Tuesday, October 27, 2009

balance

Ah, the days of leisurely photographing and editing, thinking calmly about blog post content and product development in the shop... they are long gone! As the mother of twin toddlers (soon to be 15 months old!), I am always hungry, tired, on the run, and juggling a thousand things that need to get done. It's not a complaint - I love my life! Finding time and creative energy is a challenge, though.

I've been slowly re-introducing prints, cards, Moleskines, Asian fabrics, and other Bamboo Village favorites over the last 3 weeks. As I write, I'm sitting on a bed strewn with luscious silks and lovely cottons, all whispering to me their desired projects.

I know many of you are also busy crafters, always looking for small breaks in the bustle to get your crafting groove on. How do you do it? What are your tips and tricks for being creatively-driven amidst the daily grind? How do you self-employed folks with littles get anything done?

Looking forward to your inspiring tales!

1 comment:

Laura said...

I hope you get some good answers, because I need some too! I'm trying to start my own crafting business. I can possibly put my older one in preschool for a couple days a week, but I'm not ready to leave the 13 month old anywhere so I'd still have her around needing attention.

Recently I read an article on Etsy about how a woman managed to make her Etsy business her day job, and it started out, "My husband goes to work and my teenage daughter goes to school and then I get started..." Of course, that's how you do it.

My current plan is to work after the kids are asleep until I have enough product to go "live." When all that has sold, I invest that income to pay for the next run of product to be made by a sewing contractor. I have the luxury of not depending on the initial income, though. I hope that by using a sewing contractor, the turn around time is faster, thus the potential for making money is higher.