The core to my business back when it was a side hustle was markets. My very first market was in January 2006 and pre-dated having the internet at home, a home computer or social media. I collected names on a sheet of paper and sneakily added them to a spreadsheet during a lunch break at work. I would send newsletters with market dates, printed at work *shh*, and posted with actual stamps.

The markets evolved from day outings under umbrellas and marquees in botanical gardens and school grounds, to 3 day markets in town halls and eventually to major design events and international trade shows.

My shed is full of so many market props and staging paraphernalia. As I type this, there are 3 suitcases of market display fit-outs and display stands sitting in my front room, dumped from when I returned from a show in NZ, days before COVID shut the world down.  I haven't opened those suitcases since.

To state the obvious, there was a whole lot of nothing that changed everything when 2020 blurred into 2021. 

It's fair to say my business has pivoted and will not be the same again. Should probably clean out the shed. Definitely should unpack those suitcases. 

Momentum No 1 Art Print

Moving on, I'm focussing on work from my heart and being true to my personal creative journey. Because that's the only way a small business can operate, with heartfelt sincerity, otherwise it's not believable and too much hard work.

I am still, proudly, a small business owner and running a product-based business online. 

While we languished our way through lockdowns, I chased my art-heart and talked about how this happened in my last post What I Got From The 100 Day Project.

I'm so excited to release a set of art prints to my homewares collection featuring the pieces which gave me the greatest joy from that project. The ones with a sense of freedom in the gestures, the colours, the brushstrokes and wild marks.  Pieces made completely intuitively with no agenda, just a joy in letting go, building momentum and trusting the process.