A fresh Perspective

If you have followed me for a while on this blog or on Instagram you will know how many times I have tried to make my own little business out of what I love...Textiles.

I have made random items to sell, decided I needed to focus on one area, got bored with repetition, changed tack, started again and again and again, done courses, qualifications, training... You get the picture.

One thing getting an ADHD diagnosis has done is send me down the rabbit hole of researching everything about it and trying to relate it to my own life, and future.

Something that I see repeatedly is how suited us ADHDers are at creativity and self employment

All I read in the forums is just how difficult ADHDers find it to find the focus to actually start and then be consistent within that business, and when tasks that don't stimulate our dopamine need to be done...we ultimately give up and give in.

I knew this was something I had always struggled with without knowing why - but now I know the why I need to work out the how - just how can I make a business that satisfies my own needs but also engages potential customers, and also keeps those customers returning?

I have found the kind of self employment I have been doing for the past ....years works because the work I am doing has deadlines and set times etc that I have to work to in order to get paid, but working entirely under my own steam as I have tried with the crafting means that without those deadlines and set times and routines I just procrastinate the bits I don't enjoy, get distracted from tasks and also end up being the person who gets called upon time and time again to provide support (elderly parents, family etc) they know I don't work 9 - 5 so assume my time is my own or flexible. And while I do want to help and rescue, and support (as we often do!) it eventually drives me to burnout, meltdowns, and feeling like I have no life to do what I want - and don't get me started on the distractions of social media!

Recently I have had to rearrange my entire week to work with my son at school, he is only in for 2 hours a day at the moment and unfortunately his new teacher said it was OK for mummy to be in the classroom with him when he asked on his first day back. I now have no chance of leaving him now, but I sit in a corner so he knows I am there and the only resource I can take with me is my tablet and note pad (neither of my other 2 jobs can be carried to a classroom, and neither need a computer!) 

So I had to decide what to do with that time, as doom scrolling Facebook was not an option, I had to make it productive!

And so I have picked up the research I was doing in my degree, I am working with how my brain and hyper focus and distraction etc effect me and I am making a plan!

I know my "shop" will be random, but within that random will be the textiles theme interwoven in every fibre of it (see what I did there?) 

I know that I will lose focus on certain areas and plan to have kits, instructions, tutorials etc in place to enable others to create their own items, or to learn new skills or techniques while I can work on the next project 

I know there will be a lot of learning for me, there are new tools  and tech available that I need to learn as the ones from only a few years ago I used in my degree have already been surpassed. Social media much as I loath it and love it in equal measures has also changed a lot in recent years so yes, lots to learn and navigate.

What I won't do is put myself under too much pressure - Hopefully in the New Year our school situation will have changed, but if and when that happened I may have to give up one of my other self employed jobs just to fit in school runs and support, and that seams like a nice time line to bring this new incarnation of The JuicyFig to reality. 

If you would like to follow my misadventures on Instagram I am at @the_juicyfig and soon I will hopefully have a shop etc so check out @juicyfig_makes

And..you never know, I might remember to blag about it all too! 

New Begginings

Wow - I can't believe its been almost 3 YEARS since I last updated this blog, and SO much has happened.
2 years ago we lost my beloved grandma Queenie, my inspiration for crafting and my number one fan. She was 98 years old and had lived through 2 world wars and a world that had changed in incredible ways, not least the digital revolution that makes this post possible! I miss her, and think of her often.

Baby Fig has gone off to university in London to study fine art, and is loving being in her favorite city - and finds coming home to our quiet little part of England quite dull now.

For myself, well - I took the plunge as well and am just starting the 3rd year of a degree in contemporary textiles at our local collage. It has been a struggle at times with much soul searching and angst but I must admit I am enjoying it immensely, and looking forward to this last year (although the 10,000 word dissertation is like a looming black cloud at the moment!)

Mr Fig continues to make jewelry in his shed and has invested in a pressure pot - I steer clear as it all sounds a bit dangerous!

There has also been another major development in my life - but more of that at a later date...

So - some of the pleasure crafting has taken a back seat for the university work, I have learned lots of new things, and played with modern technology like the laser cutter, digital fabric printers, sublimation printers and computer programs like illustrator as well as learning how to do gold work and teaching some Russians how to make felt!

I shall leave you with a couple of images from the pieces I had to make for my course at the end of last term, and hope you are all well and happy and crafting!