Working with the great British public presents it's unique challenges and believe me,after 20 years of customer service, I've pretty much dealt with them all from being groped while carrying a full tray of glasses, being spat at after refusing to serve a drunk customer, being stuck with a £60 bill after my table legged it without paying and cleaning up more alcohol laden puke than I care to think about... so it is with great joy that travelling to work these days only involves going down the stairs and turning right out of the kitchen to spend the day with myself.My studio AKA the dining room is tucked away at the back of the house with no distractions...or so I thought smugly as I hung up my serving cloth for the last time and embarked on starting my own business,working from home. I'm now 5 months into this crazy venture and every day is a huge learning curve and hanging out in the dining room now has a very different purpose.
I'm not complaining,I was so ready for a new challenge. Quite frankly it's a miracle I hadn't all ready spontaneously combusted whilst polishing my millionth piece of cutlery. In retrospect throwing myself in at the deep end of being my own boss was possibly the act of a desperate woman but,like motherhood,it's probably not something you'd actually do if you only looked at it in black and white, which goes to prove this Cheryl Strayed quote correct.Those shitty waitressing jobs did add up to something, they gave me the drive to go out and work doing something that I actually love and that fit's in with the ever increasing demands of my life.
So I get to my desk/dining room table by 9am,5 days a week then all hours of the weekend too .I'm ever increasingly surrounded by piles of bright fabric, all begging me to make something, and random vintage items that I really want to keep but have to sell.It's a weird midcentury cornucopia of work & love,I couldn't ask for more inspirational eye candy, although I fear the imminent toppling of my vintage suitcase tower...up to 8 this week,its like a game of retro Jenga when I want to find something in the bottom one.
This week however things have been quiet and I've been going a bit stir crazy stuck in the studioslashdiningroom and have been wandering away from my desk a fair bit. If I make it out of the kitchen I don't seem to find my way back.The hall needs hoovering, there's a pile of washing,grass needs cutting & when is the last time I changed the beds? Housework jumps out at you with every diversion from your desk and it's easy to get distracted.
After wasting away a good hour touching up the chipped paint on the stairs...with Hammerite ( It's not even like there was a tin of gloss beseeching me from the shed) I have realised that getting the motivation is one thing,keeping it is another,especially when sales are sluggish and Ebay send you a whopping bill for all your hard work...
Staying inspired when the chips are down is to be another challenge on this learning curve so I've had a word with myself and spent the day away from the sewing machine.I finally used the accounting software I'd enthusiastically signed up for, then studiously ignored, watched some how to succeed on Ebay videos on You Tube then decided I'd write this blog about procrastination whilst blatantly procrastinating...My multi tasking is getting awesome ;)
And as an ironic joyful consequence I've sold two things while I've been blethering onto you so maybe a little break from bossing myself around is no bad thing...
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