Emma Dolan is a Leeds-based contemporary textile artist who creates adorable teacups and saucers from iconic fabric known as ‘Harris Tweed’. Her unique cups won the ‘Best New Product’ award at the Scotland Trade Show, and Emma will be teaching a teacup workshop at the V&A in London next month. I was fascinated by her creations, and went along to her studio – in a lovely converted mid 19th Century schoolhouse – to find out more.
So thrilled and honoured to be able to announce a stellar line-up of contributors for The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design featuring Rachael Taylor. The logos above show some of the experts who will be joining us – our contributors include designers, trend companies, leading design bloggers, authors, trade show executives and pattern buyers. See here for links to our contributors’ websites.
The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design featuring Rachael Taylor is the only place online where you are able to hear from and see the work of these experts all together. See here to find out more about this groundbreaking course, or register now to secure your place!
Today’s shared stories come from interior designer Sukanya (Suki) Taylor, business start-up coach Stormy Sweitzer and financial coach Bari Linden Tessler.
As a passionate artist, crafter and blogger, I find inspiration everywhere; and as an interior designer, I try to channel that inspiration into my designs. I like to take risks, to discover and explore the new. For me, life is a journey, an adventure, endlessly interesting and rich with possibilities. Needless to say, I’m absolutely passionate about what I do.
My first memory of art was when I was in primary school. I was given a homework assignment to draw a picture entitled “My Home”. When I showed my picture to the teacher, she didn’t believe that I had drawn it. This made me very upset and I started drawing like mad at every opportunity … that was the beginning of my designer journey.
My schooldays came and went, culminating in a degree in interior design. Soon after, I landed my dream job: working as an interior designer and teaching drawing on the weekends. Needless to say, this kept me pretty busy but I was finally getting paid for doing what I love.
Five years on and I decided to broaden my horizons in the UK, a country just brimming over with great art and design, so I signed up for a marketing course at the University of the Arts London – a fantastic experience that really challenged me.
Right now, I’m living in Australia and running a little design studio from home. It was really tough in the beginning. The biggest obstacle was not having a regular income. There were times I found myself thinking ‘what if?’, but I tried to keep sight of my current dreams as well as the ones I plan to chase.
In the beginning, I had to do retail work part time to support myself while I was building up a regular clientele. But I never gave up and nowadays I’m as busy as a bee. It’s meant lots of late nights and gallons of coffee but it’s been a labour of love and when the jobs are done, the smile on my clients’ faces always makes my heart beat a little faster.
The best part of working from home is that I get to do my research on a comfy daybed with a little daydreaming thrown in and any time is Me Time.
Sometimes, I put up twinkle lights and let myself drift away into a designer fantasy where my dreams are magically transformed into reality and creativity sparkles like fairy dust…
…and then the phone rings.
“Studio Suki; Suki speaking.”
[All images courtesy of Suki Taylor.]
Find out more on her website or connect on Facebook.
Have you ever had an experience, a moment, or an encounter that struck you upside the head and soul so clearly that you couldn’t shake it? Maybe it lingered, lifted, created curiosity, found its way into your thoughts and actions whether you recognized it or not at the time.
For me, this moment occurred when I was 8 years old – almost 30 years ago. I was at a slumber party. As an early-riser, I was the first to wake up. And with nothing to do, I turned on the TV. On Sunday mornings in the early 80s, it was common to see infomercials from relief organizations that did work in the developing world. The program that was on that morning was about leprosy in Africa and how it affected so many people there. It affected me, too – though in a very different way, and was a sign of how I would engage with the world as I grew older.
When my school-teacher grandmother took me to Eastern Europe (before the Berlin Wall fell) one summer, it cemented my feelings that the world was a curious place, full of wonder as well as woe.
From that point forward, I spent a great deal of time doing three things:
My first job earned me a poverty-level wage, but I was helping raise awareness about hunger and build emergency food stores for people around our state. Months after starting the job, I set my sights on joining the Peace Corps. I had heard that the application process took a very long time, so I was shocked when just four months after my initial enquiry, I was invited to be a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) Development Consultant in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova.
I’d never even heard of Moldova, but soon, I was helping people start not-for-profit entities and learn how to write grant proposals. This, I believe, was the start of my love for creating new organizations, for building systems, and for teaching about the start-up process.
These skills came in handy for me over the next 10 years in the various jobs I held, where I often took on the role of start-up go-to-person, and as an on-and-off-again consultant. And then one day, the dam broke and I quit my job. I wanted to use these skills to make my own ideas happen and to find a way to combine my interests in environmental, health, and social justice issues with my start-up tendencies.
My first business was a green one – selling fair trade and eco-friendly baby gifts and clothing. The next was a technology business that was inspired by the frustrations I encountered with children’s clothing. Both ultimately closed, but in the process of running them, I learned that I loved to solve problems, make a difference, be involved in the excitement of starting something new, and use business – something I had previously wanted nothing to do with – as a tool for doing it.
Today, I have my fingers in many pies as a food-loving, world-travelling, do-gooder with a love of start-up activity and making lemonade. I have returned to my social impact roots, helping nonprofit organizations/NGOs and social entrepreneurs that want to change the world create revenue-generating enterprises that allow them to do just that. There’s no better thing for me than being able to work with organizations and causes I support, while using my skills and interests to help them create sustainable impact.
In addition to my social impact coaching and consulting, I blog about food and help others transition to a healthy, gluten-free and dairy-free diet through classes and group support. And, I’ve come full circle with the Africa experience, helping my husband, a South African, market tours to his home country.
It’s been a challenging and, at times, frustrating and time-consuming journey, but to be able to spend my time creating my own way, helping others create theirs, and making a difference in the process is a fabulous thing. And, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is this drive to do what I love that keeps me going and helps me stay focused on the things that allow me to do it – like making sales calls and sending out proposals, like filtering out distractions and saying no to opportunities that really aren’t, and like staying within a budget when I have to.
I hope that, if you are reading this, you understand that the effort is worthwhile and that the journey is not impossible if you are willing to work towards it. Do what you love, by starting every day with the conviction that you will and by taking one small step forward. The momentum builds from there.
[All images courtesy of Stormy Sweitzer.]
To find out more, visit her website here.
My desire to be a therapist, business woman and/or dancer had been circling around me since I was a kid. At 23, I realized I wanted to be a Dance-Movement Therapist. Dance + Movement has always helped me get in touch with my feelings and articulate my vast inner world.
In my mid 20s I earned a master’s degree in Somatic Psychology from Naropa University. The program was fabulous. It helped me mature and develop in many ways. But there was a significant missing piece in my education that became apparent when my school loan came due. This was a scary event at the time, but it served as the catalyst for my Money Initiation. It shined a light on my complete lack of financial education. And it sent me down the path that led to my larger work in the world.
I then learned everything I could about bookkeeping and money management from the ground on up. After long hikes in the woods, I had the vision to blend my body–centered psychotherapy background with all of the practical tools and systems that I was learning. In 2001 I conceived the Conscious Bookkeeping Method, which integrates Financial Therapy, Values Based Bookkeeping, and Life Vision Planning. It’s a powerful blend of practical tools, deep therapeutic experiences, and expansive inspiration.
I have been offering my private Financial Therapy and the Conscious Bookkeeping Method course work for over a decade now for individuals and couples. I deeply love my work. This works includes lots of body check-ins and chocolate!
At age 38, I suddenly had the vision of having a child. I had been with my husband for seven years, and it was a surprise for him. We’d agreed that we were not going to have kids. But hey, a girl can change her mind, right?! So, my husband and I found a great therapist, and over the course of six weeks we were able to get on the same page again — this time as parents! We actually conceived Noah a few hours before our final therapy session.
Some people are long-term planners but I’m not one of them! I tend to plan a few months, to one year, at a time. My style is to keep listening and opening up to what is present and then take one step at a time as it makes sense to me. So, my current reality has happened one small step at a time.
To me doing what I love means that my family life and my work life are full of passion, fun, choice, creativity, depth, and growth. It means that at times I take control and make things happen and, at other times, I let go and allow life to just happen, trusting in its shifting cycles and phases.
It means that I get to find the best rhythm for my work time and my mommy time and that I get to enjoy each of these roles to their fullest expression. It means that I get to teach, mentor and lovingly guide people through a money initiation and into a place of maturity, consciousness and hope.
It means that I get to help people build bridges between money, body, mind, and spirit… while eating chocolate along the way! Doing what I love means that I get to work from home, hike the mountains just outside my front door, have tons of time with my 3 year old, walk a mere 100 ft. to visit my husband in his office, and get to be creative on a daily basis. Happiness is working your tushy off to do work you love, and sharing it with those who need it.
[All images courstesy of Bari Tessler Linden]
Bari is a Financial Therapist, Mamapreneur, and Founder of The Art of Money. You can find out more about Bari on her website and find out more about her latest programs here.
As the world mourns one of the greatest innovators of our time, the words being shown over and over on our TV screens are from Steve Jobs’ commencement address to Stanford University back in 2005. They go like this…
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
(Watch the video here)
He gave us the Apple Mac, the iPhone, the iPod and all those fantastic Pixar animations. But perhaps these wise words are one of the most valuable things he gave us. After all, what is the point of spending your life doing something you don’t love?
So excited to finally release this short (4 minute) film from the Do What You Love retreat held in Yorkshire in May. It was a really special event, which Jack and Rafael of Nut Films have captured perfectly in this short film featuring Matt Stinchcomb (European Director of Etsy), Flora Bowley, Rachel Hazell and me (excuse me for looking very tired!)
Thanks so much to everyone at the retreat for letting us use this footage. It will be archived on the retreat page here. I’d love to know what you think!
PS News of the next one will be announced at some point in the coming months. If you want to be the first to hear about it make sure you are on the mailing list (sign up here).
(Image: Navy Blur)
Today’s shared story comes from Claire Maguire.
To do what you love means each day is a joy. An adventure. A discovery. Being able to see the world with fresh eyes. To be thankful that the moment is a gift to be cherished. It’s when work loses meaning. You’re in flow. Work, life is harmonious, it’s easy, effortless. You become lost in that which you do.
It sounds so romantic. And is it even achievable? For a duality of life in doing what you love means leaping with faith and that can evoke fear…yet to quote Neale Donald Walsche “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.
For me the leap is saying yes to pursuing the pleasure I gain when I teach women about the sensuality in food, in particular raw food; to give women the ability to re-connect into their purpose; to release old pain and to say yes to innermost desires. To be able to put yourself first and lose the guilt. And I have the absolute honour of doing that through running retreats.
The realization that this is what I wanted to do, could do, even dare to dream of, hit me over 4 years ago. When I discovered that raw food can literally change your life it sparked within me the passion to share this information. I became a coach and in doing so, my life and the path I had followed made sense – what a relief! I visualised the sound of women laughing as I showed them how to make sense of their lives, dreams and desires. I knew that I loved creating experiences and events and so the seedling of an idea to run retreats was planted.
It’s been a slow process of seeing that dream become a reality. I started a coaching practice initially which finessed my craft. I run on-line coaching programmes and I have participated in courses and worked with mentors myself.
I fortunately had a supportive family who saw the value in my dream and together we renovated an old farmhouse in North Yorkshire (UK) into a luxury boutique retreat centre.
It’s been a monumental journey; I left a marriage, moved with my children, was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. I had to make a ‘comeback’ with my coaching practice. I had to re-inspire myself and my passion for food, I learnt more and more deeply about the importance of self-care on all levels – mind, body, spirit and the impact our emotions play in our well-being.
It’s been an eventful 4 years. But with the loyalty of my clients, the faith of my family and the support of my friends, the opening of The Retreat at Split Farthing Hall was a treasured event. I was living, breathing, doing what I love.
With hindsight I realise that everything takes much longer than anticipated and a plan of working 6 months ahead instead of reacting in the moment would have been beneficial. I could have held more belief and networked like crazy. Yet I do believe everything happens when you’re ready. And it’s only now that I’m ready to take the next big leap and see The Retreat at Split Farthing Hall become an in-demand; much loved boutique retreat; featured in the glossy magazines and Sunday supplements; to build a community of passionate women and to touch the lives of the women that come here to experience the magic.
[Images courtesy of Claire Maguire]
Find out more about retreats at Split Farthing Hall here. To find out more about well-being and food coach Claire visit her website here.
Today’s shared story comes from nutritionist Sue Ann Gleason.
I am a food lover, food writer, and food-based healer. (aka: culinary nutritionist) I started my business because I wanted to create a delicious approach to radiant health. But the road has been a little bumpy. You see, before I set off to study every form of mind-body-health and nutritional science I could get my Type-A hands on, I was simply a happy, “healthy” food lover. Or so I thought.
And then, I lost my health and found it again through a deep, introspective look at the food I was eating, or not eating when I was on one of my extreme diet or exercise regimes. And when I found the courage to dig a little deeper, I discovered it wasn’t only about the food. My beautifully complex life needed more than just the application of glorious greens and fresh vegetable juices. Non-stop, copiously compulsive Type A overachiever. That was me. I used to shave one leg in the morning and one at night to save time. My calendar was color-coded. Even “spontaneous” moments had a color—blue. I was proud of my resourcefulness. I was an accomplished multi-tasker and it even earned me the distinction Teacher of the Year.
Taking on a health crisis was, for me, just another project. I attacked it with tenacity. I started studying things like cellular rejuvenation through raw food nutrition. I climbed into bed with The Autoimmune Epidemic instead of my favorite memoir. My body became a human laboratory. And I healed.
But old habits die-hard. Even in healing mode, I found a way to live life in the extremes. It started with my raw food journey. Instead of reveling in the vibrant colors and textures of homegrown tomatoes, ravishing red peppers, crunchy cucumbers and glorious greens, a meal became a contest. Anything less than 100 percent raw somehow became less nourishing than its cooked counterpart.
There I was—immersed in my new career with more degrees, studies, certifications, awards, and endorsements than I knew what to do with—surrounded by healthy, like-minded nutrition gurus and healers, when I came to the striking realization . . . I WASN’T HAVING ANY FUN.
I found myself longing for the companionship of food-loving friends who appreciated beautiful, wholesome meals, and . . . CHOCOLATE. One blustery weekend, I attended an Integrated Health Symposium in New York City. You know, the kind of conference that fills both your brain and your CEO bucket. The presenters were brilliant. The information was cutting-edge. But the exhibit hall was filled with powders, potions, pills, bars, and supplements. I was trying to find my way out of the tangle, bumping into voracious vendors hawking their wares, when a bright-eyed gentleman blocked my path,
“Our products come from whole food botanicals, optimally cultivated, fair trade and sustainable, rich in human compatible/absorbable vitamins, minerals, EFA oils and antioxidants, especially vitamins C and E. Do you use super food powders with your clients?” he asked. “No, I use food,” I replied. Though, admittedly, I was impressed with the number of words that spilled out of his mouth in just one sentence. That was a pivotal moment. I knew it was time to reclaim my relationship with real food, all food, fun food, and start hanging out with people who actually ate it.
So, I tried a little experiment. What happens when you take away all the fear-based notions around food and health and you just focus on the blissful benefits of consuming colorful, vibrant meals? What happens when you slow down and enjoy what you’re eating? What happens when you shift the pace of your life and make a commitment to engage in at least one delicious activity each day that makes you laugh? What happens when you start eating chocolate for breakfast?
I can tell you, ‘my’ life changed. I didn’t throw away my credentials or the gazillion books I had collected on biochemical imbalances or nutritional theories. But I did create a shift in my life and in my practice. I discovered that I have a unique gift. I can transform even the most contracted eater on the planet. I know how to laugh. I know how to use my creative powers to get to the heart of their nutritional stories because I’ve explored the shadows and contradictions in my own story. And I am passionate about my work as a culinary nutritionist, because embedded in this work, is a heartfelt mission: that we take back our plates, one luscious bite at a time.
[Image courtesy of Sue Ann Gleason.]
Sue Ann, founder of Conscious Bites Nutrition, is a Washington DC-based culinary nutritionist, dynamic eating psychology coach, speaker, and writer. Find out more about Sue Ann on her website or her blog.
Have you heard about ‘Mingle’, the new magazine from Stampington? It is all about creative gatherings and is sure to be full of delicious images and inspiring words. I am excited that the Do What You Love retreat is going to be featured in the inaugural issue, out on October 1!
NB: For those of you like me who don’t like in the US, you can order Stampington magazines through their website here.
Today’s shared stories come from Jill Metz, Laura Gates and Johwey Redington.
In 2007 I was happy. But not the kind of happy that fills you up. I was satisfied but still hungry. I think that was the first step for me in doing what I love, realizing I wasn’t filled up and feeling like I did deserved to be filled up. I was married to the love of my life with two healthy children, a boy and girl and I was Blessed. But after 8 years of marriage I began to feel resentful and dissatisfied. I had been filling up with my family for so long , trying to be perfect and expecting them to be my whole world. Needless to say, that was trouble waiting to happen!
Then came the question…what was missing in my life? It was at that time i began to dig deeper and look at my life and to discover the bigger picture of who I was. What I honestly discovered was that I didn’t even know myself. I didn’t know what I believed, didn’t know what I was good at, didn’t know what my passions were. I had a very challenging childhood and it was more about survival than being a kid. Therefore I lived my young adult years, ages 16-25, trying to be the kid I didn’t get to be. Usually this is the time when people start to look at themselves and ask the type of questions that lead to this discovery of self. I was a late bloomer!
So I had to go back to the beginning and I asked myself, “What did I like to do when I was a little girl?” This was not an easy place to revisit but I have to say with that blast to the past came a great deal or healing, forgiveness, and learning to love myself more. I was the little girl who was always creating something, usually out of nothing. I was the kid who would rather hang out in the craft store than the toy store. I was the little girl who would set up a tattoo stand outside her apartment building in hopes someone would actually pay me to draw a mermaid on their arm with a magic marker. Just like my mother, God had given me the gift of CREATIVITY! So I went back to that and picked up the old crusty paint brush that had been neglected for so many years and I went to work. I quickly discovered mixed media and things started to make sense, I was seeing the bigger picture.
Unlike some of the inspiring stories you hear here, I did not quit my job and within a year make a good living. I was just too fragile for that and didn’t have the courage or confidence to dive in. I did begin a small on-line business making mixed media picture frames and got accepted into some local art shows. This was good for my self esteem and I started to believe in myself. That was four years ago….
Today I am doing what I love! I have an amazing family who I truly love and appreciate more every day. I have the privilege of being here to prepare their food, wipe their noses, drive them to their cross country and basketball games, send them off on the bus and I’m here when they get home. Mostly I have the privilege to pray with them and for them. The other part of the picture is I’m a mixed media artist! I have a website, a blog, I teach mixed media art workshops, and still continue to do select juried art shows. I have been invited to display my work in art galleries and have had inquires about offering a wholesale line. I have recently been exploring the world of licensing and attended Surtex last March in NY City. I am praying about those opportunities and each new opportunity that comes my way. Last month I finally got the courage to submit my work to my favorite international magazine and I’m hopeful that they will publish my artwork.
I don’t think you can really do what you love for life until you know who you are. I was a mouse on a wheel. To everyone else I looked happy, I thought I was happy. But then I got hungry and I listened to that. I didn’t settle! Instead I began a journey. A journey of FAITH, COURAGE, HEALING, and TRUST. Everyone’s journey looks different, but they all start with a step, and then another step, and then another. I remind myself life is not a race…it is a journey. I can’t worry with how good I’m not, how slow I am, how much time I wasted. I can only take that step today in order to do what I love for life.
[All images courtesy of Jill Metz]
Find out more about Jill on her website here.
As a kid I envied people who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. I didn’t have a clue. I lamented this fact with my dad in the kitchen one afternoon 30 years ago, wondering what my college major should be.
“What if I stuck a hot poker in your foot right now and you had to tell me what you wanted to be?” asked my dad. “Um. A writer?” I said meekly. Needless to say, I chose psychology and quickly transferred into business. (Parents, don’t try this at home!)
One thing led to another and I ended up working in banking on Wall Street in the wild 80s. Although I excelled and climbed the corporate ladder, I felt creatively vacant and desperately tried to find work in other areas, to no avail.
It was ultimately falling head over heels in love with a handsome young South American that catalyzed the change. In a potentially career limiting move, I quit my job and followed him to South America, where we promptly got married and traveled for a year. After returning to New York I was hired back by the bank, still clueless as to my life calling. My sister urged me to move to California, and a friend offered me a job at a PR firm. In little over a year I was serendipitously given the chance to take over another woman’s business who was pregnant and moving. From one client at $500 a month I quickly grew my company – marketing and promoting women-owned businesses – making six figures within the year.
The early 90’s were exciting times and I was hugely successful, but in the midst of the dot.com boom my husband left me. I was devastated. I managed to keep the business going, but would curl into a fetal position at night and cry myself to sleep. Within a year he married his assistant, a several-years younger version of me. In addition to feeling horribly rejected I had become a cliché – and I was barely over 30!
It was thanks to my husband leaving that led me to my current career as a leadership trainer and coach. One day at lunch a client wanted to know how I was doing. I burst into tears crying telling her the whole story. She recommended I do a workshop that changed her life with Learning as Leadership, and that was the turning point for me. Learning about how my behaviors contributed to what wasn’t working in my life gave me the power to change. And 16 years later, I am working as an executive coach and trainer for the company that leads those very same trainings. Working with people to help them find their passion and overcome the obstacles that get in their way is my passion.
It sounds crazy, but today I’m grateful my husband walked out on me. It was a big kick in the ass and propelled me to truly find my life purpose. It also led to my spiritual quest which has me co-leading journeys around the globe to work with indigenous healers, and pursuing a Master’s in Intuition Medicine.
Now remarried, on the cusp of my 49th birthday, I am once again putting tender green shoots into the ground, exploring new territory. The high school girl who timidly said she wanted to be a writer back in the kitchen that day is finally emerging. I have found my voice through my blog, telling my stories, expressing my authentic self.
As we approach unprecedented times of change on our planet, I am listening carefully once again to the signs the universe is sending me and I wonder. What’s next? But unlike younger versions of myself, I know and trust that everything is unfolding just as it should. And there is nothing I need do but surrender to the Signs.
[All images courtesy of Laura Gates.]
Find out more about Laura on her website.
My journey started when I became an architect. My parents wanted me to be an accountant and take over the family business, but I had always been artistically-inclined and knew I wanted a creative career. I was only allowed to pursue a licensed profession, and architecture had the right mix of art and science so it seemed a good choice at the time. As an architect, I loved seeing dreams transformed into well-designed usable spaces which, in turn, promised to provide their users with memorable experiences. That was the satisfaction I got from my job – creating spaces for people to enjoy. (It wasn’t always pleasurable though. Most of the time, I was wrestling with contractors and building inspectors! Still I loved what I did.)
Being married and having children changed my priorities. At this stage in my life, I found myself juggling between the competing demands of my professional career and motherhood. I was living two lives – architect during the day and wife and mother at night. (At times, the architect would even encroach on family time!) I started to feel no fulfillment in my work anymore and desired to give my full presence to my two daughters – at least in their formative years. So after several years of professional practice, I became a full-time mom.
The transition from architect to stay-at home-mom wasn’t easy. I grew up in a society that doesn’t place much value on parenting as a valid and distinguished occupation. And for someone as career-driven as I am, I somehow felt displaced. People went from “Oh wow, you’re an architect!” to “You stay home all day?!? What do you do?” Somehow they don’t give much credit to the challenging, demanding, and stressful job of being a mother. I didn’t know how to label myself. (What do I put as my occupation? Leaving it blank makes me feel like a bum.) I was loving taking full charge of my children’s upbringing (I was even homeschooling them) – I knew what I was doing was vital and important, and that I was the only one who can do it – but I couldn’t reconcile who I was to the world.
Throughout all these, I continued to create. Art is inherent in me – I’ve always known it is essential to my soul. It’s what made me fall in love with architecture in the first place. It’s what makes me come alive – the ability to express and interpret my experiences visually and creatively. As a full-time mom, I was able to explore more freely and play more creatively. I rediscovered the joys of mixed media and book arts, developed my skills as a photographer, and got introduced to the world of fabric arts. The best thing is that art integrates well to our family lifestyle – it doesn’t compete with my role as a mother and wife, in fact, it complements it.
In this path of putting my children first, I eventually learned to deepen my awareness for each present moment. In so doing, I gained a greater sense of freedom and self-understanding. I’ve come to terms with what’s really important to me and developed a confidence in my abilities that I lacked before. This gave me the courage to share my journey and open my art to the world. And now, in this current stage of my life, I’ve decided to build my career as an artist as I continue to be a mindful parent (and person in general). Sometimes I get scared, sometimes my confidence wanes. It’s a whole new industry, a whole new community. But my inspiration never falters and I keep on moving forward.
So what does it mean to do what you love? For me, it means living every minute of each day as fully as possible, even if I have to live my life in stages. At present, I’m enjoying my moment-to-moment relationship with my family and I’m creating to my heart’s content. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
In retrospect, I wouldn’t change anything in my past (not so easy to say when experiences are fresh) because I believe that everything that happened in my life brought me to where I am today – and where I am right now will bring me to something even greater in the future. I know this because I believe and I keep on trying. And wherever my art will take me, I know with confidence that I’ve already carried out my life’s masterpieces – my two lovely daughters!
[All images courtesy of Johwey Redington]
Find out more about Johwey on her website.
I am so excited to unveil this exciting project which I have been working on for the past few months… It is a huge honour and privilege to announce a collaboration with incredibly talented designer Rachael Taylor…
If you have ever dreamt of seeing your designs on stationery, fabric, homewares or other products, sharing your art through pattern, and monetising your designs this groundbreaking new e-course is for you!
Split into three modules (see below) it will take you step-by-step from sketch to pattern to product, sharing technical how-to-guides and industry secrets along the way.
Are you ready to dive into a world of colour and pattern?
Come and join us!
’50s Inspired Quirky Print’ by Rachael Taylor
Thriving surface pattern designer Rachael Taylor will guide you along this exciting path from developing your signature style to putting a collection together, and from protecting your work to monetising your designs.
With a rich combination of design inspiration, practical advice, demonstrations, creative exercises, resources and interviews with leading industry practitioners, this is the go-to guide for anyone wanting to develop their design skills.
Rachael’s work has been featured in numerous leading pattern books, on TV and in many glossy magazines, and she has worked with the likes of Target, teNeues, Graham & Brown, WHSmith and TigerPrint (for M&S). Find out more about Rachael here.
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