TGI 2017!

I am really glad that 2016 is over.  Although good things happened, too many unsettling things happened as well.  It's time to start fresh, and January is the best time to do that.

I don't like referring to a list of "resolutions" because I feel like it then becomes doomed to fail.  So, based on my guiding principal of simplicity, here are my goals and aspirations for the new year:

1)  Simplify Yet Bolster My Social Media Presence

Many Creative Gifts has a Face Book page (please come "like" the page ;-), a Twitter feed (of course come follow us too!), Instagram photos, etc., etc., but I post and tweet and whatever quite randomly.  This year, I'm going to methodically spruce up my page on each media platform and then try to utilize it effectively.  I've come across some great checklists and tips on Pinterest (oh, we are there as well) and posted them to my "Small Business Tips" board.  Well it's time to go old school, print some of those babies out, and get cracking!

2)  Simplify Yet Enhance My Product Offerings

I've always just created what I've felt like making, then posted the pattern on Ravelry and sometimes the actual sample on Etsy.  But I haven't paid attention to sales analytics, etc., like I really should.  I want to offer items that people want to buy or make themselves!  I still think it's a good idea for me to concentrate right now on crocheted and knitted baby wear and build out my Classic and Colorful Collections (but I'm sure I'll get distracted by other projects as well); I just need to be sure I'm offering what buyers are wanting.  That's why I participated in two holiday bazaars this year, so that I could do some market research.  Unfortunately, the turnout was very low at both due to very rainy and icy weather both days, so I'm not sure I really took away much insight from the experiences (except how to set up and break down a display table efficiently, which is a good lesson to have come away with).  I think I'll have another chance in February for a special Valentine's pop-up shop.  I anticipate that online sales will continue to be my focus and hopefully concentrating on #1 above will help as well.

3)  Simplify Yet Enrich Each Day

It's amazing how easy it is to fritter away time in unproductive and ultimately unsatisfying ways!  There's plenty of time in a day to do the things that you want to do IF you are willing to give up the game apps, email scrolling, and all the other time-sucking activities that we all do.  Now, I'm a firm believer in mindless activities, we all need to take some down time, but it all needs to be managed.  And, I know what you're thinking: "But it's just 5 or 10 minutes, what else could I do with that time?" The answer is plenty.  Ten minutes of exercising your abs is better than 10 minutes of exercising your finger!  Or, more importantly for me, 10 minutes of activities that help me achieve #1 and #2 above is what I need to be doing.  As painful as it is, I think the only way I'm going to be able to direct my attention to worthwhile apps (like a book app or an educational coding one) is to delete the others (taking comfort in knowing that they remain in the App Store for future downloading again if I get desperate).  But unplugging might be the best way to simplify:  truly making use of the "power of an hour" concept by exercising for 20 minutes, meditating for 20 minutes, and learning for 20 minutes.  Back to basics!

I hope my yearly process of closing out one year and getting ready for the next has been helpful to you as well in contemplating your courses of action.  There's no right or wrong way to do any of this, just be sure you're making conscious decisions, not passively following habits you no longer need or want :-)  Here's to an amazing 2017!

Simplicity

Ah, the holiday season is upon us again.  Hard to believe 2016 is almost over and a new year is about to begin.  I always try to have a post at the end of the year reviewing how things went and a post at the beginning of the new year setting goals and aspirations.

This year posed many challenges again, but as I look back at the first post of the year, I feel like I might have done better than I thought...  Although my first goal, a realistic and meaningful blog post schedule, wasn't fully accomplished with respect to consistency, I hope it was successful in providing helpful and interesting information.  And I sure had fun trying some new techniques, like short row heels on socks.  Most of all, though, I do think that the crochet (and knitting) lifestyle is worth exploring.  I made a point of doing a little stitching each day (or some creative endeavor), and I hope to continue to incorporate the concept of "the power of an hour" into my day (more on that to come!).

What possibilities might 2017 hold for me?  Well, please return in January to find out, but I'll leave you with one thought that has been going through my mind a lot lately:  simplicity.  We live in a very complicated world, and the information overload can be overwhelming.  As the commercialization of Christmas is evident once again, I keep coming back to "simplicity" as a guiding principle in gift giving, some early spring cleaning I've been trying to do, and how I've been choosing to spend my time.  I think it might end up being just the right theme for me in crochet design as well.

So, as 2016 draws to a close, please accept my happiest wishes to you for a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holiday Season, and a New Year filled with new possibilities and adventures.  And meet back here in 2017!

Roots

I went to a birthday party last weekend for a very special little one-year old.  It was so much fun to watch him eating his cake and playing with his friends.  The ways that children entertain themselves and each other is so fascinating.  What was also very interesting was the birthday boy's reaction to his gifts and the other children's reactions.  A number of the gifts were quite high-tech -- lots of flashing lights, buttons to push, sounds and songs warbling out of the speakers.  He played with them briefly, showed them to his friends, who poked at them as well, but then attention was drawn to other things or the boxes in which the gifts came!  One of the gifts that seemed to have the most impact was a simple set of building blocks.  They were made of a special hard foam that's environmentally friendly and non-hazardous, which made them prime for the chewing and drooling that was going on. 

It got me thinking about the expression "going back to basics" or "going back to one's roots."  I always then think of a tree, with its roots digging deep into the ground, unseen but oh so important in terms of the health and stability of the tree! 

So, what's this got to do with anything?!  I'm still working on my new website, probably because I've been letting myself get caught up in some bells and whistles that I thought would be cool to have on there.  But, attending the birthday party has reminded me how important it is to keep it simple.  Simplicity doesn't mean amateurish, not elegant, or without functionality; it just means that there's a good reason for each element being adopted, that it is centered around the mission and purpose of the site and that it imparts information in a clear and communicative way.  So, back to the drawing board to pare things down and to keep it simple.  Ah, I feel better already and hope to launch very soon!