It’s been quite the couple of months. During June, I was just bumbling along working on my business when suddenly, I couldn’t work any more. It felt like I had nothing left to give. For the past 2 years, I have been trying to untangle the conundrum of how I should go about opening an online shop to sell my original art, art prints, and maybe stationary or stickers. I had a launch day set. I was laboring over my social media posts for sometimes an hour and a half a day, only to see it go nowhere. I was stressed and uninspired. My time felt wasted. So I stopped.…

1. On May 3rd, I had my first ever gallery opening, and it was so fun! I had such an incredible time talking to people and sharing about my work and process. It felt so vulnerable to put my soul out there for others to see, but so validating and motivating to hear from the guests that my work is appreciated and marketable. Thank you for being so supportive and sharing the excitement with me in this process, and especially thank you to those who were there on Friday and to those who stop in during the rest of the month. It means the world to me! 2. My recent…

1. It’s a wrap! For a long time I had been wishing for a custom standing desk to fit into my space perfectly, and we screwed in the last screw last week, much to my delight. I still have a list of accessories I need to get for it, such as stools, but I’m loving it so far! 2. Have you listened to the This is Love podcast? I love how it has all sorts of love stories, many of them not even romantic! I especially love the one about Gerald the gardener. 3. I heard of a new material so I thought I’d try it. It’s called Aquabord, and…

1. This week I made another mini collection, Savanna, prompted by Sketch Design Repeat’s 3×3 Challenge. It will soon be available on my Spoonflower shop and I think it would make great nursery decor! 2. Every year, planner company Golden Coil has a contest to find a new cover for their planners, and this year I entered! The company decides on their top 10 favorites, then the public gets to vote to find the winner on March 27. Find out more here. 3. My favorite season of the year has arrived! (Okay I say that about all the seasons. Maybe I should stop trying to pick a favorite) 4. I…

1. Hello friend! Last week I did something that felt vulnerable and exciting. I posted my new collection, Autumn Sunlight, on Instagram for the whole world to see! Fall is my favorite season, and I wanted these eleven patterns to resemble the nostalgic delight of crunching leaves, wide blue skies, and geese flying south. I hope this collection can convey that to everyone who sees it. It is now available on home decor, wallpaper, and fabric in my Spoonflower shop. I am excited to see where this collection goes! 2. I am trying a new (yet another) task and habit management system which has gotten some craze in the last…

Welcome to the new year! 1. In the first week of January, I got to go visit family in California. The trip was a whirlwind of fun times, and it gave me a chance to take a step back from my business and reflect on how it has grown and how I want to proceed. For the past ten months, I would say I have been working at least 40 hours a week on my business. More and more, I have found myself feeling burnt out and stressed, even though the only real deadlines I have in my business are sending the newsletter out once a month and occasional commission…

Hi there! I know this is coming to you at the busiest time of the year, so thanks for sticking with me. 1. In an ornament exchange once, I got a handmade paper star ornament. And me being myself, always saying, “I could do that,” I decided to try and make my own. The first one I made, I used white watercolor paper and painted it gold after it was all glued together. But then remembered some other metallic paints I had and wanted to make some stars in those colors, too. So I painted some sheets of paper, cut them into strips. I was a bit overzealous in my…

Hello! 1. Last week we went to a concert to see the “Ode to Joy” movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. It put me in mind of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto in D Major, which I saw last spring. Before seeing the Violin Concerto, I thought that orchestra was a bit bland, but no longer! 2. When I think of Ruth Asawa, I usually think of her intricate wire basket sculptures, but I discovered some of her 2d work, which is no less detailed and beautiful. 3. My Thanksgiving cactus is blooming! 4. My favorite app of all time: Notion. For my organizer personality, it has become addicting to make schedules,…

Hello all! I hope your fall has been going well. 1. Now that my passion for creating art is my business, I have to find things other than art and business to be my “hobbies.” Tearing myself away from my business and doing unrelated things is surprisingly tough, but so far I have taken up jigsaw puzzling and occasional photography (see end of post). This puzzle – a rendition of a Frank Lloyd Wright painting – is one I picked up at a book fair, and it has lasted all summer, mainly because of how complex, yet simple it is. I plan to glue it together and framing it when…

1. Yesterday I opened up Hidden Systems by Dan Nott and learned how the internet really works! I definitely recommend it. It lays out the systems in a very simple, understandable way, with great comic visuals. 2. If you have been following me on Instagram, you know that I have been diving into two of Austin Kleon’s amazing books, Show Your Work and Keep Going. I keep stumbling across little passages that really, really resonate with me and give me the final push to do things that I have been procrastinating on, like making a list on paper of what I will and will not post on the internet. “In…