Illustration Life is my weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the studio.
You’ll see, it ain’t all pretty pictures! This series is a summary of the ups and the downs. The good, the bad, the ugly of starting a creative business. Recording the wins and frustrations. I’ll try to keep it brief!
Summary
Boy it’s been a tough week this week. Zac and Jake have now finished for the summer holidays and Daisy is in the final few weeks of nursery before she starts school in September. Things are changing again and I’m feeling unsettled. This among other events has kicked off a migraine.
Every so often I get, what the doctors have termed, a chronic migraine. They last weeks. I feel permanently tired and everything is a real struggle. I crave quiet which in a house of 5 is pretty difficult.
Couple this with a REALLY poor sales week and a quiet inbox. I’m telling myself this is the summer dip I’ve heard people talking about. However, it feels too early for my liking.
OK enough of the moan. In my quest to be positive, let’s look at the wins this week.
Wins this Week
Little By Little
Over on Instagram it was lovely to share jewellery work by Little by Little.
Co-founder Georgina and I had a coffee in Brighton recently and I just had to share their work. They are working with charity Action Against Hunger, who work to save the lives of malnourished children around the world.
Brilliantly, Little by Little donates funding from sales of their beautiful ethical jewellery to pay for a day’s supply of therapeutic food to nurse an acutely malnourished child.
The image above is the ‘Seville’ necklace. Inspired by Seville oranges. I couldn’t find any seville oranges so tangerines would have to do! All in a good cause.
Botanical Alphabet
The botanical alphabet I’ve been working on is finally finished. I’m now designing a range of personalised monogram phone cases, notebooks, cushions etc. I’ll be sharing more on social media this week so stayed tuned 
Airheads
There’s also the airheads series. Because I can be one sometimes
More on this but I’ve proved the concept works and made myself smile in the process. What do you think?
Illustration Giveaway
There’s a limited edition print of my portrait illustration ‘Sonia’ up for grabs. She featured on the front cover of the beautiful Estila magazine. Read more about the illustration giveaway and how to enter over here.
Frustrations This Week
Samples!
Creating designs for products means ordering samples of products. Paying out for samples is fine, until they go wrong/aren’t very good/the supplier is hopeless. I have a buffer budget for sampling but it’s dwindling fast. Supplier advice? Let me know.
Migraines
As mentioned, migraines and lack of energy. In order to counteract the effects, I’ve started a morning yoga routine again, cut out dairy (including my beloved chocolate) and alcohol. Fingers crossed this will help.
Inbox Woes
Again, as mentioned, a quiet inbox. Grrr this one is difficult! I’m working on so many ideas at the moment but they aren’t ready to release yet. I’m creating a shop on this website, designing this months e-newsletter etc etc. However that September deadline I talked about in last week’s post #28 is looming. Perhaps I should extend it to Christmas?
And Finally
I’ll be sending out July’s newsletter very soon. This includes a free high-res print to download for subscribers. There’s still time to sign up here.
And if you’re a designer, maker or creative trying to make a living from your work, or achieve goals, feel free to share your journey with me. I’d love to hear about your wins AND your frustrations.
Have an inspired day
Georgie x
The post Illustration Life #29: All in a good cause appeared first on Georgie St Clair.