Wow…how many times does it take to get going you ask?

Well, I guess until I get it right.

At the start of 2025 I finally gained traction with all things related to this small business. Right now I am operating it as a side gig as I still have full time employment five days a week. Instead of making all the excuses or even recounting, yet again, the proclamations and declarations of restarting, I am simply picking up where I currently find myself.

It is June and I have made more progress than ever before (patting myself on the back over here). I have designed two complete pattern collections, started a Spoonflower shop, rebranded my existing Etsy shop for home decor items (previously paper items - journals, notebooks, cards, etc.), began creating Reels for my Instagram account, updated my pattern collections to my Portfolio on my website, and started a Pinterest business account.

The learning curve has been steep. My goals are small and spread apart so that I cannot fail or will not abandon ship. I have kept it all manageable & in bite-sized pieces. I do not want to restart for the fourth (or is it the fifth) time.

So here we are in June and I am smiling…

Last week I took this mini course offered through Indy Bloom on IG and it was the motivation that I needed.

After the happenings in my life over the past 2 years I have had a few false starts at getting back into surface pattern design. My heart is there. But my creativity isn’t. I’ve tried creating again and it just falls flat. So I have been giving myself some grace to get myself going creatively again.

Mindy, from Indy Bloom is a superstar at selling her patterns on Spoonflower. She has figured it out! And she is making a nice profit from her designs. She offered this mini course as a hook for her more in-depth course on designing and selling on Spoonflower and it began to stir something in me again. As I thought about it I realized that even though I may not be ready to jump right in with creating a new pattern collection, I can upload my previous designs to Spoonflower and offer them for sale!

I started repaperedshop already on Spoonflower, before my life spiraled, by uploading two different pattern collections and making them available for sale. But I didn’t really know what I was doing. Now, having taken this little inspirational course, I have new thoughts and a renewed fervour for moving forward.

So, with a little motivation in my pocket, I will take the next step…