05/06/2026
Collector: noun. Finds joy in forgotten treasures.
Small business is not for the faint of heart. The workload is intense. You will need to do so many things that are outside your comfort zone and beyond your abilities. You will be pulled in so many directions - for me - a physical shop I work, an online shop I built and mange, teaching, workshopping, hosting other creative artists, creating new and beautiful textile art and then writing the patterns. Caring for the community you build and somehow being a social media manager. It is A LOT!
You will make mistakes and you will trust where you shouldn’t. You will put everything you have into it and often that won’t be enough. Yesterday (and to be completely honest today and probably tomorrow) I would love to walk away from the small business I have built from scratch. However I won’t (and can’t - there is a mortgage to pay). Small things mean the world when I feel like this - yesterday a customer told me she could see the love in every corner and display of the shop and she adored the collections displayed. I also received the most beautiful email from a quilter about one of my patterns, the way it is written and the style. I’ve worked long and hard to develop my own unique voice as a quilt designer and to know that it is recognised, in a world where others ‘borrow’ with no shame, made me feel a little lighter.
I think that small business bears a lot of similarity to my experience as a mother. You love beyond any words to express the intensity, you worry constantly, your pride is immense, it is relentless. 90% of the time it is incredibly wonderful and the other 10% is the absolute pits.
P.s I am stronger than I know. I share because this is where connection comes from, not just shiny happy edited photos. It’s the real and the grit and I am here for it. I hope you are too x
