Don't 'should' yourself into unhappiness, Tanith

Another exciting thing coming up is that I am spoiling myself (in a very sensible way) with a new look for my little bud of a business.

It was only a few months ago that I took my first hats down to Gail's shop. At this time, I couldn't justify spending money on professional help for a business that might be going nowhere. So I drew the rowan leaves myself for signs and the blog, and settled for the free business card option (and some printed-myself-at-home ones before they arrived).

Now, with the profits from my first sales in my pocket, I have hired a graphic designer.

This brings it's own problems.

Decisions need to be made.

Here come the shoulds and the shouldn'ts and the can'ts.

"You're a milliner, your business image should be sophisticated and elegant"
"You can't have cute silly pictures along with elegant formal fashion items"
"You shouldn't post about soft toys or Christmas decorations or geeky illustrations"
"You should present a fashionable image"

These thoughts jostle around in my head.

A moment of revelation comes.

DON'T FIGHT THE CUTE!

I love cute stuff! I love fluffy animals! I love lame maths jokes! I love the tackiest Christmas ornaments you can imagine! Darnit it's who I am! I want to pursue what I want to pursue!

Having a formal posh branding image will only make me feel bound to it. It will stifle my casual writing style. It will stop me from experimenting with fun new things that appeal to me. It will make me feel like I'm pretending to me someone I'm not. So I'm not going to do it. I'm going to be me.

Don't fight the cute. Embrace the cute.

New graphics are coming.

Expect cute.