Happy Sunday! I have an apology to make - I missed last Sunday's #hellomakers blog as I've been very poorly with a perforated eardrum and infection. I've decided to be a sneaky cheat and combine last week's and today's posts into one. Lets start with 'why?' WHY? Why do you do what you do? Where does your motivation come from? I've always had a passion for accessories. I adored collecting jewellery as a little girl and loved being able to express my own little quirks and interests through jewellery. As I got older, I really enjoyed experimenting with making my own pieces from wire and household objects such as safety pins and buttons. At 17 I started to train as a body piercer as well as dabbling in body modifications on myself, which indulged me love for jewellery even more. After the birth of my first child I started working as a visual merchandiser for a jewellery company who sell on stands in large supermarkets. Being around other people's jewellery every day made me wish I could design my own! I saw very cheap mass produced items and very expensive custom items every day but I wanted to bring unique and custom ideas which I was passionate about to everyone, at affordable prices. After the birth of my second son, my physical health took a bad turn. There are plenty of posts to look back on if you'd like to find out more but I basically became unable to work an average job. I still felt the need to create and to contribute to my family's income as I always have. I decided feeling how I felt, that this could be the perfect opportunity for me to take the plunge and start my own business, as I had been itching to do for years! My health has brought many sad and difficult times over these past 6 years however it was most definitely the catalyst for pushing me to take the first step in building my brand and for that, I'll always be thankful. Moving on to 'where'? WHERE? Where do you work? At home? A studio? I work at home, predominantly in my kitchen! I have a glass table by a large window which is where I make all of my pieces. It's fantastic for natural light and reflecting light back into my work. My table is scarred with resin spills and drill holes and usually has 4 or more projects on it at one time but It's my space and I love it. I recently bought some large storage drawers from Aldi which were an utter bargain and hold all of my findings and charms. My flowers are kept in containers too, which you can see above on the right (and inside, below). It's a gorgeous smell opening them up each day! It's important for me to try and keep as organised as possible although a naturally unorganised person, this sometimes proves very difficult for me! I'd love to work from a studio or space one day, or have my own shop. That's always been the ultimate dream. Working from home is fantastic for me as I really get to look after myself and work in the comfortable environment my body and wheelchair needs. I have everything at my fingertips. It comes with a downside for someone like me, and many small business owners, is with everything right there it's often hard to stop. I find myself looking at unfinished projects or pending work at 11pm at night or through dinner time/play time with my kids, wondering if there's a way I can fit one more piece in or finish something off. Its hard to step away. Regardless of that, I'm extremely blessed to have such a workable situation for my personal circumstances. I'm on hand to get to my youngest son's school whenever he needs me, I can make all of our families health appointments and the sometimes relentless ringing around and chasing up that comes with it all, I can work in as much comfort as my body needs on a day to day basis without having to worry about pain levels, inaccessibility or travel... all while doing something I absolutely love. True #lifegoals
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Who is Julie?30 something, mother of two gorgeous boys, lover of one gorgeous husband, perpetually living in a dream world full of wine, chocolate and artsy crafty things. Archives
February 2018
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