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Saturday 10 January 2015

2014 - a year in review


In an attempt to pick myself up and try to get back to business, I've been looking back over 2014, and trying to remember why I do this, and reignite my love for this little business of mine. I'm proud of how much I have achieved this year (and a little bit shocked that I crammed so much into one year that seemed to fly past!) This is now my third year running Ladybird Likes, and whilst I've done lots already, there is still SO much I still want to do. But for now I'm reflecting and regrouping.

I wanted to share with you a few of my highlights from 2014, which were that I;

* had my moon collar clips featured on Doctor Who! A definite career highlight for me, I loved seeing Clara Oswald, the new Doctor's companion, wearing my jewellery on the TV. They were also featured in loads of the promotional photos for the new series, and are now on display at the Doctor Who Experience!


* went on the most incredible holiday to Austin! It's hard being self-employed and going on holiday as you never want to switch off and let go, but this was probably the first time since starting Ladybird Likes that I properly got to relax, and I loved every minute!


* held my first ever jewellery making workshops at SMUG in Islington. I taught a bunch of super awesome ladies to make wooden jewellery, and definitely got the bug for teaching and crafting with others. I can't wait to do more in 2015.


* created a bunch of DIY posts for my blog, including this one to make a vintage letter writing set, and this one to make a folded book photo display.


* got featured in a bunch of awesome magazines, including three awesome features in long-time favourite Mollie Makes, plus a super awesome mention in Frankie magazine.


* made my first ever sourdough bread from scratch and nearly burst from pride (cooking is not my strong point so it's a miracle it wasn't ruined)


* had my first experiences of public speaking about business, which were a huge success! I was invited to talk about various aspects of setting up and running your own business at Spring Fair International, and at the Crafty Fox Talks, which gave me the courage to start giving solo talks too, which I will be continuing into 2015 too.


* Ladybird Likes went to their first ever trade show at Top Drawer. One of the busiest/most stressful periods of my life (don't do a trade show, craft fair, and go on holiday all in the space of a fortnight guys unless you are good running on zero sleep.) But in all seriousness, it was such a good experience, and I loved doing it.


* learnt to knit thanks to my wonderful friend Siobhan, as well as how to crochet a granny square, and to crochet a ripple blanket. I've been working on several crochet projects, and am pretty proud of how far my skills have come in the last year!


* was on the TV! oh yes, little old me and my jewellery bits were on CNBC as part of a news feature about Etsy. It's probably the most nervous I have ever been EVER (I considered not going when I woke up on the day) but it ended up being really fun, and was all over too quickly.


* created tons of new products, including lots of limited edition items for my goodie boxes, and new stationery items too. I absolutely love making new things, and cannot wait to do lots more of it this coming year.

* attended the London Blogcademy, which turned out to be one of the best weekends of my life, and I left feeling so inspired.


* launched Crafty Catch Up Club, providing a monthly meeting for creative people to get together with others who share the same passions. I hope to continue this, and get even more people involved (drop me an email if you want to sign up to the newsletter!)

*was invited to showcase my work at West Elm, as part of an Etsy pop up shop, which was so much fun, and I was honoured to be chosen. I also returned to West Elm a few months later to run a jewellery making workshop for their customers.


2014 was an amazing year, and I feel so lucky and so humbled by it all. Despite all the setbacks I am excited to see what 2015 holds, and to try and make some of my dreams a reality, even if some of them have been put on hold. I'll be sharing my goals for 2015 in the next few days

7 comments:

  1. you've had such great moments, i hope 2015 will be full of those as well! and i never knew about the doctor who thing, how amazing! xx

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  2. What a year full of achievements!! Well done! Its always inspiring to see how a business can be grown so successfully :) xx

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  3. You've had such an amazing 2014 and achieved so much! You should be so proud of everything on this list! I know 2015 hasn't started off the greatest for you but I think and even better studio is going to be around the corner for you (and I really hope you get your money back from the evil landlord) and this year is going to see Ladybird Likes go on to even bigger and better things! Oh and I would LOVE to go to one of your jewellery making workshops and feature it on my blog!

    Kate x
    www.beakupcrafts.co.uk

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  4. Wow, Zoe, what a year! You should be so crazy proud of yourself to have achieved all this! So excited to see what you get up to in 2015, and if you ever get a breather for 5 minutes, I'd love to see you for coffee and to give you a congratulatory hug xx

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  5. WOW! You're such an inspiring woman Zoe!. You did great and you inspire your fans and followers more. I can't wait to see your future blogs. Thank you and keep it up! And I hope you have time to check me out! :)

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