oops.
i told you i would share with you today.
and i was going to. but then i got scared…
so i figured i’d wait, and then i read through my post from yesterday and realised that er.. i said i would. sooo here is what i have been working on lately
some photo girls*!
the idea had been brewing for a while, deb had discussed it with me… but i kept waiting for the inspiration. sketching things out and i just couldn’t see it. i was going for flowy and delicate- until she mentioned ‘charlie‘ as a friend to the camera girl- and then the fire was lit!
some girls were inspired by some of my friends, and other girls just are.
so why was i scared to share?
oh because i’m silly.
because this journey is crazy.
because i’m dramatic delicate and irrational fragile.
i started thinking of opening my etsy shop about a year ago. it took a few months of persuasion from my lovely, sweet, patient, reassuring friends.
it’s a funny thing though, and i wrote about it before i opened the shop- how i was more scared of success than i was of failure.
well, because failure is just easier, isn’t it? it’s lazy and comfortable and there is nothing scary about it. (unless you are investing tons of money in it.. which.. if you are investing money you don’t have- don’t.)
and success is… well. AMAZING… it’s overwhelming and silly and makes me all shy.
success to me at first was selling something to one person outside of my family/friend circle.
and then success became the stories that i got back from the people who bought my pieces. knowing where it was hanging in their home. knowing who it was for. knowing their plans for it, the gifts that came to them with it… that is a powerful success…(don’t be shy. tell your photographers and artists. they love it.)
and now, success is finding myself through this process… looking around at where this has brought me in such a short amount of time. the people that i have worked with. the friends that i have made. the things that i have learned. trying to find a balance between business and creator. (my ‘balance’ is just finding really amazing, patient friends who believe in me… and help me sort out my thinking out loud.freak outs. and are better at managing business… they are sweet sweet gifts and often come with their own muse. la la laa)
–
so enough about that.
i know that you have had an idea that you have wanted to try. it might be a bit risky. you might have had your heart set on it for weeks and months or even years. or you might have just thought of it now while you pretended to read my mumbling.
and i want to tell you….
do it.
have an idea. write it down. get a notebook and think it all out.
gather your support. your friends that will push you on, and also friends/partners that will help ground you when you start getting frazzled and scared.
set some goals.
figure out what success means to you.
stay humble about it. always.
and find confidence in yourself. it will come… and it will go. and this is why your support is such an important part. oy vey.. the amount of pep talks i have to have sometimes. it’s quite embarrassing. but that’s okay! because i get to be that for them too.
don’t take it too seriously. but do. that makes a lot of sense… don’t take it too seriously as in- don’t expect tons of things to happen quickly, don’t expect to get it right at first, don’t expect to be perfect.
but do take it seriously- treat your dreams as possibilities. nourish them, love them, and help them grow.
do it. this is your sign.
*photo girls are currently not available in my etsy shop. i am hoping to have them in soon, however- i cannot garuntee them to be in time for christmas. you have a pretty smile though. i like it.
10 Comments
I love your “camera girls”…esp how you’ve individualized their cameras in additon to their personalities. Lovely work!!!
Those girls are awesome!!!
Oh Erin, Beautiful wonderful, inspirational Erin
“i know that you have had an idea that you have wanted to try. it might be a bit risky. you might have had your heart set on it for weeks and months or even years. or you might have just thought of it now while you pretended to read my mumbling.
and i want to tell you….
do it”
I do have an idea. Something that is so tied to my heart and my brain right now, and has been for two years. An ambitious project. Art and activism and writing. I think part of a path to my future. And I’m scared to death. And I have no time. And I need someone to collaborate with. and, and, and – I have a million other excuses as to why this only exists in my mind and in my journal…
thank you for this slice of encouragement.
PS: Can we do made to order camera girls?
Well..since you asked. I bought your baby bumblebee print so I could frame it and give it to my sister. I hope she will hang it in her babies’ nursery to remind them that they’re always loved.
Love these camera girls!!!
I agree about what you said about success. For a very long time in my life, I ran into failure because I was kinda forced to follow a path I didn’t choose myself (law). Then, one day, I woke up and I was done with failure. I decided that I’m going to be successful and I wanted to be the only person responsible for it, so I decided to start my own photography business (something I really love). I don’t want to be forced to do things I hate anymore. I’m a grown-up, I choose my own path. Even if I fail, it will be my choice. But I won’t fail because I beleive in me.
love the photo girls…Love, Love, LOVE!!!
wow. thank you!!!
{amazing post & gorgeous photo girls}
erin, i found you via boho girl…what beautiful paintings you create. loved the mama and child you made her. and your camera gals are great! thank you for this post. it came at just the perfect moment of my own creative journey.
warmly, s
yup, you are awesome
you are a contast for me
you have more creative, sensitive juices flowing through you than anyone i know.
i always find inspiration to be better when i read your words and see your art.
xoxoxx…
can i love you without knowing you? yep. thank you for the heart filled shares. I know they are scary.. and putting your art out there is doubly so. But the more we do, the more we encourage the deepest and best from each other…the sweeter life is for all.
a hug to you for being that encourager for me tonight.