A look at my 2021
17th December. Written at the kitchen table come cutting table, Puddle Cottage, Cornwall.
My first Instagram post from the year began with “New Year Business Planning... So far, all I've got is 'joy and whimsical nonsense and the middle finger to drudgery!” Looking back on this has made me chuckle as I realise that there were many moments this year when I was not achieving this light-hearted sentiment at all, and that's OK. I have chosen one favourite post from each month to sum up 2021 for Jeanie&Me.
January. I made a dressing gown out of an old sheet. And it really did look lovely. I don't usually follow dress-making patterns so it was a step away from my comfort zone in a bid to improve my general dressmaking skills. I am a self-taught sewist and tend to stick well within my known limitations! To date this is still one of the highest 'liked' posts I have done. In some ways this was frustrating because dressing gowns are not in my collection, but it showed a wider audience the possibilities of repurposing, which is Jeanie's ultimate aim after all.
February. February was a bit of a dark month. I was feeling pretty low and uninspired. I think the best post to sum this up is a monochrome image of my 'sewing cave' which was sort of a joke, but looking back on it now, I can see the metaphor of the shadowy image. Working from home in a space which was too small and too dark. I think I was quite lonely. It's a beautiful image, but somewhat tinged with sadness.
March. Spring is arriving now and there is a lot more light to my posts. I hung a washing line of some products outside in the sunshine and did mini videos of them swaying in a spring breeze with the birds singing. Visual merchandising was a highlight for me when I had a shop in a previous life, and little excursions like this give me a much needed creative outlet away from the sewing machine.
April. I think my post from April has to be my recycled cardboard swing tags. Not professionally printed onto recycled cardboard but hand cut, and hand stamped, by me, onto old cardboard. I know I always bang on about how long this takes, but there really is so much extra time involved in having a purely recycled ethos to my business. I love to moan about it, but I remind myself that I chose to work this way and of the very good reasons why.
May. A gorgeous image of wildflower blooms laid out in a grid pattern, mirroring the colourful stitch-work I made onto bags. I designed a new range of bags with wildflowers in mind and I really thought they were beautiful. But they didn't really sell. One lovely comment said 'you're nailing it!' but it didn't feel like it. Creative businesses are so deeply personal, that feeling successful can be so tied up with sales. I didn't make anything for quite a while after that.
June. As usual, a bit of time away from making was the best tonic. I could see that I had been spending too much time stuck in blue. Colour gave me a fresh inspiration and I started collating bright fabrics and designing my first capsule collection, 'Palettes of Life', inspired by the beautiful and often surprising palettes we find in the ‘boring’ everyday. A post showing my pink washing-up bowl full of green spinach sums that up nicely!
July. There's abundant energy and vitality throughout July. As 'Palettes of life' is in full swing. I think my favourite post here is a mini video scrolling across the scrap pouch bags, lit up in the sunshine. Here you can really see the textures, colours and work that went into each piece. I loved making these and I think you can tell.
August. We were away on our holidays but I did manage to do a post from the wilds of Scotland showing how much you can cram into a little pencil case. Whilst we were on a zero-carbon trip, hiking and pack-rafting through the Highlands, the contents of my case is somewhat far from perfectly sustainable; disposable razor, plastic comb, dubious toiletries... I hope it showed that no one is perfect, and as long as we all try to do our bit for the environment, we're on the right track.
September. Jeanie's first birthday! It had been a challenging first year in lots of ways, still finding my feet and unsure which direction I was heading in. When I tried to write a blog post on 'one year on', I just found it sounded immensely sorrowful and uncertain and left me feeling in quite a muddle. I decided to scrap the blog and make myself a denim birthday cake instead. Pure whimsical nonsense and a much cheerier use of time.
October. The second capsule collection of the year with 'Dreamy Woods', a celebration of Autumn colours and textures. I made a wee video of myself on the rope swing in the woods wearing a bag from the collection. It has a very ethereal vibe, mainly because my phone screen was really badly smashed and it made the light come into the camera in a really crazy way! Since starting Jeanie&Me, everything has been done on a shoe string, mostly in the spirit of recycling but also because if I can do something myself, I will. Weird little marketing videos in the woods included!
November. Market month. My first markets with Jeanie&Me and big stress and worry as I took my product to the wider world IRL. Sadly, the extra hours I poured into this were not worth it and sales were poor. However, with the excitement of having a clothes rail on my stall, I made a new bomber jacket to take with me. This was the first jacket I had made in many months, and it rekindled my enthusiasm to make more. Social media loved it too which always helps to build confidence in an idea.
December. Whoa, where did that year go? The funny thing about Christmas as a small business is that by the time it arrives, you're often already completely over it! You build a lot of expectation on sales and this year has been pretty slow for me, and I hear, for many others too. And so my favourite post is actually a selfie, of me out foraging for foliage. I spend a lot of time by myself at the sewing machine, and it's always very refreshing to get out and about and reconnect with nature. As I get older I acknowledge that I am increasingly 'earthy' and my time outside with my hands in the dirt or in the hedge is more and more important for my general well-being. Essential to gain perspective on the virtual reality of social media, to find balance between work and play and decifer what truly is 'success'.
