Unfortunate week

Last week I worked like a crazy lady and had a small team of helpers, also working like crazy ladies. This week I’m stuck at home and not happy about it.  I had a stupid accident last week which meant that I had a nasty bump on my head, gash to my eye and a general good bang from falling off a stool.  The bang unfortunately caused the most trouble as by Saturday morning, after an awful night of pain, I couldn’t move. To say I was disappointed about not being able to get to Hepworth Print Fair was an understatement, I was inconsolable . I stayed off the internet all weekend, unable to even see how the event had gone as I knew it would be amazing.

I want to say a huge apology to The Hepworth Wakefield for not being able to attend and to any of my lovely customers who might have been hoping to see me there.

All of this has really hit home the unfortunate side of being self employed. This is something I sometimes grumble about with fellow makers whenever we’re consoling each other about how inconvenient it is to be off work ill. When you are on your own, what can you do? Illness or accident always manages to turn up at the most inconvenient times and you spend your time feeling awful and apologising like crazy to anyone you’ve affected.

It’s really reminded me how isolated I am and makes me look forward even more to having someone else at work on a full-time basis. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have some wonderful helpers in the studio, particularly my work experience students Milly and Bella, who come one afternoon a week and do an amazing job. I’ve also recently found the wonderful Karen who has been making my fabrics into piles of beautiful cushions.  Having someone in the studio full time is really what I need though and if all goes to plan, I’ll have an apprentice start with me from the beginning of August and I can’t wait. I’ve long needed help in the studio, Owen has been filling the gaps for the past 2 years by helping with the printing but it’s now almost impossible to find time he’s not busy as he takes on more and more work. I’ll be training up an apprentice to help with all areas of the business, particularly printing and sewing.

I’ve got another event this Saturday, the St Mary’s Maker Fair on Bramall Lane. My back is already improving and thankfully I’m a little more mobile, I’m no longer stuck upstairs and can now walk around a little without too much pain, so at least I’ll be able to leave the house to make the event.   I hope that some of you will be able to come and visit my stall to see all the new stock, I’ll be posting some images of some of the things I’ll be bringing throughout the week on here, Facebook and Twitter.