It’s hard to take the time to slow down and write a year end retrospective – when I have plenty of worthy and fantastic things I want to get to!
And not all of it is fantastic, actually – well, at the very least some of the things I get to do are bittersweet. As I type this, my kitty Mable slumbers next to me. She had her leg removed in the summer for an aggressive cancer. She recovered well and has been doing so beautifully – but this week we discovered two more large masses in her abdomen. We are giving her good care and have an appointment with the oncologist, but we are fearing the worse.
So I take this opportunity – while my cat purrs beside me – to write out my accomplishments (as best I can remember them!) in 2022.
I was featured in the New York Times.
This is one of those cases where just looking at the other experts included, I realize how far I have come and how accomplished I am. I am happy not only to be featured – but more importantly, I am proud of what I had to share because my messaging – ethics and sustainability – comes through loud and clear! Bonus: the author (who did an impressive amount of research for this article!) did not misgender me, and that is deeply meaningful because sadly being overlooked and/or disliked for being non-binary, is still very much a part of my life.
My work walked the red carpet at the American Film Institute Fest.
That’s right. A year after getting a working chainstitch machine my chainstitch work walked the red carpet! I am so honored to say I was asked by author Camille DeAngelis – the author of Bones and All, made into an award-winning horror film this year – to create her red carpet look. Camille is a wonderful person in so may ways, an amazing author and a passionate vegan. I have so much I could say about this project – too much to write here! So what I want to express in this short blurb is both my gratitude that Camille chose me, and my pride that I created a piece typically made using wool and silk – and I created the piece from vegan materials. This – from a technical and style standpoint – is a feat of which I am enormously proud!
I took an art class.
I am putting this way up on the list because this is another example of risk-taking that paid off. In one sense taking a scholarship-funded community college drawing class seems pretty low-stakes. In another way: no, no it is not. I set off to do this thing even though I was sure I’d be the worst in the class. That takes balls! As it turned out the assignments and all my hard work helped me so much – from a technical perspective but far deeper than that – and I’m glad I jumped on my impulse and enrolled. I did great work; I ended up with a low B – honestly I think I deserved better! – and I had a wonderful, wonderful time. I am grateful to my instructor – and to myself, for taking this on.
I completed Yoga Teacher Training.
I’ve wanted to take Yoga Teacher Training for a chill decade. This year, I did it. As I round these final days into 2023 I am building my little yoga site, setting up in-person classes (I’ve been teaching on Zoom all year), and looking forward to what I’ll learn in building yoga community. I will have more to say about yoga – and a mailing list, if you’re interested in joining – but I’m very proud of myself for putting my effort where my values are!
I changed my entire perspective on social media.
This is another “no money earned, but life changed” kind of thing. Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter and Facebook have all been headed to the toilet store of late and for a while there IG was really bringing me down. About nine months ago I changed my entire mind about what I wanted – and how to go about getting it – from IG. This is the topic of a whole separate blog post – at least – and I definitely want to share more. But I am here today to say I am a lot happier and I’m not squandering time on toxic social sites, anymore.
I wrote out my fee-fees.
I had a few relationships end – some of them messily – and a few setbacks in this last year and a half (especially after coming out). With caution and as much tact as I could muster, I wrote that shit out. Publicly (or semi-publicly to my Members), I shared what I was going through. I am happy to say that writing this stuff – to an audience, being publicly vulnerable – has been such a wonderful accountability measure. It’s hard to let resentment and darkness fester, when you’ve emptied it out on the public square. I’m recommitting to continuing to write publicly – it served me better than I thought it could.
I committed to two meditation groups.
I joined one in March – and I’ve been there every Tuesday since! – and another just a few weeks ago. This is one of my proudest achievements – to go to meditation group no matter what, no matter how busy I am or how much I’m not feeling the vibe. It took months but meditation has finally seeped in and I can feel the practice making a positive difference in my mental and emotional health. I would never have felt the results, without consistent commitment.
I (carefully as I could) stepped out of a few relationships – or changed them.
Without getting too specific or detailed, I can say this has been some of my hardest work. What is very easy for others – and “common sense” for many – is less so, for me. I typically over-effort for entities and individuals that do not have my best interest at heart. I got myself good and hurt, doing that in 2022! Towards the last half of the year I began to pull back – or change the terms – in a few situations that weren’t working for me. Again: this is the topic of another post, another time! But I share it here because this kind of work is hard. Well, to be more accurate – “I say that because it’s emotionally draining, not because it’s hard”.
I ran two more cohorts of the Whole Enchilada – my business course for ethical Creatives!
I consider my business course to be top-notch, and I am so grateful to have had a second year in a row providing instruction and mentorship to the right students. I still plan on teaching in 2023 – so if you’re interested in learning more, you can sign up for more information here.
I helmed my first full year of the Tiny Horror Hug Club!
This year – my first full year of the Tiny Horror Hug Club – was a bit of a learning curve. I had to contend with the fact that if I need this program to thrive, I may need to market it. And I don’t want to make the time to market it as aggressively as required – I’d rather be making! This was a blow to my ego and I’m not sure what I’m going to do, moving forward. But for now I’m staying the course, and I am creating amazing and unique pieces – providing trans and gender-nonconforming people the euphoric style experience they deserve!
I got my LLC.
This year I made the switch from Sole Proprietor to LLC. This isn’t especially difficult to do but it’s one of those smart decisions to make – and it takes focus and attention to detail. It’s easy to work IN one’s business, but as they say – it’s important to work ON your business as well! Otherwise you’ll let all kinds of factors blow you this way and that.
I researched and made regular donations – just like I’ve done since 2020 (you can see them on this page)!
There is no excuse – zero – for a small business not to start giving back immediately, almost as soon as they incorporate. Few of them ever get around to this. As I said last year – even if it’s just a small donation each month, you’ll never become a real Giver if you don’t start giving right away – and with consistency. If I’m not making generosity a priority from the get-go, I won’t magically transform into that kind of person in the future. So yeah: I’m that kind of person, and once again I proved it this year.
I continue to provide a wonderful community for Creatives through my Discord community
Running my community takes effort, focus, care, and leadership. I’ve had a few nasty experiences that made me want to quit. But I’ve stuck the course! I’m proud of that space – and I know it’s a quality space. In the era of monetizing, affiliateships and aggressive churn models – I’ve helped create and maintain something pure.
I continue to have an impeccable reputation and 5-star reviews on Google business!
I have kept my 100% satisfaction rate!
I hosted a no-cost yoga class each month.
Because it’s no-cost – that means FREE – I’ve had loads of signups and resultant no-shows. But I didn’t quit. Every month I wrote an email, and hosted a class. I’m proud of staying the course! It’s also helped me set up for what I’ll be doing in 2023. I’m glad I didn’t give up!
I emailed and blogged each week.
My strongest desire in emailing each week is to provide nourishment and support to my clients (former or future), but also to stay connected – sharing my experience as an ethical Creative trying to survive late-stage Capitalism. I published wonderful works – and kept pace all year round. This next year I’ll be business-blogging less often, to make time for other things I’m going to do.
I completed all my client projects by December 30th.
Year after year since 2017 I’ve had this goal to finish up all my client work before the New Year rolls around. If you’re a custom maker, you know that often periods of downtime kind of overlap with either client projects or “wish list” projects or that kind of thing. Now I love having projects on the hoof – that means money! – however, there is something to be said for a time where NO ONE has an expectation from me! I accomplished that this year – after several years of trying.
And finally…
I stuck to things that were almost impossibly hard.
Today I mailed out my final client packages of 2022 – one of them included this little tiny thing I promised someone months ago, that was just tricky as hell to finish. Well: finish it I did. In fact where clients were concerned I stuck to what I said I’d do, all year. I even tried to “quit” one project but my client begged me to rally and stick with it. Stick with it I did – making a negative margin (that means: losing money).
But I’m glad I did.
There is nothing that will build character as much as doing what you say you’re going to do.
And now?
Now it’s time for a little rest, a little reflection –
before busting into 2023 on my epic levels of Bullshyte!
