You might have noticed a few changes going on around here. Don’t be alarmed. I’m still my usual old self but I thought I’d have a spring spruce up. I really love the 3 column layout. More space for blog loveliness. The other thing that you might notice is that I’ve changed my name. You’ll see me commenting around the place as TinnieGirl now instead of BigCat.
If you haven’t caught up with things around here for a while and are wondering why I’ve changed my name you should pop over and check out the new shop.
So what about the blogs you might be asking? BigCat’s Emporium and Tinniegirl? Well don’t worry. I love Big Cat’s Emporium with all my heart and soul so I’ll be keeping it going for a long, long time.
Tinniegirl is my new blog that goes hand in hand with the new shop and I’ll definitely be creating something special over there. At the moment you can check out all the things going on with the new business as well as a weekly “What Shall We Make Today” post to give you project ideas and inspiration. My vision for the Tinniegirl blog is to create a space that’s full of craft projects, ideas and tutorials, and a place to share your completed projects. If you haven’t been to visit, go and check it out.
You know, when I spoke to Handmaiden about starting a business she said something that has really resonated with me. She said that most people don’t think very far beyond opening their business. I found this to be very true. I was so busy and excited getting ready for the launch of Tinniegirl that I didn’t really think about what happens next.
The first weekend was so exciting and I was so delighted when I made some sales. The next week after that has been odd. I’ve been a bit lost really. Wondering what to do next? When do I update the shop? How often should I do it? How do I keep letting people know about it? What kind of marketing activities should I be doing? I have shifted constantly between joy at making a dream come true and the pervasive self-doubt and questioning that seems to be ever present in my creative life. What I know for sure is that I have so much to learn.
Another thing that has presented as a challenge over the last couple of weeks is finding places to fit all the different aspects of my life now that I am working, running a business, pursuing my own creative development, working on personal goals like exercise and healthy eating, blogging and trying to have a home life somewhere in there. I knew that it was going to be an adjustment and alluded to it in this post. I want to really enjoy this time of starting my creative business and take time to enjoy the fine details. I imagine at some stage that there won’t be as much time to take. I realise that there’s going to have to be time management strategies in place, that I’ll have to recognise some limitations in terms of not trying to do everything. I also think that priorities are going to have to be set and time out planned. It’s never easy to balance the many demands that life has for us, and I see how important it is to keep an eye on this. Again, the one thing I know for sure is that life-learning is a continuous journey.
So that’s what’s happening in my neck of the woods. That and some knitting.
What’s going on in your world?
You can get one of these packs from Little Brown Pen's shop. Her shop is full of gorgeous goodies. You buy them as a PDF and do the printing yourself. They make very economical gifts and you get to be part of the making. I really love the concept.
Just to top it all off, on Sunday I'm going to the Bizarre Bazaar, the Melbourne Design Market at Fed Square and Nicole Mallaliue's open studio. You should come. It's going to be great fun.
