You don’t need anyone’s permission to do what you love.
Who is going to stop you? No one, I hope.
do what you love Page 44 of 82
What do you desire?
Those of you who have taken the Do What You Love e-course will know that something life changing happened to me nearly two decades ago, when I was 17 years old. I was on a boat in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, on the first of many big adventures, when I had a major a-ha moment. It was the summer before my final year of sixth form (like high school in the US), and I was getting ready to apply to university. Up until that point my mind had been set on a career in finance, and that had been a major influence on my academic choices. But then, on one particular glorious day on the high seas, I realised that I felt free, and that that was how I wanted to feel for the rest of my life.
Ever since that day I have used ‘How do I want to feel?’ as a major driver for how I make decisions about my life. I have not once made an important decision without considering this, and I think it is the most powerful question of all.
If you have never asked yourself ‘How do I want to feel?’ in relation to any or all parts of your life, try it. It works miracles. It not only opens your eyes, but gives you a completely different perspective. And it means you chase what your soul desires, not what your peers or bank balance tells you you should. And there is a major difference.
Recently Danielle LaPorte brought out a brilliant new programme called The Desire Map which, at its heart, asks this simple but powerful question. But Danielle digs deep beneath the question, and helps you excavate your desired feelings in every area of your life. I have been doing this for the past twenty years, but never before has someone so brilliantly and clearly laid out a path to help you work through your own feelings to find what it is you truly desire. And therein lies the key to where your best life is waiting.
The Desire Map is a brilliant resource which I would highly recommend if your New Year’s Resolutions feel a bit like a soulless to-do list, and you want to dig deeper this year.
Go on, make 2013 the year you use your desired feelings to make your decisions, and ultimately do what you love, for life.
Thought for the week (5)
This is really really true. Are you taking steps to build your own dream or are you spending all your energy building someone else’s? This doesn’t mean you have to be an entrepreneur – it just means you have to know what your OWN dream is, and be sure you are spending your limited resources working towards that!
Get inspired… join us on Pinterest!
If you want some inspiration check out our Pinterest boards – packed with inspiring quotes and beautiful images!
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PS Module 2 of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design begins on Monday! If you want to learn how to Create Your Professional Identity, and promote and protect your work, this course is for you. It will not run again until August, so sign up now!
Make 2013 the year your design business flourishes!
Pattern course graduate spotlight: Faye Brown
Today I would like to introduce another of the talented graduates of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. Faye Brown is a UK based designer with over 10 years’ experience in the design industry including graphic design, illustration, motion branding and surface pattern design. Faye said, “The course proved an inspiration and relit my passion for bright, beautiful pattern design.’ Faye also has a keen interest in photography and travel. You can see some of her photography here.
The blessing of storage – and why it is worth making time for a clear out
In the process of painting everywhere white to start afresh
When we went to live abroad for a few months last year we had to clear out our house for the tenants. We decided to put everything in storage, although ended up getting rid of a huge pile of things in the process (especially out of the big black hole that is the attic!) Now we are back we have unpacked our luggage, put away everything in the boxes we shipped (mainly books, stationery and more books) and repainted. We have taken a few things out of storage, but more than 70% of what we stored is still in there, and I have hardly noticed. Compared to before our house seems much emptier, but in a really good way. It is lighter, more airy, more us.
Having culled my wardrobe and given many things to charity shops when we went away, most of what has been stored is beautiful, useful or precious to us. But I have come to realise that we don’t need to have all of it on display, or within reach, all the time.
From time to time I pine for some of my books packed away at the back of the unit, or for my easel, tucked away behind some chairs, or for this jumper or that skirt. But mostly, I like having a whole lot less stuff around me. It is easier to make things look beautiful when there is less clutter. It is easier to think when there is less to distract you. And it is easier to clean when there is less to move around! Not to mention that paying for a small storage unit is cheaper than getting an apartment or flat big enough to have everything on display. A blessing on many fronts.
The beginning of the year is as good a time as any to declutter your house, your creative space and your mind.
Why not try it?
Make space for new good things.
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Have you decluttered recently? What difference did it make?
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PS If you want to think more about this topic you might like to check out the blogs ‘Unclutterer‘ or ‘Zen Habits’
Thought for the week (4)
There are big changes coming around here. And while we are preparing, we are in a little bit of chaos. But that’s OK. Deepak Chopra said so. And it’ll all be worth it. Stay tuned!
Last chance to ‘Monetise your designs’ with The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design
Cute patterned motifs in ‘Frutti Collection’ by talented course graduate Wendy Kendall
Are you a designer who is struggling to sell your work? Do you wish you had access to industry insight on freelancing, licensing, selling outright and manufacturing? Are you ready to make it as a surface pattern designer? If the answer is ‘yes’ then ‘Monetising your designs’ (Module 3 of The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design) is for you.
Don’t miss it – this is your last chance to join Module 3 before class begins online TOMORROW (Monday 14 January). (This course will not run again until April!) Find out more and register here.
In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities
From the moment he proposed I knew that I wanted to make our wedding cosy, handmade, special. And one of the most exciting parts of that for me – a paper lover and stationery addict – was the design of the wedding invitations.
We have opted for a very tiny wedding – only around 35 people – which is hard in one way (as we’d love to have all our friends there) but perfect in another – because it can be intimate and friendly, and because we can enjoy spending time with everyone there. And having just a few guests leaves room for more unusual invitations, and more time to spend on each. Although I wasn’t quite expecting it to take me two months…!
Adventure is a massive part of the life my man and I share, and it was one of our years for 2012 when we got engaged (in the middle of a big adventure in Japan), so it seemed appropriate to use that as inspiration for the invitations. In the end we decided to make each one a message in a bottle, with the invitation wrapped up inside the glass.
The invitations can be pulled out of the bottles using string with a key attached – a key which looks medieval, like the building where we will get married later this year. I made the invitations using paper I made myself at the Awagami paper factory in rural Japan.
The front of the invite itself is an illustration that I commissioned from talented designer Libby McMullin, using one of my favourite quotes: “In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities”. I hope we continue to believe that every day of our married lives.
Wrapped around each bottle was a mini paper book, hand stitched, containing details of the day’s logistics. The cover of this book was a piece of exquisite paper from my favourite paper shop in Paris.
I loved every moment of making them, and never stopped to think that the RSVPs might also be made with care.
Here is the one my parents sent back to us – a gorgeous tiny envelope reply tied with ribbon inside a delicate bird cage. What a precious gift.
Ahhh weddings are so special…
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Are you married? What were your invitations like? What did they mean to you?
Pattern course graduate spotlight: Jennie Whitham
We are always super proud when we get feature one of our successful graduates of ‘The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design‘. Today we are showcasing the work of Jennie Whitham, the name behind JensLittleT.
Jennie graduated from Leeds College of Art in 2012 with a degree in Printed Textiles & Surface Pattern Design. She recently joined us on the e-course which ‘allowed her to expand her portfolio as well as push the boundaries of Surface Pattern’. Jennie’s love of florals and geometric pattern lead her to combine the two to create designs that are ‘bright and inviting’.
Jennie’s work has been selected for ‘PatternBase’, a new pattern source book due for publishing early 2013.
Jennie is currently looking for Freelance and Licensing opportunities to work around her family lifestyle. You can keep up with Jennie on her website or shop her designs on Etsy. You can also connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.