Twenty years as a small business owner

photo by Marnie Hawson




"Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string" - ralph waldo emerson
From a very early age i loved to create, from filling sketch books with drawings to rearranging the furniture in my room.  Growing up as the youngest of 5 children, and living a very simple life of family and community.  Of going to a school with only 18 pupils, where there weren't any uniforms and shoes were optional, where my teacher was an exceptional artist and the kindest man alive.  I was a very shy girl {nothing much has changed} but I remember high school was such a challenge, going from 30 children when I left primary school to 900 at high school.  I left school when I was 16 and had been accepted into a commercial art course but sadly couldn't afford to go so went to secretarial school for a year.  I hated it but worked in an office off and on for the next 10 years to make ends meet.  It is funny, it was like having children awakened me to that creative side again and with the support of some creative friends I registered my business in November 1999. From designing stitchery patterns + books, to producing projects for magazines, to owning a retail shop and now designing, collaborating and selling through my online store.  Some days its hard, isolating and making money can be extremely challenging but I know in my heart I was born to create and to try to bring joy to people lives.
"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." - emerson