As I gear up for my upcoming spring launch, I’ve been taking you all on a little trip down memory lane with me. I pulled some photos from 2016, the year where I was essentially throwing a ton of shit at the wall to see what stuck, along with bonking my head on it too.
"One Day at a Time" print by Runaway Press
During this year, I learned the hard lesson about what happens when you don’t fully think about how the margins of your handmade business are going to work. About how when you’re burnt out and uninspired, it’s really hard to even build a business at all. And the biggest lesson I learned? That’s it’s SO INCREDIBLY OKAY to take a huge step back from what you’re doing if it’s not working for you.
Framed print by Orange Beautiful
At the end of 2016 I decided I needed a break and got a job as a graphic designer at a shop called Swoozies’s here in Denver, and got to work with some wonderful women. At the time I had thought of myself as a huge failure for not being able to make my business work, but after a little while, I gained my confidence back and remembered why I started Craftbelly in the first place. I realized I wasn’t a failure, I just had a crappy business model that failed. I also discovered that I really did enjoy designing wedding invitations and working with clients. (My main job at Swoozies.)
These revelations ended up leading me down a familiar yet still uncharted path that led me to where I am today. A slow and steady path where I allowed myself to truly explore and nurture my big creative heart. It took time. LORDY it took time. But I’ll be forever grateful for this time in the muck, because I grew so dang much. I’ll leave you there for now...stay tuned for the rest!
