Happy New Year! May 2017 bring you health, prosperity and good times! *insert emoji with sunglasses*
Instead of doing another more general recap like the one I did for the #12 months of DIY series // here // I thought I’d share 5 things that are inspiring me for 2017. Partly as a way to set the tone for the year ahead, but also as a way to show where I’ve come from.
It’s also the time of the year where I’m sharing my reader survey // here // and I would love love love if you could take a minute to complete it. I did it myself and timed it, it took me 1min 27 secs. and that’s with the long form question being thoroughly answered.
You can find my survey // here //
*The following product links contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting the brands that make PMQ for two possible. For my full policies click // here //
1. Grace Bonney’s In The Company Of Women
Wow. I spotted this book on the shelf in Indigo while I was doing some Christmas shopping (because book shopping is the best) and then quickly balked at the price. However after flipping through it and reading a few of the profiles I was convinced I had to buy it.
It’s a collection of inspiring advice from over 100 makers, artists and entrepreneurs. It’s formatted sort of like a proust questionnaire, and the questions vary a little from profile to profile. It’s been sitting on my bed side table since Christmas and I read a few profile every evening before bed.
I love the strength behind these women, their candidness, and the advice they have is bang-on. The most common one to date is “get the money first.” My first thoughts were not nearly as eloquent, and probably along the lines of “shiiiiit, a hooker coulda told me that!” but then I remembered that as makers and small business owners all too often people try to take advantage of us, or offer us crappy terms and most of us agree to them. Getting paid up front is a nice way of saying “value yourself, because no one else will do it for you.”
2. Tiffany Pratt’s This Can Be Beautiful
I heard her speak this fall at Blog Podium in Toronto. She was inspiring to say the least. She didn’t come at us with tired ideas or advice that makes you go “wut?” instead, she tried to inspire us, and shared ideas on how we can be more present in our creative process.
I liked the anecdote she shared about how if you send her your blog or your instagram account, she won’t look at it. *honest, brutal truth right there* Not because she doesn’t like what you’re doing or respect your hustle, but because she choses to create on her own, free from comparison to others or in relation to what they do. Tiffany is Tiffany.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of her book before it was released this fall, and I spent a few hours perusing it and really thinking it through. I even did one of her projects for my Christmas entertaining- I spray-painted a punch bowl!
Worth picking this book up f you’re looking for some fresh and colourful DIYs that are heavy on the whimsy and glitter.
3. New colours and inspirations: pulling from fashion and nature
This past year I pulled a lot of inspiration from objects: things with vibrant colours, lots of thick heavy gloss, and more than a fair share of glitter. I loved it! However I’m expanding my colour repertoire, and delving into deeper and richer tones. In 2016 I tested the waters with jewel tone colours with our living room built-ins // here // and our master bedroom // here //, and I loved it! So much so, that as I move forward in my design journey, I’m looking to fashion and nature for more inspiration this year. The colours are truer, less likely to be based in a trend, and will reflect their environment well.
If you ever need a greater indication of what’s inspiring me, follow my I N S P I R A T I O N board on Pinterest // here //.
4. My online community
I work from home, alone. Well, not completely alone. All my colleagues and business partners are online. I frequently spend an entire day without actually using my voice to speak to someone. I’ll have had several conversations and discussions online in a given day, but because my community is so vibrant and engaging I never feel alone.
The women makers around me continue to inspire me on the daily, and I know that life as a maker and entrepreneur would be very different without them. Here’s to move late night wine and popcorn parties in our hotel rooms during conferences, and late night chats in Facebook groups while waiting for the ORC link-up to go live.
5. My hands
I use them to do everything. They are my tools, my power and what allow me to make the connection between what’s in my head and what I want to create. I enjoy making and doing, so 2017 will be no different. I will continue to make and to do, and to maybe moisturize the old gals every now and then.
I want to quickly take this time to thank all the brands that worked with me in 2016. I couldn’t have made 2016 the year it was without you! And thank you to all of my readers for supporting me through a move, some colour corrections and my first ORC! You guys are the real reason PMQ for two works.
Don’t forget to do my reader survey // here //
