Well, I can’t exactly say this was the most festive announcement I wanted to make but I think its been a long time coming. You may have noticed that I haven’t publicised my products in a long time, in fact many of you might have been unaware that I had a shop to start with. Subconsciously this was a decision I had been mulling over for the past year and one which I sincerely did not want to make.
However, juggling many plates at once means there is always something that gets put on the back-burner and my shop was definitely one of those. I’ve not created a single piece of art in a year and although that is a tough pill to swallow, it is clear that this probably won’t change anytime soon. Even just having the appearance that the shop was open, suggested to me that there would be some sort of product launch in the near future, and I have felt guilty day-in, day-out that this was not going to be the case. I do want to say that this doesn’t mean that door is closed but right now it is not a path I can afford mentally or physically to go down and although that hampers my pride and my perfectionist brain, I know its probably the right thing to do.
I’ve also just really lost the love for it and that is starting to leak into most of my passion projects than I care to admit. It was taking up too much space in my brain emotionally and I hope that in putting it out in the open, I can have a clean slate to try and get my passion back. No amount of pride is worth you losing your love for something.
Running my shop on the other hand during lockdown filled me with joy and excitement. I met so many lovely people through doing it, cried A LOT, managed to problem solve and pushed myself out of my comfort zone to a new extreme. I wouldn’t say it always felt like it was worth it, I wasn’t rushed of my feet 100% of the time and it definitely wasn’t as ‘impressive’ as some people make it out to be. However, I was 20 and on reflection, I am really proud of what I managed to achieve with just little old me, in my room at home, trying to do something she was extremely passionate about. I have the utmost admiration for anyone running a business, especially in the current climate. even from having the tiniest taste of it, I can say it is not easy.
I’ve still got stock left, a box full of cards and prints which I am not sure what to do with yet. Right now, they are currently acting as quite the sad reminder of what I’ve just given up but as they say, time is the greatest healer and I am confident I’ll look at it again with fondness rather than guilt or sadness.
I can’t thank everyone enough for their support, I can’t say everything was perfect 100% of the time but so many people offered up advice and guidance to someone they knew very little about, congratulated me when it would go well and willed me on when I thought I was useless. That’s the bit that makes it special, and when people say the small business community is a great one, believe it.
So, as you many have noticed the ‘Shop’ section has been removed. This website on the other hand, is not going anywhere. I am really hoping that in the New Year I can dive into writing with a fresh perspective and love for creating, because at the minute that flame is slowly dying. So, in that sense, my primary focus is to set ablaze again my fire for writing and creating
Thanks again to all those who bought a product, shared my shop and gave me invaluable feedback. 2023 is a new start and I am quite looking forward to it.
All the best,
Sophie.
Sophie's Edit 