In the early days - dear diary
In the early days of Alice Draws the Line, I would get up, sit at my little desk in the sitting room with a big mug of tea (earl grey usually) and write a blog post. First thing, still in my pyjamas. It started the day off well, made me feel intentional about developing my little business. A positive boost before I did anything else.
I can’t work out if it is just something I did occasionally or very regularly, or quite how often. What I do remember is that I liked doing it.
Perhaps it is from spending time through university and beyond watching Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City typing away and some how associating that with living the dream of doing something you love for a living. Who knows. What I know is that I often feel that I miss it - or the feeling of it. Typing away, sharing a bit of my story, documenting my little business, and sharing it with whoever wants to read it.
Now, several years on, things feel a bit tricky. We are in an uneasy time with the cost of living rising, and related to this (I assume), sales are very quiet.
It feels unnerving and I don’t like to be unnerved -it doesn’t suit my already nervy disposition. So, I want to start spending a bit of time documenting what I’m doing. To help me think about and focus my work, and to share a bit of the day-to-day, behind the scenes. The bits that aren’t so glossy. It also feels proactive.
So. It’s Thursday, 13th October 2022. I’ve had a quiet week after having Covid last week - having managed to avoid it until now. To be honest I’ve felt wiped out and so have been going steadily, but making nice progress on some projects that have been on my list.
Yesterday I had a lovely order for a bespoke name print, so I worked on that first thing, and then sent that to a printer on the local industrial estate. I then wrote a blog post about the prints, and then dropped two orders at the post office.
The company I have got my sticker sheets from over the years has apparently gone into administration and so I need to take some of the designs off the website as I have too few left. I also need to see if I can get these printed anywhere else, or say goodbye to that product.
I then spent the afternoon finishing off a wedding bouquet commission and beginning another illustration of wedding flowers.
I have a local wedding fair this Saturday and so I hope to take this second one as an example to this.
And today? Well, I’ve finally started writing this - I’ve been putting it off for ages. Possibly because I didn’t know what to call it, or what it will be - a series of blog posts, a daily diary, a future memoir - who knows! Anyway. I’ve written something, while drinking tea, sat with the spaniel for company (she loves sitting in the window) and next I’m going to do some more work to the wedding flowers piece that is patiently sitting next to me.
I’m also thinking a lot about a 2023 calendar - worried as I haven’t yet started it but I want to.
