When I sacrificed my paycheque significantly over the last two years I was hoping the trade-off would be a more relaxed, stress-reduced life. While it has been both of those things, the reduction in $$ meant I had traded off work stress for money stress. I often think that had I done this in my 30's or even my 40's or even earlier in my 50's that it would have been much less stressful. With retirement just around the corner the $$ become a little bit more important as your potential for earning income from a traditional career is quickly coming to an end. I am SO enjoying my time at home and the art work is very calming, even therapeutic! But last night - the rewards seemed so much more than they had been. I taught a statue class last night to three very different people; an old friend, a complete stranger (well, not any more) and a very young working mom who is a friend of one of my daughters. Watching these three women work and seeing what they created in just one evening reminded me of what my original goals were. This evening was topped off by receiving three e-mails saying my work had been accepted in, again, three very different venues. Tell Me Again (my business) will be showing statues at Galaffair on November 3. Galaffair is the ultimate ladies night out. There will be cocktails and snacks, a variety of artists (hey, that's me:) showing their work and the night closes with a comedy show. Check it out at http://www.galaffair.com/. Tickets are only $20.00. I then heard from Christmas in Cloverdale who were glad to have me join their Christmas Craft Fair on November 19th & 20th (http://www.christmasincloverdale.com/). The last venue is a real treat for me as my work is being included with some very established artisans at Rocky Mountaineer Station on October 31st and November 27th and 28th. (http://www.portobellowest.com/) . Some of my work will also be sold at the Comox Valley Art Gallery Christmas Craft Fair during the months of November and December and I am waiting to hear back from Got Craft in East Van on December 5th.
While making the statues and teaching the classes is VERY rewarding these shows take the business to a different level. I am excited and nervous all at the same time, as I am on any new venture (and I've had many:) I also feel strangely attached to the many statues I have made and there will be a bit of sadness (and happiness) if they sell. As each one is created it reveals a little different side of my personality and this has a great deal to do with why I love it so much. If all goes well a little bit of that financial stress will ebb away. I continue to look for new ways to market my classes and to get the statues out there to both sell and advertise and I've been surprised at how much work and how much money this part of the business takes.
All in all, yesterday was the MOST satisfying day business-wise that I've had. I feel proud and nervous and look forward to all of the new people I'm going to meet and the new experiences I'm going to have in my new business. Never a dull moment in Transformer Granny's life:)
