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| New plant from old avocado pit |
Can you believe it? This little 'ole blog has survived its first year in the internet wilderness. I was a little bit surprised when glancing through old blog posts to note the very first Odd Bird peeps hit the blogosphere on December 1, 2011. Happy Birthday, Odd Blog!
I wasn't as surprised by the large number of messy studio pictures (and instances of work stymied by messy studio) captured over the past year. But I was surprised that I'm not bothered by this. Strange. It makes me nuts to be surrounded by chaos and disorganization. Untidy clutter has a negative physical effect on me. My mind feels chaotic, unable to focus, and my disposition can't settle down when my environment is out of whack. So what gives?
I think the key is the last exercise I did along with Kari Chapin's book Grow Your Handmade Business: How to Envision, Develop, and Sustain a Successful Creative Business. In chapter 5, Goals and Intentions, is an exercise to make a list of all the goals you had when you first decided to start a creative business. And then to circle all the ones you've already accomplished. I must admit, I scoffed at this and nearly passed it over. Then I decided, oh, what the heck. It'll be a good first step to outlining the key goals to include in my business plan.
Talk about an eye opener. If I was the type of person who uttered phrases like, "Leaping Lizards!" or, "Jiminy Crickets!" this would have been the perfect time for one of them. As it is, I'm not inclined to employ such phrases. My reaction was more like, "∑#@π %$∆√!" or, "Expletive expletive!" I tend to focus on what I haven't yet accomplished, from the mundane - I still haven't added my card wallets to the shop - to the overarching-ly huge - I need to promote Odd Bird Studio. Of the TWO PAGES of goals I can remember having a year ago, I've completed and implemented all but 5 of them. Seriously? ∑#@π %$∆√! Am I swimming in orders and rolling in dough? Far from it, folks. Nevertheless, I'm pretty proud of myself and Odd Bird Studio.
If you're feeling a little blue about what you perceive as lack of progress with your own creative business, try the exercise. I bet you'll be surprised and feel a whole lot more accomplished, as you should.
I think the key is the last exercise I did along with Kari Chapin's book Grow Your Handmade Business: How to Envision, Develop, and Sustain a Successful Creative Business. In chapter 5, Goals and Intentions, is an exercise to make a list of all the goals you had when you first decided to start a creative business. And then to circle all the ones you've already accomplished. I must admit, I scoffed at this and nearly passed it over. Then I decided, oh, what the heck. It'll be a good first step to outlining the key goals to include in my business plan.
Talk about an eye opener. If I was the type of person who uttered phrases like, "Leaping Lizards!" or, "Jiminy Crickets!" this would have been the perfect time for one of them. As it is, I'm not inclined to employ such phrases. My reaction was more like, "∑#@π %$∆√!" or, "Expletive expletive!" I tend to focus on what I haven't yet accomplished, from the mundane - I still haven't added my card wallets to the shop - to the overarching-ly huge - I need to promote Odd Bird Studio. Of the TWO PAGES of goals I can remember having a year ago, I've completed and implemented all but 5 of them. Seriously? ∑#@π %$∆√! Am I swimming in orders and rolling in dough? Far from it, folks. Nevertheless, I'm pretty proud of myself and Odd Bird Studio.
If you're feeling a little blue about what you perceive as lack of progress with your own creative business, try the exercise. I bet you'll be surprised and feel a whole lot more accomplished, as you should.
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| Tabletop decoration: Knit tree, 1st draft |
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| Christmas catalog Christmas tree. Directions here. |
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| Working out design kinks: Stay on wine glass coaster |
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