Stop, Listen, Follow.

It was a very hard decision stopping the majority of the company’s activity last year but I am now 100% sure it was the right thing to do. I was at that time really struggling to find the motivation to pull through each day and each wholesale order that we received, simply because my heart wasn’t totally in it anymore.There were too many things that weren’t working the way i would have liked it to be working. I felt disillusioned with the entire process and in a way the industry as a whole.

Anyway, that’s an entirely different post all together. What i wanted to talk about in this post is something a bit more positive, a bit more inspiring.

Since taking some time off running the company (or letting the company run me), I have had a bit more time to think, to play and to learn new skills.

Thinking never really stops when you have your own company, so that’s nothing new but taking the time out to just indulge in pure playing and exploring new skills for no real reason is something I haven’t done for years ! Last time i remember doing that was probably when I was still at school …

I recently started gardening (what ?! yes, I know … I still have so much to learn but I totally love it) and I started doodling and doing random drawings every single day. I used to stay up late every single night after putting the kids in bed, designing new collections, sourcing, updating website, contacting buyers, creating press releases etc. So, it just felt so wonderful to be able to just sit down and do something for pure pleasure.

How did it all start ? Well, one day I saw a doodle that my friend Sian To did and thought; wow, that’s so cool. I grabbed the kids’ drawing pad and pens and started doing my own little doodle, which again, I haven’t really done since I was at school, and that was that ! I have been drawing every single day since then. So thank you Sian !

Doodling led to drawing some random pictures, led to drawing some animals, led to drawing some flowers, led to drawing more random pictures.

I shared them on Instagram and Facebook. My real life friends requested drawings to be done for them, which I happily did because it gave me new ideas. My virtual friends started commenting and showed real appreciation for my work. Some asked me what I would do with it all. My answer ? “I don’t know. I am just drawing for fun, never really thought about doing anything with them”.

Anyway, as usual, one thing led to another. Someone somewhere suggested I should try making print patterns out of my little drawings, so i did.

Fast forward a few weeks. I have scanned all of my drawings in and taught myself how to make repeat patterns on photoshop and in front of me, I have my first sample of my first printed fabric and wallpaper. Who would have thought …

I paused, I listened to my heart and I found something that I truly love doing.

I am just going to go with the flow and see where this love, this passion will take me.

Who knows, it may take me on a very successful journey or maybe not. But either way, I would have learnt something and have enjoyed every single minute of it, so that in itself is enough for me.

You know what is amazing ? Up until a few weeks ago, i didn’t believe i could draw at all …

You can follow my progress on Instagram and please don’t be shy, leave a comment to let me know what you think of my work, especially if you have a negative (but constructive) comment as that’s the only way i can get better at what i do.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. You can view some more illustrations and patterns in this blogs Gallery.