Hey there Folks!

Hope 2013 is treating you well, it certainly is me!

Since my last journal where I was still recovering from Uni, after several months of looking for jobs I managed to get two dream jobs in one hit! In November my good friend From Uni introduced me to a company called Dempsey Designs and I've been doing commissioned work to design and make some soft toys to be added to a line called Mini Craft Kits

http://www.dempseydesigns.com/Minicraft.htm

I've done two so far, and will be going to Craft Hobby and Stitch fare at the NEC (near Birmingham) next Monday to meet the lady I've been working for.
http://www.chsi.co.uk/
Sorry I can’t show you the actual plushies I’ve been working on, but will as soon as I get the all clear from my Client ;). This work has taught me a lot on making effective patterns quickly via photoshop, and working to a deadline, hopefully I shall be able to speed up the process further in the future!
Thanks to one of my Lecturers I also succeeded in getting a Christmas temp job in a Comic book store! Not only did I make a living, but it also realised I enjoy working in a team, and built my confidence in my own abilities.
I and my Boyfriend have been looking since Easter last year for a home together, but with no luck; houses are pricey around London. So I am still yoyo-ing between London and Norwich, but at least Coventry is out of the equation now. It’s hard though since the only people I know in Norwich are my immediate family, and the majority of my friends are based in the south of England.
A big (sincere) thank you to the Job centre for setting me up with the Shaw-trust,
http://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/
who instead of just trying to push me into any job, have been actively guiding and encouraging me in my ambition to be self-employed. They have provided me with a mentor, and I have been researching and reading up on how best to set up my business online (I have a whole bibliography I could post here, but I’ve already spent enough time on this Journal for today).
I have settled for the name Loucathwil - for those of you that know me for my plush work, know that I enjoy making the OCs of others, but I would also like to start selling my own designs but am struggling with how to brand and market myself. It’s been 6 years now and don’t even have a logo or theme. And I have barely touched the loucathwil facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Louc.....04334046265642
These three artists are what I aspire to be like with my work. I love how they have created their theme and brand identity. I wish I could do that, but I’m too afraid of making mistakes.
http://missmonster.myshopify.com/
http://remjie.com/
http://www.nonesuchgarden.com
As well as this venture, I have a burning desire to create a comic of sorts. Occasionally I sketch autobiographical situations and post them on my tumblr
http://lateral-thinker.tumblr.com/ - one such example http://lateral-thinker.tumblr.com/i.....ge/24360157049 - not great but it’s a start.
Tumblr is an uphill struggle for me however, as I spend more time on there ‘liking’ and following the posts of others, than I do working on my own. I also constantly have to fight the urge to repost doodles of Hawkeye contorting himself!
I am tired of Lurking. Even playing video games feels too passive for me these days, and I must keep my hands and brain busy.
So I have taken up some great new hobbies:
Listening to audio books is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and it helps me maintain focus whilst doing commission work! So far I've listened to Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall by Spike Milligan and two discs of Fear and Loathing in las Vegas By Hunter S Thompson. I am at the moment listening to Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and enjoying every moment of this dizzy and paradoxical ordeal!
Also I’m getting to grips with knitting, and one day when I have time I shall tray out some of the recipes from this baking book I got from work
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zombie-Ate-...../dp/1908862068
Also, I want to have a better regularity in the way I work out (which works out at roughly once a month at the moment), and am looking into running, have bought a bookazine titled ‘running for beginners’. I was supposed to start this hobby today, but instead decided to write some carefully written emails, and this journal.
Perhaps one day I shall stop researching everything before I do it and just go ahead and do it!
All the best you guys, and thank you for the support

Lou xxxx
p.s. I’m so glad I saved this in a word doc, it took me about 6 hours to write up