Hello Thirties – (Not) Monday Minutes.

I’m back! Hello Friends, it’s me, hi! FINALLY making a return after a couple of weeks of absence. I also write to you from the other side of a new decade, now several days into my thirties!

Despite being keen to start afresh with a new ‘year’ underway, my attitude towards Friend of Note took a severe nosedive a few days after my birthday. I had lost momentum and my reflection on the first few months of ‘business’ wasn’t exactly reassuring. A lot of work & time had been invested into something that amounted to 7 orders + 1 paid commission across a span of 4 months.

Amid this disillusionment, I had a wonderful opportunity to catch up with a friend who, until recently, I hadn’t spoken to in a handful of years. I shared how I felt at a crossroad and was questioning whether it was time to give up this project & return to the security of finance or the likes? Or perhaps dive slap-dash into a new career? Something I don’t quite feel ready for… but something that perhaps I should just bump up the timeline?

My friend asked why I had decided upon stickers and I explained that it was a relatively low cost / low stakes product. I’d seen it work for others, (mainly on the other side of the world), plus it allowed me to digitally draw! Something I genuinely enjoy. She voiced her appreciation for the illustrations themselves, but expressed she somewhat struggled to find a use for stickers. Not the first time I had heard this feedback, but something that I’d been stubbornly ignoring. She wondered whether these skills could be transferable to other items that tapped more into the sentimental / keepsake market? On a roll by this point, I began chattering away about how my ‘dream job’ would be to create something like timber toys or Christmas decorations for children, something special that would be kept for years – the opposite of the disposable nature of stickers.

As the conversation continued, she offered me a different perspective, one of a mother, who shared how perhaps sentimental pieces might be well received by parents or grandparents – if that was a market I’d be interested in exploring. As I drove home, I could already feel the gears beginning to turn again. I didn’t have an answer, but I felt a bit more hopeful.

A Flurry of Activity

This brings me to an idea that has been brewing since Monday night. There are many more questions to be answered and details to be nutted out, however, I’m going to share a mock-up of something new. An idea that has potential as a Christmas decoration, or keepsake, yet is still viable as product that could be relativity easily and affordably produced. There is little waste involved, and it could still be posted via envelope, keeping postage costs affordable.

Timber decorations I have created in the past demanded a lot of time for painting and cutting, and produced awkward offcuts that I could never easily find a use for. But this time, instead of rejecting the whole concept out of hand, I puzzled over how I could combine my new skills and materials to create something similar.

The First Mock Up’s

Let’s be clear, I appreciate fish are not particularly festive, but I wanted to start playing around immediately so I used an illustration I had at hand. Essentially, the idea is paper seasonal holiday decorations. Not exactly an original idea but something that could be a step closer to my Christmas elf goals. :P (And remember this is JUST a mockup so is incredibly imperfect!)

I like how these have enough substance to stand by themselves, though I imagine they would hang from a tree or the likes… and that upside down, the fish happened to remind me of a sleigh. hee hee hee.

I can still use my skills as a digital illustrator which would allow me to reproduce the same piece. With a clever design it would be easy for me to print, cut and assemble – still making use of my Cameo4 Silhouette. It is also sturdy enough to keep its shape, but thin enough to post without upgrading to parcel delivery. All in all, I think this has potential and I am very excited to play around with this concept some more! However, this time, I’m asking for your opinions – so please let me know in the comments if you have any feedback, or keep an eye out on social media as I might pop up a couple of polls.

This doesn’t mean I am quitting the stationary game, but there may be some changes in direction afoot as I envision myself leaning more heavily into seasonal holidays. I see stickers having a place in this plan, but they may become more an add on, rather than my bread & butter.

One More Thing!

Forgive me for the lengthy post, but just quickly I’ve got one more idea in mind I’d like to share – Printable’s!

I’ve been pondering this for sometime as many shops offer invitation printables on Etsy. The seller creates the design but the customers purchases a digital file, as opposed to a printed set – a lot cheaper for both parties. This means they can edit the file using a program like Canva, (a free easy-to-use software available on smart phones, tablets & computers), and print them from their own home or somewhere like OfficeWorks.

Using Canva, I created an invitation example, using one of my freshly ‘baked’ cake illustrations, to get a feel for the concept. I was surprisingly pleased with the results, though there is certainly more research to conduct here!

All in all, the last few days have left me inspired to give Friend of Note another shot, but with intentional and focused direction.

Talk soon!

Fiona. x