I had a mini milestone last week on Instagram. I reached 25K followers which was a personal goal and I was very happy to finally reach it! My growth on Instagram I would describe as slow, but steady and definitely a labour of love. Like I said at the Brighton Etsy team Instagram talk last week, Instagram has been a fantastic platform for helping me gain creative confidence but also meet other creative folk. Instagram has even helped me develop my illustration style, by improving my techniques.
Mostly the platform has given me an excuse to take some timeout. When else could I justify taking time to experiment and create? I would tell me family that I’m just taking some time to create ‘a funny little picture’. (This was a phrase coined by my Mum – she clearly didn’t understand what it was all about when I started. However she has since become my biggest fan!). Amazingly the family actually listened and (mostly) left me alone during these creative moments (toddlers are the exception – they wait for no-one especially Mum’s preoccupied with creating the perfect image out of flower petals.)
Saying thanks to Sassy
Since taking this time out, almost daily, for 2 years, I’ve never been so creative. My design and illustration style has really started to emerge into something I’m pretty proud of. Also thanks to Sassy Du Fleur – my glamorous alter ego, I’m having a lot of fun with it. I have big plans for Sassy. She’s going to travel the world at some point. When we both have more time of course.
There’s a great hashtag #doitfortheprocess which is exactly how I feel about the imagery I share on Instagram. Another hashtag that helped me find joy in the creative process alone was @itsmyweek. In the early days I would use their #myweekof……………weekly challenge as a creative prompt. It was also the hashtag where I connected with a lot of other petal loving folk. I’m not sharing as much as I would like to @itsmyweek these days unfortunately, but I would highly recommend this account and hashtag to both new and experienced Instagrammers because the community are so friendly and supportive.
And Finally
What Instagram hashtags have helped inspire you and help you stay creative? I’d love to hear your recommendations.
Have an inspired day
Georgie x
You can find me on Instagram @georgiestclair here
And @itsmyweek here
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