answer my emails, write my emails, write my to do list for the day, as I find I am clearer & more logical at this time of the morning. I check Facebook, my blog, and any other addictive social media I can't live without. In saying that it's a quick few minute look over, that's it. I have had to become strict or I could waste hours looking around. I know I am not the only one haha. Once that's done I start my work.

When the kids are up it's all about them, & we eat our breakfast together, talk about what we are doing for the day, then it's time to get dressed, & off we go depending on whats on. It is usually my gym twice a week, kinder, errands & dancing for Charlotte. If we are home & the suns out, outside they go.

It looks like I work quite a lot during the day, but I actually don't. I just can't as I am constantly interrupted by both of the kids. I find it so worth while to work in pockets of time during the day. That being if the kids are outside, & I can see them from my office I will most likely get 30mins to an hours worth done. Sometimes it could be 20 minutes while they are eating their lunch, or when they are colouring or playing with their toys. Mind you while they are doing that I am also always doing loads of washing or other household chores. Working within your precious pockets of time can be so incredibly valuable if you use it wisely. Don't sit on Facebook, or twitter, or start ooohing & ahhhing at Pinterest. Do some solid work, answer some emails, write that letter, sew that small order, pack a couple of orders, send some invoices out. You will be amazed how much more you can actually do, & reduce your workload by the end of the day.

By the time the kids are bathed & dinners been eaten, its time for their bed. This is very routine at my house, they both have some milk before bed & we then read a book. After that I may sit & unwind for half an hour, chat with hubby & then I am into it. I used to stay up to all hours of the night, but wont allow myself to do that anymore. lack of sleeps results in a snitchy mummy. Midnight is my limit & lights out.

It's been a very full on routine at the moment & I will admit I am looking forward to it slowing down. I am also at the same time very grateful for all of the orders I am receiving as it keeps me dream alive & home with the kids.

I hope that some of my hints help you out & thanks to those who asked me to write something.

Bugger of a week..I really mean it!!

Ever just had one of those weeks that truly disrupt your routine & balance? I had one of those just recently & have just come up for air. Crazy thing was, it had nothing to do with the kids, it was my work it involved, & my couriers were to blame!!!

It all started just over a week ago when routinely I posted three orders.
The first to one of my consultants who sell in my Quirk and Quaint business.
The second other was a wholesale order.
The third was for my lovely machinist who makes my products.

My first order was worth a significant value & lucky me, this parcel was in a van that had been robbed. Mind you I wasn't advised this until my consultant started asking where it was, & I started tracking it. Yes I know it was bad luck, & trust me such an inconvenience. All the customers had to be called to advise them what had happened, & I was hoping they were happy enough for them to wait for it to be replaced. Thankfully they were, & being a handmade business I don't have a warehouse where I can repack orders quickly, they all had to be made again. Then I have had to submit invoices for insurance purposes. So damn time consuming.

The second and third were lost together. The driver who does my pick up run suddenly resigned & was yet to be replaced. Again, I wasn't told so when my 2 parcels had been sitting there all day & not collected, I called & was soon advised of this. Not impressed with the delayed updated, but anyway they were collected & I thought all was good. They had an external collector pick them up & when they still had not arrived 4 days later, again panic struck. The wholesale order was only 2 cushions, so that didn't freak me out at all too much, it was just an inconvenience again. However the order going to my machinist had A LOT of work in there to be sew, & it's value & time was worth a lot also. Personalised products take time to prepare & organise, & this parcel took me just over 2 days to do so. When I tracked it & called the courier company several times, & there was no record of it, I FREAKED out & felt ill!!! I was finally advised it was lost, which didn't make me feel any better.  Eventually it was found, the external courier didn't put the right ticket on it to resend it back to the correct depot for dispatch. A week later it arrived. I am so lucky that Aileen who sews for me, was so helpful & managed to have it all sew for me almost on time, as well as the current weeks work. If it was for her I would have been stuffed, I really mean that.

I just wanted to scream & blame everyone, be an angry hippo, but that was just my helplessness coming out in me, as there was literally nothing I could do. I will admit to crying, & felt so much better when Charlotte heard me & I got lots of cuddles, which was so beautiful.

The catchup has been horrendous as I had to repack a lost orders, as well as current ones, I literally packed all day last Thursday & Friday. Trying to do it around kids is so challenging at the best of times, so I had to bribe them a lot, let some extra iPad time happen, & I threw in a few movies & I got it done. I am sort of up to date, but still behind as I had my normal "to do" list for that week, but I just had to not worry about it. Mind you it's still waiting for me. It was just an absolute nightmare week.

For someone who works for themselves, especially handmade, with kids at home, it wasn't even the money I was worried about in the end, but more the time & hours that are involved. Fingers crossed never again.

This week is a new week, & I won't let it scar me (I hope), time to move forward, reward myself for doing what I though was impossible & have a great week this week.

New knowledge = excitement

It's been ages since I have blogged, a month actually.....terrible.

Lately I have been so busy. Between the kids, and growing demands of my other business Quirky and Quaint, I don't know actually if I am Arthur or Martha. Life is like a washing machine, wishing and washing from one responsibility to the other. From the kids, to maintaining the house, to cooking, to operating Quirking and Quaint, and then knowing desperately I need to start completing the half finished designs for my other baby Tiges and Weince. Ahhhhh I get exhausted thinking about it.

Amongst all of this business, I am still an addict for knowledge. I love to follow those who I know I can learn from. Even though I am not at traditional 'school' anymore so to speak, I still consider myself a student, learning as I go, making mistakes, and thriving with other great decisions.

Can I tell you a secret.....I  love an e-book. Learning and absorbing in my own time is thrilling, and so empowering.

An artist that I TRULY admire is Kelly Rae Roberts. 

Beside her beautiful work, her success over the last few years has blown me away. I have been secret admirer so to speak, watching, looking and reading from a far. She has some amazing e-books and I have finally purchased the one I have had my eye on for a while - The whole shabang.

She is teaches a lot of subjects that I am very interested in like marketing strategies, your goals, teaching opportunities, licensing deals and scanning and printing techniques. It seems to cater to me perfectly right now. There is so much to learn it makes my mind buzz with excitement. This is definitely the perfect tool for me at the moment to sit back and think about where I want to head, how to get there, and the best part being taught some proven skills. Saves time in my eyes.

I look forward to sharing some more about how I am enjoying the over 200 page e-book with you all. I have reached page 45 and so far it's amazing. I love how Kelly is so passionate about following your heart and listening to those internal nudges and emotions you feel when something excites you. She believes you can do anything your heart desires, which is news to my ears as I feel like I am just beginning.

There is a whole lot of love over at Kelly's site, whether her art style is for you or not, her business management, strategies and knowledge can be adapted to any creative business.

I apologise for my absence, but after reading some helpful hints about blogging via Kelly's e-book, I look forward to developing redeveloping my style a bit, and just writing from the heart, what inspires me, and most importantly enjoying it a whole lot more. I love blogging, and hate that my posts have kind of dropped off a bit, so I am picking myself up, dusting off, and I'm going to soldier on.

have a great weekend,

Kylie xx

YIKES...I have had a crazy month

I can not believe it has been nearly a month since I have blogged.

It's terrible actually.

I knew it had been a while, & I always think about how I have not posted anything, but sometimes life gets in the way. When I am incredible busy, my poor old blog seems to suffer. Priorities come into place, & the most important tasks must be completed first.

OK I am not going to go on about why I have been literally "Missing in Action", but my business journey has been a tremendously positive one & I had to get some things organised.

I know you all know that I have another business, Quirky and Quaint.

For those who don't, it's a party plan business where I sell predominantly children's homewears & accessories, sprinkled in with some lovely items for mum.

Fortunately I have had 3 lovely gorgeous girls join the business to sell the brand. These lovely girls have literally turned my world upside down. I have had to work in such a new way. All of a sudden, I have girls to organise & support, make sure their job is as smooth running as possible, as well as paying them for their extraordinary efforts. It has been quite challenging to say the least, yet so exciting. I have had to hire some ladies to help me restructure the business, & mentor me along the way. They have been such huge resources, & brilliant at what they do. They have a lot more experience than I do in the direct sales business (35 years), hence why their knowledge & wisdom I am so blown away with.

During this last month I have had to have agreements & manuals created, new brands included into the business, researching trade marks, as well as creating my very own catalogue. Just getting that organised for printer has been crazy, learning what graphic artists & printers need has been stress in itself.

Doing all this around the kids has been quite impossible, & I have finally popped them into occasional care one day a week. Having 5hrs alone is amazing & I get all the hard stuff done, well the jobs that need full concentration.

I am getting on top of it, & finally breathing. I haven't created a new design for my Tiges brand which is killing me & I miss it, but I know its time to get back to that....And of course my blog.

I am just so happy that I have finally blogged about something today.

A small & simple pleasure.