When is the best time to plant a tree? 25 years ago..

When is the second best time to plant a tree? Today!

That is how I feel about my work studio that I have had built. It sits at the bottom of my garden in a disused corner plot and each morning I feel like a fairy going about her daily business with squirrels, birds and a pond full of fish for company.

I have been self employed for 20 years now and over this time I have rented a bricks and mortar shop for my florist shop (training wheels in business) and subsequent work spaces for The Sarky Cow. Each of them have come with their own unique set of problems and benefits.

But my new studio is just in a league of its own. It has no problems and only benefits. I wish I would have had this moment of absolute genius back in the beginning but then I wouldn't have learnt all the business lessons I did I suppose, so the phrase, 'all good things comes to those who waits', is very relevant in this era of my work life.

The project started in the Autumn of 2024 which involved cutting down some trees (I know, savage, my heart truly bled) and creating a solid ground for my lil new house at the bottom of the garden. After some curveballs and several skips, it emerged as a truly creative space for me to work in.

I can be seen at 7.30 every morning, meandering over with my reading glasses, phone charger and coffee to start my day. After answering messages to customers, I either complete outstanding orders from the night before or I dive straight into getting into the orders you lovely lot of have left for me.

As a self confessed news junkie, I let this take up a good portion of my day but I always slot in some creative vlogs, some educational videos and some history documentaries. I have always been a bit nerdy over WW2 so anything pertaining to that era is particularly interesting to me. However, you can sometimes catch me dancing to some 80s anthems in between all of this serious stuff whilst getting on with creating my designs.

I have some candles in there for the mandatory 'ambience' but I have to confess that a joss stick is my go to for smells, there is often a hint of sandal wood in my space creating a bohemian atmosphere, if such a thing exists. I know, cheesy', but that's me and I make no apologies.

I took my time designing the workspace and had several layouts in mind. As I was moving into a smaller space than my office, it turned out that size truly did matter. With this in mind I split the workspace into several stations to include a packing station, a desk space and individual spaces for mugs and notebooks. Each come with their own machinery so efficiency was an absolute essential. Whilst, 'creatively practical', is my middle name, I do have one quirk and that is that I cannot work facing a wall, I have to have my back facing one so I did have to take this into account.

The colour just had to be green, mainly because I have become obsessed with green lately but also because I felt it really did lean into the rustic garden we have built over the years. That, combined with the new colour scheme I had injected into The Sarky Cow... I had to wonder, was there actually any other option really?

I have honestly never been this happy before. I am a pretty positive person where work is concerned, even when things get tough but to say that this is the happiest I have been is an understatement and that is because I work in the nicest most cozy space I could imagine.

So, now you know where I am and how I feel when I am making you that mug you ordered for your mum or the notebook you ordered for your granddaughter. I am in a happy place and I hope this really translates into the designs I create for you.

I never wanted to be a faceless person on the internet, I always wanted to be something 'a bit more special' and I hope this goes some way to showing you a behind the scenes peek that proves the opposite

Thanks for reading my rambles..

Until the next time.

Toodles

P xx