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As you might have noticed I’ve hit a number of milestones this past week. It was my birthday, the end of my grad scheme, and my very first blogiversary. As a compliment to all of the reflective posts I’ve written of late, I thought I’d share something that looks towards the future: my goals for the next year in creating. I’m sharing the things I want to achieve by this time next year with you in part to hold myself accountable because if I’ve told you I’m doing it, I have to do it. So, please do keep me on track. Without further ado, these are the six things I want to achieve:

GROW MY STORE

I’ve started this new year of blogging by launching my store! Yes, that’s right you can now by greetings cards, postcards, stickers, prints, a zine and original drawings all by yours truly – check it out! So it only makes sense that I want to grow my store this year, both in terms of sales and traffic but also the range of products I stock. That means a bigger range of cards as well as a bigger range of different products. If you want to keep up with all of my new products and get exclusive discounts you should definitely sign up to my newsletter (in the sidebar) – it comes out every other Friday and it’s packed full of good stuff.

DO MORE COMMISSIONS

This year I’ve done a few illustration commissions, but I’d love to do more. The business side of what I do began with a more graphic design practice with logos and publication design, but through this blog, I’ve found that I really love illustration, and I love illustrating for other people. There’s an added challenge in illustrating for someone else and trying to capture what it is they want in visual form and that little interpretive puzzle is so much fun. Plus I’m always on the look out for more faces to draw so I’m definitely keen to do more portrait commissions. If you’d like me to draw something for you (whatever it may be) please do hit me up!

COMPLETE AT LEAST ONE EDITORIAL PIECE

As well as more commissions I’d like to get into doing editorial illustrations for magazines, zines, and books. I’m not very established at all so I don’t expect this to become a huge part of my practice anytime soon, but I’d like to at least dip my toe in the water. That means I’m going to have to reach out and try and pitch editors. But now I have my new portfolio it’s something I feel a little bit more ready to do. In addition to editorial illustrations, I’d also like to pitch some writing. I still don’t consider myself a writer but I have really enjoyed writing more as a part of this blog (and I hope I’ve gotten a bit better) so I’d like to try and develop that in a more professional setting too.

LEARN SOME NEW SKILLS

I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time worrying about the fact that I don’t know enough about design and  I haven’t done an arts degree. But there are so many courses and ways to learn more out there I really have no excuse not to educate myself on my own terms. So I’m going to start taking some skillshare courses to develop my skills. If anyone has any recommendations for courses about design, hand lettering, or animation (on Skillshare or not) please do let me know!

MAKE ONE BIGGER PIECE OF WORK

Blogging has meant that I’ve focused on consistently turning out content quickly, which has been a lot of fun and really helped me develop my skills. Writing and illustrating at least three posts a week has meant I’ve just had to create and become way less precious about making. But it has also meant I don’t spend as much time developing work. That’s something I always enjoyed when I was in school and working on pieces for weeks if not months for exams. So this year I’d like to make something that has a bit more substance to it. I’m not sure what form it will take. But I’d like to make something I’m truly proud of, that feels much bigger (perhaps not in physical scale but who knows) than anything I’ve made this year.

TELL MY MUM ABOUT IT

I still haven’t told my mum about my blog. I know that’s stupid. We talk all of the time. But I’ve just not felt ready, or like the blog was ready to be shown to her. I feel like if I could have gotten away with it I wouldn’t have told any of my friends. I need to get over that feeling and instead be proud of this platform and share it with her because I think she’d probably like it and it is something that’s now quite a big part of my life.

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The whole reason behind me opening a store as a part of my personal rebrand was that I wanted to design greeting cards. As you know I love writing letters, and I love buying cards to send to people (I may or may not have a whole box full of them) so it seemed only natural that I have a go at designing my own. So, that’s where I started. I drew up a list of the 5 occasions I buy cards for most frequently, and then designed the cards I would want to buy and send. In this first collection, there’s a celebration card (for achievements, big or small, birthdays, parties, and life events), a hello card (for when you just want to write to someone for no reason other than you like them), a sending love card (to send well wishes, sympathy, or just lots of love to someone special), a number one fan card (to cheer on friends and loved ones) and a thank you card (to, well say thank you).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love each one for different reasons. I’ve had the idea for the “sending love” card in my mind for quite a while, and I always want more cheerleading cards like the “number one fan” design in my stash because who doesn’t want to cheer on the people they love? But I think my favourite, if I had to choose a favourite, has to be the “just to say hello” stamp card. This was the last design I finished because I really struggled with it, getting the stamp design just right, playing with different styles and just generally being indecisive as to how to make the most simple message of all something special. But I think I got there. It reminds me of the old leaflets and stamps my mum has in her display cabinet, so it’s something more than just a hello, whilst still being fun and modern and a bit tongue in cheek with the waving hand instead of the Queen.

I love sealing my letters with little stickers (gold stars are my go to) I even designed some tiny stamps to seal your cards and give them that extra finishing touch.  Each sticker is designed like a postage stamp, as an ode to my love of snail mail, and features a little illustration to convey something about what’s inside the envelope they adorn, from love, to triumph, to happiness.

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I’ve been blogging for a whole year, say what?!

I honestly can’t quite believe that I’ve managed to stick to it, and I’ve completed a full year of posting at least three times a week. I’ve tried to blog and share my illustrations a few times before, but I’ve always fallen out of the habit pretty quickly and given up within a month or two. So it feels particularly sweet to have broken the cycle and invested this time in developing my creative skills.

It’s not always been easy, and I’ve not always been sure it’s been “worth it” but I am so glad I’ve done it. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on this first year of putting myself out there on the internet recently so I thought I’d share a few things that I would love to tell 2016 Natalie before she embarked on this journey – maybe it will be helpful for you, maybe it won’t, but I hope it’s at least interesting.

 

YOU WILL CARE ABOUT THE NUMBERS

Okay I want to cover this one right off the bat. It’s okay to care about the numbers. I feel like it’s become this dirty thing to care about your traffic or how many followers you have, that you become branded a high school mean girl consumed by your own popularity. But you’re not. Everyone cares about the numbers to some extent. These days larger numbers lead to greater opportunities. Plus it’s always nice to think people are engaging with something you’ve made. You should care about the numbers. But you shouldn’t just care about the numbers. They aren’t the only way to tell if you’re making good work – the ultimate judgement of that is down to you and how you feel about what you’re producing. It’s also not healthy to focus in on something you ultimately don’t have any control over to bring you happiness. Don’t worry about caring about the numbers, but don’t worry too much about what they are either.

 

WORK OUT WHICH SOCIAL CHANNELS WORK FOR YOU

Before I started blogging I wouldn’t have put Pinterest as my favourite or most lead generating social media. But after a year of using it, it really is. I think it’s worth trying out a load of platforms at the beginning and seeing which ones you enjoy the most and get the best return for effort with. For example, I don’t have a lot of Twitter followers but I enjoy it the most in terms of interaction so it’s one I spend a lot of time on actively. Whereas I know Instagram is important for having a public profile as an “artist” but I don’t like using it that much and it can leave me feeling quite negative, so I focusing on queueing good content rather than having to scroll for hours. I also really wanted, nostalgically, to get back into using Tumblr but it just didn’t fit my schedule in the way I’d hoped so I left it to one side so I could focus on different channels – but who knows now might be the time to revive it.

 

ENGAGE WITH OTHER CREATORS

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about getting into blogging is getting to meet (digitally) and speak to so many like-minded people. I wish I’d had a bit more of a push to do it at the start. The creative blogging community is so lovely and inclusive, and it’s something I really want to become a bigger part of in the future. So I wish I could tell myself to reach out and say hi a bit more!

 

YOU’LL FIND YOUR OWN STYLE IN TIME

I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to be completely yourself in your blog and find your niche before you start whilst being bombarded by tips and hack on how to grow as a blogger that largely homogenise your content. At the start, I spent a fair bit of time worrying about not having a niche. I still spend a bit of time thinking about it now, But I feel like through writing about what I wanted and not worrying about it too much, sure I have an overarching theme but I’m not as specific as a beauty blog or a DIY blog I’ve kind of found my own like patch of the internet (design, creativity, and professional productivity). In a similar way it’s taken me a little while to develop a visual style that ties my posts together, and that came from imitating and trying out different styles I liked and keeping the bits that worked for me until slowly something that was my own emerged to the extent that I hope you can recognise one of my drawings as mine.

DON’T PUT ALL YOUR EXCITEMENT EGGS IN ONE BASKET

I’ve received quite a few exciting emails through my blog. But very very few of them have actually manifested. Getting those exciting emails is really lovely, but don’t expect anything more from them until you get further down the line, until it’s a real conversation or a contract. Appreciate them for what they are and don’t feel disappointed if they don’t amount to something, because you’ve not lost anything at all.

 

BE CONSISTENT

I feel like this is blog advice 101 and it’s something that I’ve done naturally but it’s still something I’d want to remind myself of before I started. But consistency has been absolutely key for me in terms of keeping my blog going but also in terms of shaping my work. Starting with a schedule helped me create a habit around writing and illustrating for the blog, which has ultimately made it easier to be consistent and stick to blogging. Make it, and that means all of it,  part of your routine as soon as you can.

 

DON’T WORRY TOO MUCH

As much as I love it, this blog has been a major source of anxiety for me. I wish I could tell myself when I started not to worry so much. What will happen will happen. How people respond to your work once you’ve put it out there is completely out of your hands, so don’t worry about it. That’s still something I need to remind myself of now. Missing a post isn’t the end of the world. Not scheduling a day’s social media isn’t the end of the world. Having no comments on something you’ve written isn’t the end of the world. Getting no engagement on a social post isn’t the end of the world. It’s just a blog.

 

REFLECT ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

This is something I’ve only just started doing recently, now that I’ve hit that year mark. But taking the time to actually appreciate how much work I’ve put into this blog has been really lovely and made me feel really proud. I don’t think it’s something you can do every day but taking the time to pause every once in a while and reflect on how much you’ve put into your blog is so worth it and I wish it was something I’d started earlier.

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I have some very VERY exciting news to share. After months of work behind the scenes, I have redesigned my portfolio, and more excitingly, I’ve opened a store!

That’s right you can now buy my illustrations on greeting cards, postcards, in a zine, on stickers and, if you’re feeling extra fancy as originals!

Check it out

This is a huge step for me, and a bit of a big gamble on myself. But it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and after proving to myself I could stick to blogging for a year and build a little audience, it felt like time. I’m super proud of how it’s turned out, and I’m hoping it’s the start of a new chapter in my creative work.

I want this to be a much better platform for people to learn more about my work, and hopefully allow me to indulge the idea that making things could be a feasible part of my career.

It feels super indulgent to have just designed the cards I would want to send, the zine I would want to read, the originals I would want to hang on my wall, but I felt like there was no point in doing this unless it truly felt like it was mine. And it does.

I love everything I’ve made. Each piece has a story behind it and a lot of love in it.

I’m going to be doing a series of behind the scenes posts in the next week or so, so you can see in a little more depth how they came together and where my inspiration came from. I might also do a post on my switch to Squarespace and redesign, if you’re interested?

In the meanwhile, head on over to my new site and maybes pick up a greeting card or five while you’re there!    

If you want to keep up to date with new products, and get some exclusive discounts (as well as free downloads and some ace reading recommendations) sign up to my newsletter in the side bar!

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This is my first post as a 24-year-old and I’m pretty darn happy about it.

It was my birthday on Friday and I wanted to reflect on it a little bit here. I had a lovely birthday (weekend) and, as ever, felt super lucky to have such lovely and loving people in my life.

This year my birthday fell on the same day as I finished my grad scheme, so it felt like a particularly noticeable milestone. Both my most recent trip around the earth and my trip around the Engine group came to a close at once and I really felt it. Every time my mum asked me if I felt different on my birthday when I was little I would say no, and while I don’t necessarily feel “different” now I do feel a difference if that makes sense. I can see the change between me at 23 and me now at 24, and I can see the difference between my world on Friday and my world today.

In a weird way, this also feels like one of a few birthdays where I really feel like I’m ready for the changeover. I need a fresh start.

This year has been a big one. I guess they all are. But it’s been a big year of change. It’s been my first year in the world of full time work. It’s been my first year in London. It’s been my first year of really being out and adrift in the world.

It’s been a hard year in a lot of ways. I’m not sure there has been a year in memory where I’ve cried more. I have questioned every decision. I have been anxious and scared and angry. I have worked my self to exhaustion. I have felt alone and overwhelmed by the sheer number of people I’m surrounded by in the city. But most of all I have been unsure, of what I’m doing and why and who I want to be.

As much as this year has been hard, and I remain confused and anxious about the future, I’ve also achieved a lot. I’ve survived my first year of work, and completed my grad scheme working in four different companies and learning a lot along the way. I’ve managed to secure a job I think will teach me more in the future. I’ve made myself a home. I’ve attempted to start looking after myself better. I’ve stuck to blogging for a whole year, which has meant I’ve made more consistently than I think I have in a long while.

That consistency has offered me opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Those opportunities have afforded me hope.

I’ve also figured out some stuff, that I think is going to be important going forward. I know much better the kind of work I want to do. I want to make things. I’m not sure what or how but I know I need to make things to feel fulfilled. I know I work best alone or in small teams. I know that I need to have a purpose behind what I’m doing. I know I like logical work as much as I like creativity. I know I need to be doing something more.

I also know that, as much as I doubt it, that I can do something more, because I’ve made it through this year.

In short, I’m 24. I’m not quite sure what that’s going to be, but I know it’s different to 23 and I’m so ready for that.