Wins and Lessons of 2023
As another year has drawn to a close, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate not only the wins of 2023, but also the lessons learnt from my mistakes. 2023 was definitely a year of two halves for me, the first half was terrifyingly stressful, the second half, exciting and fulfilling. All of the downs and then all of the ups, which is important because it helps you gain perspective not only in your professional life but also in your personal one.
So I hope you’ll enjoy reading through my top 5 wins for last year, and also my top 5 lessons learnt from those ‘teachable’ moments.
wins
-
wins -
1. Glass and Wick
What an incredible opportunity to see my work transformed into a new format! Working with Glass & Wick was an absolute joy. It’s a rare thing to find a client who just gets your vibe and can see your vision even if it’s not on paper. In the end I created a total of 27 separate illustrations culminating in 50 hours of drawing. Holding the finished article in my hands felt like holding a little treasure, and I hope if you ordered one too you felt the same!
2. Thyroid Superhero
I was over the moon when local friend/writer/thyroid advocate Rachel Hill got in touch to ask me to bring her children’s book idea to life. After the success of The Strange Tales of the Alphabet Children I was very keen to work on another book, especially one which could help so many families. I was bowled over by Rachel’s expertise and knowledge, and it reminded me that working with clients works both ways; I always come away more knowledgable and informed after being involved with their worlds, even if it’s for a short period of time.
3. Penhaligon’s for Studio XAG
One of the (physically) biggest projects I worked on to date, I was commissioned by creative geniuses Studio XAG to create some large format illustrations to be applied to a booth for their clients Penhaligon’s. As well as illustrating many Victorian style flying machines I was commissioned to create a 4ft x 4ft London map complete with iconic landmarks.
4. 2024 Markets
I visited 10 markets last year, all across Nottingham and as always it’s such a pleasure meeting you all face to face! My favourites had to be Pitch Presents Ay-Up Market in June (The weather was perfect, and it was my first time pitching up in the actual market square!) as well as the Nottingham Castle Christmas Market at the end of November. The Castle has always been a favourite spot of mine in the city, and to be a part of that for a weekend felt really special.
5. Isla & Fraser
Whilst Isla & Fraser aren’t new clients, they have been one of my longest standing clients and I am always so grateful to work with them every year. 2023 saw a little upgrade to their beautiful gift boxes which saw some small illustrated editions of flowers and ribbons to the corners in their sumptuous brand colours as devised by Page + Looker.
Photography by Abi Moore
lessons
-
lessons -
Only you gets in your way
We like to think that it’s external circumstances that stop us from progressing, but one thing I noticed about myself was that I was the only saboteur. I’m not cured from this affliction, and I still self sabotage on a daily basis, however like meditation I notice when I’m doing it and I decide to try and change gears in that moment. No judgement needed.
2. Money doesn’t equal happiness, but it does make you less stressed
2023 was financially one of the hardest years to date. I’m happy to be transparent enough to tell you that the first half of the year was terrifying. And whilst the old adage of ‘money can’t buy you happiness’ is true in one way, I can’t iterate how much less stressed and ill you don’t feel when you do have it. I ended up getting a part-time job to supplement my income, something I’ve done to look after my family and ultimately my mental health.
3. When there’s a will, there’s a way
Things can, and do, feel hopeless at times. January-May was that time for me. Going through this has shown that I am able to do a lot of things I told myself I never could. Approach jobs I never imagined I would be good enough for, step up to responsibilities I didn’t think I was strong enough to do, take on work that I didn’t think I was skilled enough to complete. It’s amazing how point number 1 resonates here right?
4. Get out of your head about social media
I’ve had the privilege of watching my husband grow his Instagram account from nothing to over 101K follows in the past few years. His secret? He posts every day, and he’s not hung up over the extreme specifics. He just wanted to showcase how easy and fun it is to rewear clothes and buy secondhand, and it seems it resonates with many of you too. I’m taking this attitude with me into 2024, to approach social media less like a chore and a stress and to just be more playful and spontaneous with it.
5. Start the thing, now!
So many things put off in 2023, and once I’d done them they were so simple. This circles (again) back to point number 1 - we get in our own way all the time! How many projects do you have sitting on a pile, waiting for the ‘perfect’ moment? There will never be a perfect moment apart from the moment where you’re thinking about doing the thing, so do the thing!
SME News - Freelance Illustrator and Designer of the Year (East Midlands)
Receiving this accolade feels like the recognition I’m not very good at giving myself, recognition of the hard work and late nights to make it all work in the face of a crazy few years.
Wow.
Just, W O W!
It gives me the greatest pleasure to be able to announce that I have been awarded Freelance Illustrator & Designer of the Year (East Midlands) by SME News in their annual Enterprise awards!
When I received the email last year to say I had been nominated, I couldn’t quite believe it, so much so that I just shelved it thinking it must have been a scam (hello, imposter syndrome?). But as I started to receive more emails about the nomination and consequently the news that I had won it, I started to wonder if I should be paying attention to this news.
When you work for yourself it’s easy sometimes to not notice progression. Especially being a full time mum as well as freelancer, there is little to no time to sit and take in achievements. My ‘colleagues’ are 5 & 2 and they’re not interested if I’ve landed a new client or perhaps launched a new product so I don’t get that same experience as if I was in a studio or office where there are people to bounce that news off with! I’ve very much just been keeping my head down and working through the juggle of running a business, working freelance for clients as well as being there for my kids.
This award means so much more to me than I can explain. It’s been a wonderful moment to just stop, and pay attention to the bumpy and winding road that I’ve been travelling on to get to this point.
As some of you who are self employed will have experienced this year, work has been extremely difficult; I’ve missed out on a few job opportunities, had failed pitches, sales have been down and not to mention the cost of living crises thrown in to help amp up the stress levels. Receiving this accolade feels like the recognition I’m not very good at giving myself, recognition of the hard work and late nights to make it all work in the face of a crazy few years.
After the uncertainty of the last two years or so, relative quiet has been greeted by a rush of announcements, of achievements being announced left, right and centre. Growth, new products, new services, new markets, recruitment – it’s all happening for SMEs across the UK.
Now in its sixth year, the SME UK Enterprise Awards continues to recognise SMEs of all sizes who are endeavouring to bettering business in their industries. Whether it’s by nourishing rich internal cultures to promote employee satisfaction, by offering next-level customer service, or through an enduring dedication to innovative products – British SMEs are truly the lifeblood of the country’s economy and business landscape.
Award Coordinator Holly Blackwood took a moment to discuss the success of this year’s programme: “One of the joys of this programme is realising the sheer talent and skill that permeates every inch of the British business sphere, across all industries and fields. So here’s a massive congratulations and I hope you all have a wonderful – and productive- rest of the year ahead.”
SME News prides itself on the validity of its awards and winners. The awards are given solely on merit and are awarded to commend those most deserving for their ingenuity and hard work, distinguishing them from their competitors and proving them worthy of recognition.
To learn more about our award winners and to gain insight into the working practices of the “best of the best”, please visit the SME News website (http://sme-news.co.uk) where you can access the winners supplement.
I’m very grateful to each and every client I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and for all your wonderful orders through my shop and IRL at markets! Every purchase and commission I get tells me to keep going with this dream career which I’m very grateful to have to work around my home life.
If you’ve been thinking about working with myself to get your illustration or design idea realised, then please feel free to get in touch with me as my books are open to new projects and commissions! Take a look through my full portfolio or even my Instagram to see the kind of work I do. I’m always up for a good chat, especially over a brew and maybe a biscuit or two.
A huge thanks once again to SME news for this wonderful award, and to you lovely lot for your continued support!
Here’s to another year of new illustrated adventures,
Deborah x
Pre-Order my Limited Edition 'Sunset' Tropical Palm Wrapping Paper
A few weeks or so ago I thought I would play around with some different colour ways on my bestselling Tropical Palm wrapping paper and after posting them to Instagram I was bowled over by everyones response.
A few weeks or so ago I thought I would play around with some different colour ways on my bestselling Tropical Palm wrapping paper and after posting them to Instagram I was bowled over by everyones response.
You guys were IN LOVE with these new colour ways, and loved the idea even more of a limited edition print run of my wrapping paper in one of these new palettes.
It was a very close call between the Pink and Khaki and the Navy and Sunset Corals but the sunset colour way pipped it to the post and it’s not hard to see why. Sultry and balmy tones of lilac, rust and sandy beige set against a rich navy just shout heady warm August nights (or the July ones of recent!).
And although these photos may be mock-ups to visualise how the finished product will look, I cannot get over how much I love them!
Now, I’m going to be transparent. Us small businesses are definitely facing a hardship at the moment. I would so love to be in the position like I have before to be able to order this design up front but unfortunately that isn’t possible right now. So I’m making this limited edition design available for pre-order only until August 11th at a super special reduced rate to help raise the money I need to make this beautiful product a reality!
As a pre-order item you will have access to this price until August 11th after which it will be available at it’s regular price. All pre-orders will be posted a few weeks after this date dispatched via first class post.
I would so love to bring this design to life, so if you would like to see it too and own one of the limited 500 sheets I will be printing, please take a look at the product listing below:
I’d love to know what you think of this new colour way! Feel free to drop your thoughts below, I always love to hear feedback and suggestions.
Deborah x
Shop Update
I have not one but two new designs for Father’s Day coming up on the 19th June!
Father’s Day is the one celebration I find hard to design for as I never want to fall into any of the same cliché traps - Think pints of beer, cars, gardening, golf, fishing etc - which I personally find are not a representation of men and father’s. Just like not all mum’s are all about shoes, flowers and Prosecco, so too are father’s more diverse than what the current greeting card climate displays.
So I put the question to my Instagram audience - What do they look for when purchasing cards for their dads? The feedback was so insightful and useful as it helped me see the types of themes and imagery that you guys are looking for. So I hit my sketchbook and drew up these two designs; one inspired by space, constellations and stars, and the other by vinyls, record players and vinyl label artwork.
I hope you’ll agree that these designs are not like the usual fair you’ll see on your local high street, hopefully giving all those dads outside the cliché norms a card perfect for their Father’s Day.
For the dads who collected vinyls in their hey day, or during their revival. For those trendy vintage dads, and those vintage dads who are trendy!
• Card measures 10.5cm x 14.7cm (4-1/8 x 5-7/8 inches)
• Card is blank for your own personal message
• Design is printed on 350 gsm recycled card and comes complete with its own recycled envelope.
• Please recycle your card after use.
• Want to save some postage? I can write your message and post your card at no extra charge! Simply select from the drop down menus and add your personalised message in the text box. Be sure the delivery address is your recipients!
There are some dads who go above and beyond. Celebrate how special your father is this Father’s Day with my illustrated and cosmic greetings cards.
• Card measures 10.5cm x 14.7cm (4-1/8 x 5-7/8 inches)
• Card is blank for your own personal message
• Design is printed on 350 gsm recycled card and comes complete with its own recycled envelope.
• Please recycle your card after use.
• Want to save some postage? I can write your message and post your card at no extra charge! Simply select from the drop down menus and add your personalised message in the text box. Be sure the delivery address is your recipients!
The second product to hit my online shop are these contrasting screen printed patches, which I’ll be honest, have taken me years to list.
Yep, these patches have been in my cupboards for the past few years, hidden away by shame. You see the monkey patches were printed to go on some lovely kids t-shirts which, unfortunately, haven’t sold. Because I was a bit embarrassed about this product tanking badly I decided I would just shove the remaining patches in the cupboard and hope one day I’d make my money back by some divine miracle.
Of course that’s not how you make a living when you work for yourself, so I gave myself the goal of getting them photographed and listed by the summer. It was the little push I needed to get them out there and out of my cupboard, and I hope you’ll like them as much as I did when I had them first printed back in 2019!
Illustrated digitally, these celestial moon and stars patches are perfect for jackets, bags or anything you want to embellish.
• Patch measures 8 x 8cm
• Screen printed with a high quality overlocked hem to prevent fraying.
• Application instructions come with each patch, printed on recycled paper and packaged inside a glassine envelope.
• Please recycle your instructions and glassine envelope after use.
Illustrated digitally, these tropical monkey patches are perfect for jackets, bags or anything you want to embellish.
• Patch measures 8 x 8cm
• Screen printed with a high quality overlocked hem to prevent fraying.
• Application instructions come with each patch, printed on recycled paper and packaged inside a glassine envelope.
• Please recycle your instructions and glassine envelope after use.
Enjoy having a browse through my new products, and if you have any feedback please feel free to email me or drop a comment below!
Deborah x
Spring/Summer Market dates 2022
There’s nothing I love better than getting out and about with my paper goods to meet you lovely lot in person! So far this year these dates have been confirmed, with hopefully a few more to add!
Sunday 15th May - North Notts Artists, Makers & Fine Foods Market, The Manor Room
Sunday 29th May - The Garage Market, The Garage Chilwell
Sunday 17th July - North Notts Artists, Makers & Fine Foods Market, The Manor Room
Sunday 31st July - The Garage Market, The Garage Chilwell
Sunday 7th August - North Notts Artists, Makers & Fine Foods Market, Ravenshead Village Hall
Sunday 21st August - North Notts Artists, Makers & Fine Foods Market, The Manor Room
Hope to see you there!
Deborah x
The Great Postage Debate
As some of you may have seen in the news (it’s a bit inescapable) our lives are about to get a whole lot more expensive.
Self belief coach Anna Dunleavy shared in her Instagram stories last week an amazing reel from Susie Jackson (pricing mentor) talking about how freelancers should be thinking about their worth and in doing so increasing their prices to be able to cope with the increased interest rates. It’s got me thinking about my products, my pricing, my offerings and when I did the math I was doing myself a disservice.
Etsy are very keen for all their sellers to offer free shipping, and this is something I implemented to try and get more sales, more customers etc. Their stance is for us to absorb the postage costs into our product pricing, however I don’t feel this really works for my offerings, especially when people mostly buy single sheets of paper or cards. Over time, I’ve just been losing money. And whilst I’ve wanted to try and not be too expensive for people, I’m really not doing myself any favours. So I’ve decided to add shipping costs back into my online shops as a starting point for me trying to keep my head above the rising tide of price increases in every daily element of my life.
I wont lie, just this small alternation scares me a lot. I’m scared that I’ll lose my customers and I’m scared that this will be the end for my small business. As soon as I put my postage on my listings, Etsy will be there to alert me that in doing so I’m charging more than my contemporaries, that people won’t buy from me, that it’s a bad idea. So I hope this isn’t the case and that you all will be happy to pay the extra 85p to have your card posted, or £1.29 for your gift wrap. I don’t feel it’s steep, but of course I value your feedback and comments on this.
This may seem like such a small thing, but I am a small business and so for me it’s huge. I’m laying my heart bare in the hope that my transparency helps explain the decision, and also shows the intricacies of how businesses run. Postage will be added tomorrow and any orders over £30 will automatically get that desirable free shipping.
Hope you all understand and please let me know your thoughts and feelings!
Deborah
The Etsy Market Summer LookBook
Very excited to share with you that my Eat Kind tea towel has been featured in this years Etsy Market Summer lookbook!
The Etsy Market is a virtual shopping event that is a perfect opportunity to shop unique and one of a kind from a selection of very talented and passionate makers. Some events are run locally, and some are curated by Etsy themselves, but always featuring wonderful treasures from Etsy’s marketplace.
You can shop directly through the lookbook above with clickable links to each product, with the market running till the 15th June, and help support small businesses (like mine) working hard every day to keep their dream going.
Happy shopping!
Deborah x
Eco Friendly Craft Fair Essentials
Craft Market season is fast approaching, which means it’s time for me to dig out my trusty checklist and start planning stock!
As well as ensuring I have everything I need for my stall such as a float, packaging, bags, stationery, business cards etc I always plan what I’m going to take with me for the day.
Craft Market season is fast approaching, which means it’s time for me to dig out my trusty checklist and start planning stock!
As well as ensuring I have everything I need for my stall such as a float, packaging, bags, stationery, business cards etc I always plan what I’m going to take with me for the day.
The biggest thing I see when working markets is the amount of rubbish left over, not only by visitors but by stallholders themselves. Plastic water bottles, non-recyclable coffee cups, and food wrappings to name but a few! Obviously we know the impact plastic has on our environment, but needless to say it doesn’t look great either to visit a market and see rubbish everywhere.
So I thought I’d share these essentials that I pack with me for every market I work to help reduce my environmental impact and save a few pounds in the process!
1 / Tuppaware Snacks
I love snacks. And I love packing myself my own little trail mix of nuts, seeds and raisins. Genuinely keeps me going for longer, and I like that I can choose which nuts I want to put into it compared to shop bought versions (goodbye walnuts!). Should I feel extra naughty some chocolate drops or yoghurt covered raisins sneak in too … but best of all are these cute little food storage clip lid pots that are perfect for all my snacking needs! They came in a pack with other different sized pots, so you can use the others for your lunch, or granola and yoghurt, or apple slices….did I mention I like snacks? And should you wish to keep your plastic footprint at an even lower rate, find your nearest zero waste shop and have your snacks filled into your tuppaware without any packaging - I love to visit Shop Zero Nottingham, they have the most delicious chocolate covered almonds!
2 / Bamboo Cutlery Roll
This has been a life saver for many a reason! For the homemade pasta I’ve brought with me, or the off the cuff cake purchase I’ve made that I want to slice up and share, I’ve used every piece in this set, bar the chopsticks (it’s my mission to use these next just to say I did!). I love that it also comes with a bamboo straw, because as awesome as it is that some places offer paper straws they disintegrate in a matter of minutes, and no one wants soggy paper in their lemonade. When I get home I then wash the cutlery in the sink and the roll goes straight in the washing machine (I can guarantee there will be left over food trapped in it…). Not a piece of plastic cutlery used, and it looks cute too! This particular set was purchased through Amazon but there’s nothing to stop you taking your own cutlery from home wrapped in a tea towel.
3 / Backpack
This backpack has been my staple wardrobe piece since I bought it 3 years ago and it’s travelled far and wide with me! I love that it zips open all the way round so I can pack as much as I can in, with pockets on the sides for water bottles.
4 / Water Bottle
If there is one swap you ever do, it’s to ditch the single use plastic water bottles and invest in a decent refillable water bottle. I’ve had many different ones over the years, from glass (bad idea) to BPA plastic (always go for BPA free!) but I have to say this metal one by Smash Enterprises has been my best ever purchase. A great seal, with a carry handle on the lid, my water stays so nice and cold for a long time! I couldn’t find this exact one online as I purchased it years ago from good old Homesense, but genuinely you can’t go in any homeware shop without seeing an array of amazing water bottles in all different colours, sizes, and styles. Most cafes and restaurants are happy to refill your bottle for you, but the Refill App is perfect when you’re in a city you don’t know and you need to find somewhere refill friendly.
5 / Bamboo Lunch Box
I love this bamboo lunch box from John Lewis and Partners - It’s the perfect size for sandwiches, homemade pesto pasta, rice cakes, you name it. Although it does have a silicone band to keep the lid on (so it isn’t the most eco friendly product) it’s definitely better than buying lunch from a supermarket packaged in 100% plastic that can’t be recycled. And let’s face it, you save so much more money bringing your own lunch. (N.B this particular lunch box is no longer for sale, but we also use these Elephant Box stainless steel boxes and they are AMAZING.)
6 / Collapsible Travel Cup
We have some gorgeous travel cups that we use regularly (big shout out to Keep Cup!) but this collapsible version by Stojo is perfect for working markets. As it can collapse, it doesn’t take up as much space in your bag as normal bamboo or glass travel cups, which is a lifesaver when you have so much to take with you! You simply pull it open, slip the heat protection sleeve round it, and you’re good to go. Oh, and they come in loads of lovely colours too!
What ways do you reduce your environmental footprint when you’re travelling or working away from home? I’d love to hear your ideas and tips so feel free to drop them in the comments section below!
New in the Shop!
Well, it’s been a minute hasn’t it?
Summer came and went so quickly as I had some really lovely commissions to work on (that I can’t quite talk about right now) but in between all my secret client work I was busy beavering away on some new products.
Driving Home for Christmas card range is now available in my shop
Well, it’s been a minute hasn’t it?
Summer came and went so quickly as I had some really lovely commissions to work on (that I can’t quite talk about right now) but in between all my secret client work I was busy beavering away on some new products.
First up is my new design, Celestial Moon Phase Print, which I had in mind as a Halloween print but kind of just love it as an everyday piece!
Perfect for any lunar lover, this large scale fabric print features delicate pen illustrations of the moon as she moves through her phases from new to full. An intricate mandala style design features in the middle, connecting the phases of the moon in her journey. Hand drawn punjabi at the bottom reads 'Phases of the Moon' (and I have it on good authority from my in-laws that it reads correct!)
In line with my goal for 2019 to be a more sustainable and eco friendly business, I have had these A3 prints printed on recycled silk stock to give a beautiful slick finish. You can even request it to be shipped without cellophane to help reduce the plastic going out into the world.
I then went and scratched an itch I had had for quite a while and turned my new Celestial Moon Phase design into this beautiful large wall hanging piece!
Printed on linen cotton canvas, this one of a kind piece measures 90cm wide x 132cm high! I always feel like illustrations have a different feeling when they’re printed on fabric, and this one is no exception.
Finally, I launched my Christmas card collection ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ which has to be one of my favourites.
Capturing the spirit of the great journey home to celebrate Christmas with nearest and dearest, this new collection features 3 different card designs; A badger in an old Morris Minor, a bunny on a bicycle, and a mouse pulling a sledge, all laden with presents.
All my cards are available in singles, or in packs of 6 or 12, and come with the option to be ‘naked’ or posted with biodegradable cellophane/presentation boxes.
7 Tips for Freelancing with a Toddler in Tow
Imagine you have a colleague at work who relentlessly needs your attention, messes up your keyboard (which makes your laptop freeze), is beyond filthy and has no personal boundaries? Working from home with a toddler is pretty much like this. In a shared office environment this person would probably have to visit HR but when your office is a corner, or at best a room, in your own home, you’ve got to somehow manage these tiny whirlwinds of energy!
It’s only after 18 months of tears, frustration and stamping feet (and I’m not on about my own toddler…) that I’ve been able to find ways to get through a day where emails have been answered and projects get completed. Here are my top 7 tips should you be on the verge of shipping your own tiny human off…
Photography by Daniel Hughes
Imagine you have a colleague at work who relentlessly needs your attention, messes up your keyboard (which makes your laptop freeze), is beyond filthy and has no personal boundaries? Working from home with a toddler is pretty much like this. In a shared office environment this person would probably have to visit HR but when your office is a corner, or at best a room, in your own home, you’ve got to somehow manage these tiny whirlwinds of energy!
It’s only after 18 months of tears, frustration and stamping feet (and I’m not on about my own toddler…) that I’ve been able to find ways to get through a day where emails have been answered and projects get completed. Here are my top 7 tips should you be on the verge of shipping your own tiny human off…
ONE / Work smarter, not faster
Since having Ophelia and having to really re-work my daily routine to accommodate her and work (which has shown me how actually un-adaptable I can actually be!) I genuinely can’t believe how little I got done before I had her. There’s something about having a 2-3 hour window everyday that gives you some serious laser focus; there’s no time to idle away on Instagram or claim you’re ‘researching’ when you’re head first in a Pinterest rabbit hole.
Nope, you’ve got to be pretty stern with yourself and get that list written out with the top priorities for those few hours. I’m on about important emails (deleting old ones can be done in ad breaks in the evening in front of the TV), making those phone calls that give you the hebe jeebies, cracking on with illustration projects.
The other stuff, the stuff I like to call the ‘chuff’ of being freelance can be done after it’s the little persons bedtime. Invoices need filing? Inbox need clearing? Social media posts need scheduling? Yep, those are perfect ‘sofa jobs’ which don’t require excellent daylight (if you’re an artist) or a desk.
You’ll be amazed with what you can achieve when you limit yourself to just a few hours!
TWO / Work around their schedule
This kind of ties in with the previous tip, but get to know your little person’s routine and make it work for you. If they have a regular time of day when you know they’ll get sleepy, then plan to get your work done in that nap time window.
I know I can’t get any work done when Ophelia is awake (save for a few orders but that is all she can tolerate before boredom hits!) so I always make sure that the time we spend together is just us time. And should it just be the activities we do exert her to the point of tiredness around her nap time then that’s a good coincidence too…
Don’t get me wrong - she’s not a robot and 50% of the time I’m winging it because the day just hasn’t planned out like I thought it would. That’s having children in a nutshell, but I just make sure I catch up when lights are out, which leads me on to…
THREE / You may have to become a night owl
I’ve always labelled myself a lark, and thought that I could only work in the morning and was a useless lump of lethargy by the afternoon. Well, let me tell you that’s just a story I used to tell myself. I’ve had no choice but to become a bit of a night owl since having Ophelia because there are days when there is no opportunity for me to sit down and focus on my work.
Sure I can post to Instagram or answer an email here and there whilst she’s awake, but the stuff that requires my full attention I can save till the evening now when she’s tucked up in bed resting.
FOUR / Get those boundaries in place
I’m very lucky to have a whole room as my studio in our house. A small corner of it does have some toys and a teepee for Ophelia to play in when I’m in there sorting orders but for the rest of the time it’s an out of bounds room. Aside from the fact that her little hands seem to manage to destroy everything in sight in the space of seconds, I want her to understand that that space is my work room and that the things that are in there (my laptop, stock, clients work) is very important and can’t be touched.
The joy of working for yourself is that you don’t have to adhere to strict hours, or dress code or office location, but sometimes there needs to be some boundaries so others can respect that what you do isn’t just a hobby (and I’m not just talking about kids here) and is in fact an important job.
FIVE / Be open and honest with your clients
There’s going to be a day when your child won’t nap, and they won’t just entertain themselves with a film for a few hours, and basically it will feel like they are out to destroy any plans you had for your day. Honesty is the best policy here.
I’ve had a few scheduled client calls which I’ve booked to be during Ophelia’s nap time and of course she’s decided to stay awake to mix all the play dough together (very important job). She’s at an age now where she does have a little understanding that when I’m on the phone, she needs to do her best ‘whispering voice’, however her mind loses focus quickly and so I may at best get 5 minutes with my client uninterrupted.
It’s best to just manage everyone’s expectations and be honest with your client. A very polite disclaimer at the beginning of your call or meeting to explain your situation, and to apologise in advance for any interruption will go a long way to helping ease any discomfort when your darling child starts to pipe up. 90% of the time clients are parents too, and they understand the trials and tribulations that come with it.
Still, it does make you die a little when it happens as you worry that it makes you look totally unprofessional. In that case, make sure you can book any extremely high profile client calls on a day when maybe your little human is out of the house and is screaming down someone else’s.
SIX / Make use of your Village
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I honestly believe that. We’re very fortunate to live close to our parents, all of whom are more than happy to watch Ophelia for me. Whether it’s for a whole day, or even just a morning, I am privileged to have that time carved out to just get work done.
And besides, it brings them joy too.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There is nothing weak about it. You are a human, and you can’t do it all (as much as the media may tell you otherwise). Some work commitments and projects just need an empty house, and you don’t need to justify yourself to anyone.
If you don’t have the luxury of family nearby, why not ask a friend who has kids as well? Maybe one of the NCT mums you met when you were pregnant? Either way it makes a great playdate for your children, and great way for you to get your to do list completed. You can always return the favour to your pal another day and in turn give them a chance to a child free day!
SEVEN / Remember the amazing advantage you have…
In the end, it’s important to remember that not everyone gets to spend as much time with their kids when they’re young. Working from home with kids is hard, and it can be frustrating, but remember that you get to see more of the milestones than those parents who work outside the home.
You have this golden opportunity to be there for all the firsts, to hear them string new sentences together, and to enjoy things like going to the park/soft play/cafes/other fun stuff that you can’t do in an office. These young formative years can go so quickly, and to be a big presence in them is very important and musn’t be overlooked.
I hope these tips help in your journey into the world of freelancing and parenting simultaneously. If you have your own life saving tips I would love to hear them! Feel free to drop them in the comments below and hopefully it will help any other freelance parents out there!
Pricing is Hard, And Here's Why...
It’s been a little quiet round these parts, due mostly to the fact that we are now homeowners! It's been exciting, scary, liberating and stressful all at the same time, but more than that it's been taking up all my attention and so my to-do list has been getting longer and longer.
It’s been a little quiet round these parts, due mostly to the fact that we are now homeowners! It's been exciting, scary, liberating and stressful all at the same time, but more than that it's been taking up all my attention and so my to-do list has been getting longer and longer.
One thing that I managed to tackle once we finally unpacked and got our electrics/cooker/heating/water sorted (I will save this for another blog post, another day!) was to finally update my Etsy!
Whilst all the craziness of the house move was going on, Etsy had been going through some changes as well, changes that meant I needed to do some serious housekeeping on my prices.
To start, they had decided to shut down the wholesale side to the Etsy business, something that I was a part of. This didn't upset me much at all, partly due to the fact that I didn't get many wholesale orders through it, but mainly because this meant I could finally put my shop back into GBP.
You see, the main stipulation for being able to take part in the Etsy Wholesale program was that you had to convert your shop into USD. This meant that my UK based shop would then convert the USD into GBP and so create annoying prices like £3.78 instead of £3.50. I put up with it for the whole 3 years I had it because, as with anything in business, I had invested money into it and I had to see it through to get that money back. That's just how stubborn I am!
However I am now so happy to say that my shop is finally back into whole rounded numbers, which makes shopping so much easier for you guys. There's nothing I find more annoying, and also a bit suspicious, about a shop who has strangely priced items - it almost gives off a whiff of not knowing how to price your items, and even like you're just throwing any old number out there to see if it sticks!
Which leads me nicely onto the second massive Etsy update that happened whilst I was polyfillering my bathroom; Etsy now offer sellers subscription platforms which offer different incentives to help grow their business.
As with being frustratingly stubborn, I'm also happy to jump onto any new bandwagon to give it a go. I knew that Etsy were going to be increasing their commission percentage for their sellers, so had prepared myself for having to rework my pricing and figures.
In taking on a paid monthly subscription to help my business along I also knew this cost would had to be covered so I did the math, crunched the numbers, and fretted a lot to get to the point where I went and increased some of the prices on my site.
Eek.
It's hard for me to sit and type this to you because I feel like I must justify myself for my decision, however, I realised that in doing this exercise I was not being fair to myself. I am CRAZILY going to attached a screenshot of how I calculate my prices to show you, for transparency:
So this example is for my A6 notebooks which are now £6.50 up from £5.
This section shows how much each element of making my notebooks costs me + the Etsy transaction/sellers fees + overheads. This is then divided by the number of items I make approximately each year...
Next, I then calculate how much I'll get paid an hour (note, my wage is the standard Living Wage for outside London). These two sets of figures then create my breakeven price - this is the price I would have to sell at just cover the bare minimums, and this doesn't even cover my mortgage, or profit in order to invest in new business.
Hope you're following me so far! So now here's the nitty gritty because this is where I get my grubby greedy paws to put on profit. This profit is what is going to help keep the lights on, feed and clothe my kid, pay my mortgage and most importantly keep my business running.
Now as you can see, I've only gone for a 130% profit margin to see to you guys - why? Because I want to make sure that I can offer not only a good price to everyone, but also a fair price to my wholesalers. I'm not even getting 130% profit from my wholesalers, as from them I would only get 115%. That's not a lot really, when you think there are huge companies who manufacture abroad and have 800 - 1000% mark ups!
Pricing is a tricky thing right? I want to make you guys happy, and to respect your wallet. And I also want to make my wholesalers happy, and respect that they too have a shop and a dream they want to keep running. I want to give everyone the best chance at winning. But I also have a home to run, a child to care for, and bills that stack up.
Sorry, I need to do some winning too!
I wish I didn't have to justify my prices to those mean customers who seem to think that what I offer isn't good value (erm, hello?! They're custom illustrated!) and obviously that's not you guys (I love you guys!) but I thought it would be somewhat cathartic and terribly open to just show exactly what goes in to pricing every little thing in my Etsy shop, even those tiny products that you wouldn't even think would be a bother.
It's hard. Really hard. And I still cringe every time someone asks how much something is at one of my craft stalls! So I hope that by showing you this very private thing that no one likes to talk about (people don't like to talk about money do they?!) it may give you guys an understanding on where, how and why I have come to increase some of my prices.
Feel free to head to my shop and take a look, and by all means I totally appreciate your feedback on this very sensitive subject. I love running my business, and of course creating on a daily basis so I hope that this little increase will not deter you all from stopping by and having a shop.
Much love on this rainy sunday,
P.s. If you have found the spreadsheet I used enlightening for sorting your prices, then check out the Etsy handbook which is where I downloaded an old template from. It's easy and straightforward to use, and has really helped me get my head around pricing and overheads!
Choosing the path less Notonthehighstreet
If you have been following me on Instagram recently, you may have seen my frustrated InstaStories detailing some strange and rather unacceptable behaviour from that well known online selling platform: Notonthehighstreet.
If you have been following me on Instagram recently, you may have seen my frustrated InstaStories detailing some strange and rather unacceptable behaviour from that well known online selling platform: Notonthehighstreet.
Last month I received this email in my inbox:
Ouch. The 'low sales performance' part got me feeling that sweaty nervous feeling you would get at school when you knew you hadn't done the homework and you'd been rumbled. However, let's not forget the little human I birthed into the world - I think it's safe to say my time was more tied up in keeping her alive than worrying about my sales performance.
The 'completing the form' section then switched up my guilt from feeling like a 'seemingly pathetic businesswoman who has poor sales and has been reminded of her failures' to a 'businesswoman who is now being asked to jumped through hoops after being insulted'.
Why does this fill me with anger?
Because for the past year NOTHS have made it increasingly difficult to be able to just list items to trial on the site. There were specific guidelines and trends to adhere to as well as strict photography rules. Generally, it made the whole process 10x longer to list one print, than, say, to list said print on Etsy and test the waters.
No testing the waters here, you must have said print in perfect listing condition before submitting it to the powers at be. (and don't get me started on the ridiculous reasons why they haven't accepted some of my products. That is another trial in itself...)
So after all this hoop jumping, and then to have received this insulting email, the spoilt brat in me was stamping their feet and wondering why the hell I should invest more of my energy into a company who didn't seem too invested in keeping my business. Business that I give back to them, no matter how meagre my scraps of commission are that they receive.
I had paid to be with this reputable company, and not only having paid an upfront fee I paid commission on each of those sales. Now, I know what I agreed to when I signed up with notonthehighstreet, and I knew the commission and the fee went back into their advertising campaigns, their support team and the networking events they run. I was totally fine with that because that made sense.
Service + Product = £££ to pay out
However, what doesn't make sense to me is to treat myself (a paying partner) like I'm a freeloader. I'm not using the site for free, I'm paying to be with them. A customer. I'm not just using up the time of paid hardworking team members and gleaning profit from the sale of my products without paying something back into it.
Look at it this way, you wouldn't be refused something that you've paid for in a shop simply because suddenly the shop decided that you just couldn't have it, for whatever reason they chose.
Imagine if, God forbid, Netflix told you that even though you're paying to use their services, they've deemed that 10 hours of usage a week is not enough and you can't use the service unless you up your Netflix binging.
Let's pray that will never happen.
I may have tweeted NOTHS in the heat of the moment, to the in justice of it all, and credit to them they arranged for someone from the company to call me to discuss the matter further.
And she was about as useful as a hat with the hole in the top.
So a week passed and then my suspension email arrived:
I thought I would feel more eager to fill in said questionnaire and restore my shop but I decided no. Why should I keep investing my money in a company who clearly doesn't seem to value my business?
Couple this with an atrocious incident of stealing a personal photo from another partner who had been suspended in order to generate PR and sales, and I decided that I had enough of complaining about them and thought it was time to make a clean break.
This was the perfect moment to start a new journey and take my business down a new and more personal route: To invest more energy into my own shop and carry on with the most supportive selling platform I've ever used, Etsy.
The past 3 years have not been lost, and I am grateful to NOTHS for the support and help I received in learning about trends, mood boards, product development and product photography.
I guess some relationships just aren't meant to last, and I wish them all the success in the next steps of their business. Truly. I'm not sure the way they're running their business is the best way to go about it, but I hope they seriously know what they're doing for the sake of the employees who maybe don't know what the experience is like on the other side of the market place; as a partner.
To all of you reading this who are considering selling with them: Do your research. This is just my own experience, and no doubt there are other partners out there who have had a totally different one.
Negotiate the fees with them. Confront them about experiences you've heard. Gauge what they're going to do for you after you've parted with your very hard earned money.
To all of you who do sell with them: I hope you can get the most out of your experience with NOTHS. I hope your business can flourish, and I hope you have better luck with them than I did.
Keep hustlin' guys ✌🏻
New Year, New Things!
Well, hello 2017!
It's been almost a month since my last post, and whilst we're all over the post-Christmas blues and probably have broken nearly ever resolution made, it's been a very exciting and busy start to the year and I can't wait to share with you some of the new things that I've created and some of the new things that will be coming soon.
Well, hello 2017!
It's been almost a month since my last post, and whilst we're all over the post-Christmas blues and probably have broken nearly ever resolution made, it's been a very exciting and busy start to the year and I can't wait to share with you some of the new things that I've created and some of the new things that will be coming soon.
There's a baby on the way...
... and there's only 7 weeks till she will be with us in the world! It's been such an exciting time in our household getting ready for our little mini me to arrive (baby shower is happening next week!) and with all the usual preparations of buying prams, cots and sterilisers (which is an absolute minefield - it's up there with navigating the HMRC website) I've been getting everything in order to take some maternity leave.
I'll be out of the studio whilst I take my maternity leave and get to know this little creature myself and my husband created. Whilst I won't be taking on any new commissions or clients for freelance work, I will still be keeping my shops open to take your retail and wholesale orders, which leads me to....
A new member to the team!
My wonderful husband has *insanely* offered to run my online stores whilst I'm on leave, fulfilling your orders, answering any of your emails and even helping out to run my social media. He does work full-time as a graphic designer as well, so please be gentle with him as his response rate may be a little slow. He'll be running the show from around 2nd March, or whenever I can prise myself away from my desk to have the baby (maybe I'll just do some order packing from the Labour Suite ...).
All shipping lead times will be extended during this change over period, and whilst on maternity leave, so be sure to check when you can expect to have your orders delivered.
New things in the shop
I'm really excited to be working on a lot of lovely new products and designs, some of which I have now added to my Etsy and Notonthehighstreet stores. These include:
Valentines Cards
A reboot for 2017 on an old but classic illustration I created of a Sacred Heart - hand-stamped in gold on matt black card I created these to be the perfect 'non-gushy' Valentines card for those who can't quite stomach all the puns but want the romance.
Foiled A4 Prints
I got a really fun new foiling machine to play with over Christmas, so have created some typographic based prints that can be foiled in either gold or silver. Both designs have been created to inspire, spread love and generate some good karmic vibes for the year ahead.
Mothers Day and Easter
My full Mothers Day and Easter range will be uploaded soon, and I promise there'll be tons of flowers and rabbits for this year's offerings. As always all my cards are blank inside for your own personal message.
A little website update
As you currently know I sell on Etsy and Notonthehighstreet, however I am currently building in an e-commerce function into this very website to make it a one-stop-shop for all things Deborah Panesar Illustrations! That means no more fussing with separate links and websites (unless you prefer Etsy and Notonthehighstreet, then by all means shop away!) and more time to browse items, blog posts and new work in my gallery without having to click to anywhere else.
And even better I will be able to take more forms of payment which include PayPal, major credit and debit cards, and even Apple Pay.
Sign up to my Mailing List to be the first to know when the new commerce site launches, and get your hands on some exclusive discounts and offers.
Image courtesy of Seasonal Markets
New craft market dates for your diary
This year I will be back on the craft market circuit (yay!) and am currently booked with the Seasonal Markets team in Birmingham for the following dates:
10th June - Summer Market
30th September - Autumn Market
2nd December - Winter Market
Seasonal Markets is held at:
The Bond Company 180-182, Fazeley Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5SE
As always, be sure to sign up to Bloglovin' to follow my blog for new posts and updates as our crazy and exciting year ahead starts to kick in a gear!
The Guilt of Selling - And How to Work Around It
If you run a business, you know how important selling is. We have to sell in order to survive, and of course to pay for all the fun (and not so fun) stuff that comes along with being an adult (or one that is pretending to be).
After all, only you can keep the proverbial lights on in your small indie empire.
For the vast majority of the year selling and selling tactics don't seem to be an issue - the odd discount code here and there, a sale, a promotion or an offer. They do wonders to bring in new customers and clients and, hopefully, boost sales. But then comes along Christmas and it's foreign cousin, Thanksgiving, who brought their unwanted and shamed twin brother, Black Friday.
Illustration by Deborah Panesar
If you run a business, you know how important selling is. We have to sell in order to survive, and of course to pay for all the fun (and not so fun) stuff that comes along with being an adult (or one that is pretending to be).
After all, only you can keep the proverbial lights on in your small indie empire.
For the vast majority of the year selling and selling tactics don't seem to be an issue - the odd discount code here and there, a sale, a promotion or an offer. They do wonders to bring in new customers and clients and, hopefully, boost sales. But then comes along Christmas and it's foreign cousin, Thanksgiving, who brought their unwanted and shamed twin brother, Black Friday.
It seems Black Friday stirs up some pretty intense feelings in not only customers but also businesses. Black Friday is a mixed review entity.
Like the typical un-liked cousin who turns up for family dinner, you don't want to acknowledge them but there is this sense of obligation to have to accept them and entertain them for all their unlikeable traits.
Personally, I've never wrangled with the sense of guilt around this selling period, perhaps because my customers have been only too engaging in the Black Friday sales I've hosted and the savings it's meant for them. But last year I started to notice a lot of designer-makers share through their social media how they wouldn't be taking part because of the mass consumerist aspect of it, and how instead they would donate to charity or host a sale a different time.
Queue floods of guilt and shame, and also a lot of questions.
If we stand against Black Friday, what does it mean when we do hold promotions and sales during the year? Don't these things entail the same consumerist driving ideals? And what about when we have post Christmas sales? or even, when we're just trying to sell anything?
And down and down the rabbit hole we go.
I came to a pretty stark conclusion that in the end, it would mean no selling at all if you didn't want to be a part of that lifestyle. And as much as that would be a wonderful ideal to live with, it's not necessarily possible with crippling outside forces such as a weakened currency or a more spend wary audience who maybe don't have the disposable income they once did. People are far more careful with how they spend their money, and they want to make the best possible financial choices.
So what can we do, as indie businesses or designer makers to keep our businesses afloat without selling our souls to the Black Friday devil? How can we help our customers, and ourselves, to make more from the money we have?
Firstly, we need to stop feeling guilty for selling, in any shape or form. You are a business, and if you are serious about building your small and perfectly formed indie biz into something bigger & better, or even for the satisfaction of knowing that every penny that pays for your living costs was earned by your hands, then you need to accept that there will be an element of awkward selling.
Hustling is hard. And if it's making you feel uncomfortable then that's probably a good thing because it means you're stepping out of your comfort zone. So keep doing more of it and see what happens.
Secondly you need to look at your business, no one else's, and ask yourself these questions:
- Can my profit margins handle a Black Friday Sale?
- Do I have to mark down all my products, or can it just be a select range?
- How have my sales performed in the previous years of Black Friday?
- What is my customer response to past Black Friday sales?
Only you can answer these questions around your business. If you own an Etsy shop you can check your analytics based on days, months and years via the statistics page to see how sales performed at this period of time, and even see what kind of keywords and tags worked for you to bring in those sales.
Lastly, decide how you'll market the whole thing to stay in line with your brand. A Black Friday super promotion will only feel tacky and salesy if you use the same template as say Amazon or eBay on your own business. So think outside the box and consider some of these ideas:
- Donating some of your Black Friday sales to charity (if your pricing module can handle that)
- Promoting it in a humorous or sarcastic way that actually laughs at Black Friday
- Take discounts off the table and offer free shipping or free gifts instead.
- If using discounts, use them sparingly - only apply it to products that have a decent profit margin and where you will earn a wage from them. Follow this super handy article from Etsy to make sure you're not undercharging your items.
Above all, remember to keep it personal. I can hazard a guess that the main reason people buy from your small business is because you are the face of the brand, and they want to buy something from a human and not some warehouse out in the middle of nowhere. So make sure that every step of your Black Friday journey is unique, individual and personal, just like your brand.
And should all of this still make you curl up and die inside, then Black Friday selling is not for you. Accept it, and plan a different way to generate sales and interest over the peak selling period with either a blog post, newsletter, or maybe a giveaway. Take advantage of the high numbers of people trawling through the internet that weekend, and make it work for you.
This year I have decided to take part in a Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale but only on some selected lines. I'll be releasing more information around this exclusively to my mailing list subscribers, so be sure to sign up if you want this information to land in your inbox!
Let's keep making mistakes!
It's been one year since I proclaimed from the rooftops (well, my Tumblr page) that I was going to stop working on my business and to instead pursue designing and illustrating full time.
Reading through this post (which for some reason makes me cringe and want to delete it forever from the eyes of the internet) I can recall so vividly how burnt out, tired and quite dejected I was feeling about the whole thing. The 'tipping point' part of that whole post was true - something needed to change in order to for me to change how I felt.
12 months on, what can I tell you?
It's been one year since I proclaimed from the rooftops (well, my Tumblr page) that I was going to stop working on my business and to instead pursue designing and illustrating full time.
Reading through this post (which for some reason makes me cringe and want to delete it forever from the eyes of the internet) I can recall so vividly how burnt out, tired and quite dejected I was feeling about the whole thing. The 'tipping point' part of that whole post was true - something needed to change in order to for me to change how I felt.
12 months on, what can I tell you?
Well, I did not succeed in making this dream a total reality. I'm here to tell you today that I did not end up making not a particularly smart business / life / wellbeing decision that I only realised the other day.
And I feel so damn positive about the whole thing.
Genuinely, I have never been more ecstatic than realising I had made this mistake. I felt it in my entire body, this happy revelation, that I gave it a damn hard try, and no one can take that away from me. I slogged the year, I trialled and boy did I error. I made some monumental fuck ups, some of which are embarrassing and some of which are truly teachable moments.
Bathe in the glory of your fuck-ups, embarrassment and face-palm-worthy errors because these are your sign posts and slip roads to a new direction.
Some of you might be curious how I came to this state of delusional bliss where I seemingly lost my mind in the many fuck-ups and laughed? It's quite boring really - but I did some sales forecasting.
I kid you not - I spent two days (out of curiosity more than anything) making a detailed year on year comparison of my sales from 2013-2016, which I'll explain below. I've made a template of the model I created should you wish to embark on this mind-numbingly revelation-worthy task [NOTE: remember to save a copy of it, not input your information directly onto it, as it's a public Google Sheet and all your financial information will be shared with everyone which is not good].
The madness first started after reading this super helpful Etsy Blog article, to try and forecast Christmas sales for my shop. And when the results were tallied, all the information from each months revenue and number of sales input into my spreadsheet, I sat back and thought, damn, I underestimated the power of my wonderful little illustrated business.
So then I went off a tangent and I pulled up ALL my accounts for the same timeframe (2013-2016) and started inputting all my revenue information, month by month, year by year, to start painting a picture of what my year on year sales were like. I even went as far as to break this down into the each revenue stream, so I could get a better idea of where my money was coming from.
And when all of that was done, I sat back and looked at the cold hard evidence which only number crunching can give you - and I realised a number of things:
- I made decisions last year based on feelings and not on financial evidence.
- I did not appreciate what I had till I stopped doing it.
- I busted some serious ass this year, and although it wasn't my strongest from a money point of view, it's been the smartest I worked in a long time.
Who knew that all this meaning could come from something as mundane as sales forecasting? Admittedly there are heaps of businesses who do this every year, and are probably wondering why I never got on with this before, and you're right. I'm a little late to this smart financial forecasting party. But I'm here now and I'm loving it.
I'm geared up and I'm positive about where to take my illustrated business.
I'm excited to get back into making and designing products to sell. I can't wait to head out into the world again to meet my customers face to face at craft fairs and events. I'm looking forward to the thrill and the anxiety of launching new ranges and approaching stockists and being so fully immersed once more in the designer maker world.
It's been a learning curve this year working solely as a freelance illustrator whilst my shop took a bit of a backseat - and I've been so grateful for all the projects, commissions and opportunities that came my way. I've learned so much about how I work, function and thrive as an illustrator, and I'm excited to come back to normal business as it was pre 2016.
Most importantly however, the one thing I've learned that I feel you should take with you from this moment on after reading this: Embrace how much this may also be a fuck-up.
No great business ever grew or became the power-house they are without taking some wrong turns; trusting the wrong people, investing money in the wrong thing or even taking their business down a route that maybe wasn't such a good idea. Mistakes = progress and progress is better than sitting and waiting for it all to happen.
So before I leave you to go out into the world and embrace all your error-making ways, that only a human can do, I want to leave you with a profound quote from Amanda Palmer:
““Everyone in this room is going to be gone pretty quickly — and we will have either made something or not made something. The artists that inspire me are the ones that I look at and go, ‘Oh my god — you didn’t have to go there. It would’v been safer not to — but, for whatever reason, you did.’ And every time death happens, I’m reminded that it’s stupid to be safe… Usually, whatever that is — wherever you don’t want to go, whatever that risk is, wherever the unsafe place is — that really is the gift that you have to give.””
Read the full article that this quote was taken from, 'Vincent Van Gogh on Fear, Taking Risks, and How Making Inspired Mistakes Moves us Forward' by Brain Pickings and also take some time to watch this incredible interview with Grace Bonney, the owner of Design*Sponge, on Marie Forleo's blog entitled 'Overcoming Fear, Accepting Imperfection, and the Real Deal with Work Life Balance.'
Now I'd like to hear about your monumental fuck-ups that you're grateful for (if you have anything, perfect human) - leave them in the comments below or tweet them to me @deborahpanesar
Keep up the trial and error and don't be ashamed to shout about it.
