The day before the shortest day of the year and someone has switched winter on. If you have three pairs of socks on and fingerless gloves but you can still see your breath is it time to put the heating on? We live in a rather large farmhouse which is very old and so takes quite a bit of heating. I hate putting the heating on because you can almost see your money going up in smoke. I prefer to manage with small heaters in the bedrooms and our open fire. But, I have to admit I am cold today as the now icy winds continue to blast the island. A little sneak at the forecast tells me we might just get some snow at lower levels this side of Christmas. We lost our gentle little rabbit this morning so we are all a little sad. She was over 7 years old and had the best of lives but it was her time today.
Today has been a day that I didn't expect so soon and I am left with that lovely feeling you get when a plan comes together. Let me tell you all that the quietly closing of doors and gentle fire fighting was worth it because 2014 is taking shape so clearly that I fear I might be missing something. January is my month for planning but suddenly everything fell into place all at once. My experience of blogging every day for a year tells me that this is just the framework and I understand that but it is at the points of connections that I see the strength in the framework that should see me into 2014 and beyond.
The first thing to fall into place was the designs for next years products. Suddenly we have 'with love from arran,' whimsical willow' and 'buds & blooms' to design for but it was important that they flowed from the same space. Three large design sheets later and they have not only managed to achieve that but they also point towards a creative direction that has been brewing for some time. If you want to see the ideas that have influenced my creative thinking check out the following Pinterest boards -
Dreams with lace
Whimsical Willow
Buds and Blooms
Taking the theme of lace and dreams I have managed to produce three design sheets that work across all three parts of the business while holding on to the key design concepts. This process normally takes weeks but I have been mulling things over in my mind and then it all came in a rush. Excellent. This now puts me ahead for the year giving me longer to source supplies.
The gentle nod of a new direction is also evident across my design sheets. I have been tinkering with the concept of upcycling for a while and I want to start reflecting that more in my creative work. I am also extending that interest to coincide with a new community shop that is opening in the village next Easter. This shop will produce upcycled items for sale and the profits will benefit the village. With these two areas aligned I can offer some items within my collection for sale online while also do some voluntary upcycling for the village. My own collection will be primarily available on etsy as I plan to re-open my shop by the spring. I am even in discussion with someone who would like to include Buds and Blooms in their base on the island. You will see a plan beginning to come together.
That should be enough to get excited about for one day but it goes on. I have also been mulling over the next phase of One soul many hearts site now its trial months are coming to an end. Beyond that I have the fairly mammoth tasks of planning the new Scottish island mum. The latter has threatened to engulf my very being as it swills around in my aging brain. Let me tell you that my stumbled across 'soul walking' techniques have offered me a sense of clarity that I am incredibly grateful for. I have always been very clear about the difference between the two sites. One soul many hearts is essentially a sharing platform and Scottish island mum is a personal blog. That works fine until you add into the mix a desire to convert Scottish island mum into a lifestyle blog. The danger is that the two sites begin to become confused. Well not anymore they don't as some more pieces of large paper and a very large mug of tea saw the two sites take their new forms.....how exciting!
We have now hit a bit of a snag though as if they are both to become what is outlined on those pieces of paper there is much work to be done. By now you will have figured out that with the design work for my collections already done I have freed up far more time to work on my virtual projects. A little ahead of where I thought I would be I am now actively looking for a series of sub editors who can take on one of the pages when the revised site emerges from its Christmas festivities. These editors will help to drive the site forward and in return their own projects/work will have increased readership. I am hoping to do a little post on the home page of One soul many hearts to let everyone know what these roles entail and also what pages have come through the trial well and will feature in the revised site. Meantime if you are interested in taking on some editing work do get in touch. I would be thrilled if at least one of the sub editors was a young person.
The simpler of the two sites was always going to be One soul many hearts. Scottish island mum is another story completely. I won't deny that the last week has been a challenge and some of the e-mails have made me stop in my tracks a little but all that was swept away when one reader took the time to do me a very long but incredibly useful critique of the site as it stands now. This reader stumbled upon Scottish island mum early in the year and has read it every day since. As the writer I feel that this type of person is best placed to comment. And so a dialogue has been established and after many emails back and forth I now have a clear structure for the new site. More than that though I have a clear sense of the potential of Scottish island mum. Within that I now know which topics make the best reading as blog material and which topics would be better placed in ebooks and/or courses. This particular reader is not alone in telling me that I should be aiming to make an income from some of what I do as readers have been telling me that for most of the year. In areas such as education, meditating, growing/floristry and crafting I have a great deal of experience and in some cases this experience should now be working for me. Today I finally got the message and have planned out the areas I hope to offer as ebooks and courses starting when the new site is ready. My reluctance in this area has been focused on the authentic nature of Scottish island mum. I set the project up to write every day for a year so I could see where that took me. If a small income can now be added into the mix then this will allow me to do more of what I do.
I owe all this to many of you who have taken so much of your precious time to give me feedback through the year and although this reader doesn't want to be named I will be grateful to her forever and a day. I am incredibly excited about the new Scottish island mum as I can not find anything out there quite like it. I believe that it will offer a more intimate space to ponder, learn and muse and I think that is exciting for all that belong to Scottish island mum.
I also needed to take another hint that my experience and expertise in education is something that needs to be shared more widely. Recent connections with the Scottish government and UNICEF have served to remind me of that and this is the final piece of my lovely plan coming together except I can't say anymore than that because discussions are still ongoing. It is Christmas and so work environments have slowed up but discussions will resume in January and I hope that I can agree to a role that I feel offers something both to education in Scotland (and the UK) but is also of use within the context of international charity. There is so much that needs doing that I had got a little lost in it all but the picture is clearing now and I have accepted that there will always be so much to do in the field of education. I haven't forgotten my pledge to write an ebook focusing on quality education experiences that we can all engage in with our children. Many of you have emailed asking me for further details. All I can say is it is right in the front of my mind and will be the first ebook published from my site.
Now what I need to do is pick this feeling of a plan coming together and gently blow it in the direction of a couple of dear friends who need this feeling right now. If we take it back to my doors closing quietly description I would hope that that would mean other doors can now open. My absolute favourite thing in the natural world is the dandelion seed head. Let us just imagine that each tiny seed is a plan coming together through open doors and let us all blow as lightly as possible and let the wind do the rest.....
Until tomorrow. xx
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