Almost 6 months ago I decided to take my hobby of knitting and crochet and turn it into a little business (or at least try to). Today I want to share with you what brought me to this decision and what keeps me going.
Passion
We hear all the time that we should do what we love. People spend so much time at work that it only makes sense. Yet I've seen in my own life friends who stayed in jobs that lost that lovin' feeling and the effect it has had on them. I myself have had to move on when a job started affecting my negatively physically and emotionally.I have always aimed to fill my life with doing what I love. As a mother, I also want to set an example for my daughter. I truly believe it is important for her to see how important it is to follow your heart and do what you love.
Creativity and Design
From the time I was young, I loved to build and create. I wouldn't be surprised if to this day my mother shudders when she sees tape or string. I used to spend hours weaving webs across my room using string and old yarn. TInkertoy creations became better by taping pieces together when the design I wanted didn't quite fit with the pieces available. Oh, and you can tie Tinkertoys together too. Looking back, I'm thankful to my mom for allowing me to do these things that later drove her crazy. I'm sure she saw the importance of creativity (and of her daughter being busy and quiet on her own).
I love design and creativity. Knitting and crocheting allows me to explore this whether it be altering a pattern slightly, trying new colours, or creating my own patterns. I'm not quite a pattern creation virgin, but I'm no expert yet either. But that leads to my next point.....
Learning
I love learning. Well, I love learning stuff I'm excited about. But that's just about all of us. Starting my crafty business has allowed me to continue learning. In the last 6 months alone I have tried numerous new patterns, dyed yarn for the first time, and created a couple patterns. But that's not all! I've also learned about what works and what doesn't at a craft show, about using social media to support your business, product display, etc. And believe me, I'm still learning! But I love it!
Connection
I'm all about really connecting with people. Whether it be in person or via social media, I love a good conversation. And I love feeling that I've helped to make someone's day. I didn't truly realize how much this would play a role until I got started. I love talking to people at craft shows, sharing ideas and stories, getting to share my thoughts and adventures on my blog. It really fuels me.
Back to Basics
At the risk of sounding 'old', I'm going to say that in this day and age of bigger, better, faster I find myself gravitating more to a back to basics feeling. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my iPhone and many conveniences of the internet. Take my internet or phone away for a day and I'm lost. But I also love creating home cooked meals, finding more natural cleaners, canning my own tomatoes, and taking yarn and creating something beautiful. With Etsy as popular as it is, I really feel that many of us need that feeling of back to basics from time to time too. I can't quite describe the feeling of making or even receiving something that you know someone put time and love into.
Possibility
"You gotta get up and try, try, try"... I love the artist P!nk. On her latest album she recorded a song called "Try". While the song is more about a relationship, I have adopted it as my theme song and it eventually inspired the one and only tattoo I have. Trying is the first step to achieving anything. If you don't try, you'll never know if you can fly became my mantra so to speak. There is always a chance of failure and that is scary but so is not knowing if something awesome could come out of it. In the end, failure is only failure if you consider it so. Likely, it is more that you learned some things along the way. Get up and try again - just this time do something different.
Here is that tattoo. It incorporates what I talked about above. You have to try in order to fly and that is where the butterfly growing out of the word come in. The butterfly also have another meaning. The butterfly moving from a caterpillar to a full grown butterfly is also part of the logo for the organization I spent 10 years working for. The co-workers, families, children and work done there will always hold a special place in my heart.
So there you are. The why of why I am here with The Knotted Magnolia. And before I go, I'd like to share another of my favourite things with you - Kid President. If you haven't seen him before, he is awesome and he inspires me to be awesome through his videos. This is a Pep Talk from Kid President which I have bookmarked on my laptop and watch whenever I need boost.
A Pep Talk from Kid President
What will you do today to make your, or someone else's, day awesome?
