Seasons Change
Change and bringing everything under one umbrella.
Maybe the world should celebrate new year in March instead of January? This is when everything comes alive again after all. At least for me, moving from winter to spring always feels like a new beginning. Indeed, as the season changes around me, so does the life I lead.
The biggest of these changes is that in less than a month from now, I’ll be full time employed again as a graphic designer. More about the specifics of that job another time. In any case I’m super excited about what my new life season will bring as I pull back from my freelance business slightly. Yes, I won’t be a full-time freelancer anymore but I’m not giving up on everything all together. I’ll still focus on illustration as my main discipline, everything else will take a back seat. With that, I’ve striped back my website and made it purely illustration focussed. All round it’s the right move for me and ultimately, my family too.
Leaving on a high
If you have been reading my newsletters and blogs over the years, you’ll know that I often write about the highs and lows of running a creative business. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed the life and survived the last 5 years out on my own. The trouble is, only surviving isn’t the right way to live in life. I was adamant I wouldn’t retrain though. So for the past 12-18 months I have been looking for a creative role here in Plymouth. I love the creative industry, it’s dream to work in. I have been working in it most of my working life and I feel very blessed that I have a new and exciting opportunity to keep that dream going. So yes, very exciting times are coming and I’m really looking forward to what’s on the horizon for me in my new job.
Ultimately, I’m moving into a new era on a high. I really gave self employment a massive go and I look back at the last 5-10 years thinking, I bloody did it. I’m proud of what I achieved but now I’m excited for the next chapter. Before I start though next month, It’s time to close a few things down. I say close down, but it’s more of a spring clean to get everything organised.
Closing Substack & Illofy
Whether you’re reading this on Substack or on here, please note I am closing the Creative Columnist publication and bringing all my writings under my this website. So if you want to jump ship, then please unsubscribe from Substack before I transfer you over on the weekend. The main reason I’m leaving Substack, is because I feel the platform is just another social media channel to manage. I’m already on, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn and Facebook, so trying to virtually hustle on another platform is already proving exhausting. In my spare time, I just want to illustrate, write and sometimes make art to sell.
Along with my writings, I’ll be closing my online art store, Illofy, and bringing a shop under my business website also. In business, I can very guilty of biting off more than I can chew and adding to an already busy room of spinning plates. Illofy is closing in name only really. I’ll still produce the same sort of positive art products, it’ll just be in a different place.
Be your own catalyst for change
Whilst I do take on too much from time to time, I am striving for a more leaner and streamlined kind of life. A brilliant new job and consolidating all my creative pursuits under one umbrella is a game changer for me in achieving this. I feel very lucky and excited as I write today. Change is ultimately good. Admittedly it can be scary at times, but not when I have been the catalyst for the change. For a while now something wasn’t right, so I did something about it. If you’re feeling stuck in life, take a look around and see what else is about. Be you’re own guiding force to do something else with your life. It’s your life after all.
Thanks for reading. Pete :)