Join me on my journey.

This year has been a whirlwind. One of the things I learned in retail is the natural peaks and valleys of sales allows for lots of downtime after Holiday. For a few years now, I have been allowing those natural patterns to drive my workflow. But what do you do when there is no natural break? The lesson I am learning is that you have to make one. Here we are, halfway through May and I am realizing I don’t know how to say no to things.

To be honest, I think it is more of a “I don’t want to say no” mindset. This job, this creative life is amazing. I have more projects in my head than I have time to make, lovely clients who inspire me with their ideas for customs, talented friends who are always up for an adventurous shoot at any minutes notice. These are just a few of the blessings in my life. Who wouldn’t want to say yes to all that?

The reality of time moving so fast this year is quickly catching up to me. At the beginning of April, I started making shifts in my personal routine, and for May, I have been shifting my work routine. Trying to protect my sanity and still do all the things I have on my bucket list. Also, trying to make time to stay healthy. Do you guys ever get so involved in work, you find you have no time to take care of yourself? That’s where I got to.  My realization started with a rib. An unruly, stubborn, rebellious rib that decided to pop out of place at 2 am while I was innocently sleeping in my bed. If this has never happened to you, it is so incredibly painful and created spasms all down my back. After finding a chiropractor who works miracles and getting my errant rib back in line, I made a decision to spend an hour a day on me. Walking, working out, yoga, meditation, whatever my mind and body needed that day. Since making this choice, I have stuck with it and have to say I feel so much more energized and back to my usual self. An hour a day isn’t much time to take away from the day, but it is amazing how hard it was to convince me that I was worth it. I find that whenever I take on too much, something shifts in the universe to help remind me to slow down. I wish I was better at knowing, at listening to the signs. I always want to do more, push myself, do better than the last attempt. I am not sure what I am racing? An imaginary clock that is ticking out the time I have here on this planet? The ever shifting sands of the fashion industry that may make me irrelevant one day? The new designs slipping in and out of focus in my mind? Whatever it is that drives me is a powerful force, and I have to remember to breathe, make time, stay healthy and trust that it will all work out.

Most recently I had a work accident that gave me a scare. While I lay at Urgent Care with a saline rinse washing acid out of my eye, all I could think was “I can’t lose my eye” over and over again. What would life be like if I couldn’t see to create, couldn’t work with my friends to create these amazing images and art, couldn’t see the spring flowers bloom in all their purple glory? Thankfully, all turned out ok in the end, but it was another sign from the universe to really stop and appreciate what I have.

So this summer I have some goals I want to share. Putting them in writing gives them weight, publishing them on my blog adds accountability.

• An hour a day on me.
• Block out time to create something fun just for the sake of it every week.
• Slow down, choose pop-ups and events wisely.
• Limit customs to 5 per month for the summer months.
• Add a create your-own-section to my website that allows you guys to slightly customize my best selling items.

These goals seem small, but for me, they are a huge shift. I am hoping this will keep me positive, creative, healthy and productive. I am also hoping it will help keep the wait time on custom orders shorter and more consistent. There are 7 months left in 2018 and I want to make sure I make the most of them.

What about you, any goals for the upcoming months? Let me know in the comments below, let’s inspire eachother! 

Photos of the lovely Rachael Marie Koch were taken by Photographer Ashley Meyers, with hair styled by Amanda Hainer and makeup by Natasha Chamberlin. Dress from Gypsy Junkies.