So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking as I’ve been making all of these baby carriers this month and I’ve come to a few realizations:
- Each one requires a pretty serious commitment of my time–cutting, serging, sewing, topstitching, pressing–and I just can’t compete in an already over-saturated market;
- I’m not having a whole lot of fun making the same thing over and over again;
- And sadly, they’re just not generating much interest.
It’s taken a lot of soul searching to finally come to terms with the fact that I’m going to give up on the idea of making baby carriers. It’s an idea that I’ve devoted so much of my attention to that it’s difficult to let it go. In the interest of simplifying our lives a bit however it’s time to accept the fact that my initial idea has failed.
And I’m ok with that.
As the boy grows, I realize that soon he’s going to be just fine walking around on his own, thank you, and I’d like to keep my mind open to the fresh ideas and new opportunities that are sure to be inspired. I also have one of those personality types where I like the challenge of new things that require a lot of problem solving–once the initial task has been tackled I find myself bored and unable to focus. I’ve learned through years of experience that it does little good for me to fight this tendency, especially when it comes to my creative abilities.
The purpose of creating a home based business has been for me to have fun while contributing to our family financially–the last thing that I would ever want to burn out on is my sewing. Sewing has always been my sanctuary, my outlet, my means of communicating what happens in my mind in a tangible way.
And I’m not willing to compromise that energy.
As the Farmers Market winds down, I’ve been doing a lot of research about my plans for my Etsy store. It has been sorely neglected for the last few months and all I can say right now is that I have plans. Ok, I’ll spill it. The plans involve two stores: one store devoted to my sewing patterns (and items created from the patterns) and one store devoted to well, other stuff. Other stuff that I’m experimenting with and developing right now. Eventually I will combine all of my creative efforts into a website where all of the items will be available, but for now Etsy fits the bill just fine.
We’re working to make life a little more simple around here and this will allow me to create some more space in my studio. I’ve always been so busy trying to find a spot for everything that suddenly the idea of just creating space fascinates me. Maybe it’s because it’s finally time to babyproof our house? At the ripe old age of eleven months Nico has finally mastered the art of rolling over.
Crawling is sure to come. Soon. And we need to make some room for our little explorer and some extra time for his mama to take him on proper adventures.
Thank you all for the support that you’ve given so generously–there will be more to come!!
