Dream chasing

Where did January go? I forgot to get organised. But it's more important than ever that I do. I have 7 months of maternity leave left. In another lifetime that would have sounded like forever, but in this one, I know it will pass in the blink of an eye.

The thing is, I do.not.want.to.go.back.to.work. As in, back to the office, all day. But I need to earn money. Unfortunately I am not independently wealthy (bugger it), and while we're doing just fine right now, the maternity pay will run out, and things will be tougher.

So, I need a plan. And as someone who in a former life makes money from strategic planning, I ought to be able to do this, right? Somehow it's always more difficult when it's your own life. And, when - like me - you're slightly risk averse.

I have some options. I could try to get some freelance consulting work. I could very easily help small businesses to get their marketing strategies off the ground. I could work with them on business planning. I could do some press releases, write some marketing pieces, that kind of thing. But where do the clients come from? I don't have the time at the moment to really get out there and pound the pavement for work.

What do I really want to do? I'd love to make a real go of it with millinery. At the moment I do no marketing or advertising or other 'salesy' stuff, and I still manage to get orders almost weekly. I'd love to do it properly. After all, the racing carnivals happen every spring and winter, and women get married every week.

To do it properly, I'd need a stack of supplies, a steamer, a website, tags, labels, packaging, product photography, some cash for a bit of advertising / promotion, and - this is the main thing - some guts to get out there and get some stockists. Oh, and a loan. Not much. I could probably get everything I need for about $5K, and most of that would go on a website (oh, how I wish I had skills in that area).

Can I afford to take the risk? Can I really borrow cash to do something that feels a bit self-indulgent? What happens if it doesn't work out and then I've wasted time and still owe someone somewhere money.

But what if I don't? I'd hate to have that kind of regret. I want to be a good role model to my boys. I want them to be surrounded by strong women who are brave enough to chase their dreams and create some financial independence. And of course, working at home would give me the flexibility I need to raise my boys the way I want to.

So *gulp* February is decision time. It's now or never. Am I just chasing rainbows, or can I really do this?

Wish me luck.

And they're off and racing

I LOVE the Melbourne Cup Carnival.


Being a milliner, it's all about the hats and headpieces for me.


And being a bit of a purist, Derby Day is my favourite. But there's something about Melbourne Cup Day and all the colours of the rainbow that come out in celebration.

But because I've been pregnant nearly all year, I haven't been able to do much hat-making: the chemicals were best avoided.

I have, however, taken a couple of last minute orders and managed to finish them off, as well as make myself something to wear.


And in celebration of the fact that this is the first year since I finished uni that I haven't had to work on Melbourne Cup Day, I've invited some girlfriends over tomorrow. We all have new or nearly new babies, so it will be an interesting afternoon with about 13 little ones here, but I'm very excited.


Maybe next year - when they're a bit more mobile - we'll race the children.. hee hee

xx

More millinery

Last year I made some headpieces for designers showing at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival, and this is a pre-festival press piece from the Brisbane News that a couple of my pieces were lucky enough to be included in.

Mine are the first two headpieces - the scrunched gold leaf and the purple jinsin sculptural one. The gold one is paired with a Julie Grbac frock - and for those of you who were as obsessed with Australian Project Runway as I was, then I'm sure you can understand how exciting that was!

Source: Brisbane News

Milliner and Mama?

I make hats. I love it. I don't think enough people wear them (myself included!) but every time I take an order, my heart smiles. I make lots of bridal pieces, lots of things for the races, and silk flowers silk flowers silk flowers!

It's a gorgeously relaxing meditative hobby, and I love the time I spend with my fabrics, scissors, ribbons, felts, blocks and the most wonderful antique french flower tooling set.

I hope that I will still have some time to do this when my little ones arrive. I'm sure I won't for the first few months, but at least I know my things will be there when I emerge from my new baby bubble.

Here is a photo montage of a small range of my head pieces. Enjoy!