"BE YOU"

Excitingly Squiggles & Dot. has been gaining more support and love! We have new followers on social media and lots of new peeps checking out our site which is AWESOME! But for those of you who don't know much about us, I thought it would be useful to share our posts from the 7 day 'BE YOU' Indie Roller Instagram challenge! This was a fab challenge to tell you about my little biz, where we came from, where we hope to go, and the good times & the bad!!!

DAY ONE - YOU ⚡️🌈

Hello 👋🏻!! I’m Georgia, the designer and creator of@squiggles_and_dot. I spend most of my time in dungarees with flecks of paint and glue in my hair 🙈. I love collecting things and still don’t like to accept the fact that I’m messy! (It’s easier to tell myself that I just need a BIGGER studio...)

I trained as a psychologist but suffered a life changing accident at work. I now live with a chronic pain condition which has been incredibly hard and a HUGE adjustment🤕. The silver lining ☁️ is that when I unexpectedly had to turn my life around I came back to my passion for all things arts and crafts!

Crafting became my therapy for living with constant pain. Squiggles & Dot. slowly developed from making crafts for my wedding as well as gifts for friends & family, into the little biz you see here ☝🏻.

Although things have been tough I am so lucky because I have an amazing husband, amazing family, amazing friends and my amazing cat 🐱 , all who never stop supporting me.

I love what I do and feel blessed that I have this opportunity to share my love of art and craft. Although things don’t always work out the way you think, if there’s one thing I’ve learnt is to look for the positives and seize it with both hands.

I have a ton of amazing plans for S&D. and have learnt a HUGE amount! I am keeping my fingers & toes crossed that we will be successful 🤞🏻. It may not be easy getting a small business off the ground but either way I’m loving the journey.

Our customers are most important to us and we do everything we can to make sure you love your items. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

DAY TWO - YOUR WORK ⚡️🌈

I absolutely love decoupaging - one of my all time favourite craft mediums ✂️🖌. I just adore how many possibilities there are,- not to mention how amazing products look when they’re finished! 👌🏻 ⭐️💕

Check out some of my favourite makes so far 🔝 . I’m showcasing a bit of everything from decoupaged items, hair accessories, baby & children’s gifts etc!!! It was hard to choose just a few 😳... That said, it’s been really good to take the time to look back at how far my work has come and what I have achieved.

I’m so grateful for all the support from the insta community - you guys are just amazing 💫!!!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

DAY THREE - YOUR WORK SPACE ⚡️🌈

So this is where the magic happens - my craft haven 🙌🏻🎨💫!!!

This is certainly THE most used room in our flat. I’m so lucky to have a dedicated space and I absolutely love it 💕⭐️. In fact if I had to choose I would probably choose my craft room over my bedroom. I even have a spot for my craft companion (my cat) - she likes to climb up the back of my chair or snooze on the printer while I work 😹😹😹

I’d love to keep it clean and tidy all the time but I find that so tricky when I’m actually creating 🌈!! (Scroll across to see what I mean 🔝🤦🏻‍♀️) It’s filled with so many treasures and I just like to have EVERY item all out at once - not the most practical strategy but that’s me!!

DAY FOUR - SUPPORT NETWORK ⚡️🌈

Honestly there just aren’t enough hand prints to represent all the amazing people in my life. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am now without my unbelievable safety net.

It’s just incredible to think of all the people you meet along the way, who you connect with and who makes such an enormous difference to your life.

So this is a HUGE shout out to my exceptional husband, my wonderful family & extended family, and, my truly amazing friends. Not to mention all the awesome support from all the people following my little business!!! THANK YOU!!! 💕💯

The past 10 years have been the BIGGEST rollercoaster and I really never imagined getting to this point. You all overwhelm me and I value each and every one of you. It’s something I should say more often - I love you tons & tons & tons. I won’t make a list but you all know who you are...❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

DAY FIVE - CHALLENGE ⚡️🌈

For me the biggest challenge is managing my disability at the same time as the business side of S&D. 🙅🏻‍♀️📉🤦🏻‍♀️

The making & creating is the best distraction from chronic pain so I spend most of my time doing that (which obviously I LOVE 🎨🖌🌈💫)- it’s the best escape. BUT, when my pain levels get too high grrrrrr!!! 😖🧨💥 And sadly this is a daily thing I experience,- I just reach a point where I can’t do ANYTHING (thank goodness for Netflix... 📺❤️)

I find that I loose all patience for anything involving proper concentration. 🙄👉🏻 So that’s emails, website management, organisation, social media posts - even keeping in touch with family and friends. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a tendency to completely withdraw and zone out when my pain flares up (& everyone is amazingly patient about it). 🙌🏻😘

The problem is when you’re starting a business it’s so important to be consistent, stay engaged & be social, and generally just keep things ticking a long. It is something that I’m working really hard on at the moment. ✅

I’m trying to be more organised, working during my best hours, keeping lists and having things pre-planned for those rubbish days when I can’t get out of bed at all 🛌⏰⛔️. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress!!!

One thing I found really helpful was the awesome planning tips from @small.biz.helper (who are awesome BTW!!!) They recommend to do lists that contain: 3 must dos, 2 should dos and 1 nice to do per day. So simple and easy to do👌🏻✏️🗒. Something I’m very much trying to adopt!

How do you overcome your challenges, stay motivated and not procrastinate? 🙀 I would love to know any useful hints & tips from you guys!!! 💌👌🏻⭐️

DAY SIX - CUSTOMERS ⚡️🌈

The prompt for DAY 6 of the@indie_rollerchallenge ⭐️ is for the AMAZING people we just wouldn’t be here without... CUSTOMERS!!!

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Our customers really are most important to us! 😍🌈💗We are hugely grateful for you connecting with us, supporting us and purchasing from us! So here’s a massive THANK YOU from us to you!!! 😘😘

We love to work together with our customers to create beautiful products especially for their occasion. 🖌🎨✂️✏️ Involving customers in our creative process (for custom orders) is the part of my work I love the most! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Check out our review page to see some of the incredible & heartfelt feedback we’ve received so far 💌. There’s nothing more rewarding than happy customers 😆🛍💕

THANK YOU!!

THANK YOU!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

DAY SEVEN - OUR VISION ⚡️🌈

The final day of the #indierollerchallenge and the prompt is VISION 👀🌈✨

.

I want to reach for the stars!!! 🌙💫✨I have so many ideas, hopes & dreams for S&D. I’d like to expand our product lines, learn new crafts & skills, do more digital work, I would love to upcycle more furniture (right now space & storage is a key issue!!!). The list REALLY is endless... 📝 BUT I suppose the ultimate dream would be to cope better living with a disability AND achieving business success 🤞🏻. Ideally I’d love to have my own space to sell our products with a studio in the back that could be used for classes & workshops... Ahhhh wouldn’t that be nice!!! 💭🌈💫

.

Saying that, a couple of years ago I never would have dreamt of the idea of setting up a handmade craft business. 💪🏻🎨🖌So, for now I am content with doing a job I love that is meaningful and wonderful!

❤️❤️❤️ I have the much smaller goal of simply wanting to grow as a business

📈💕👆🏻I’m keeping my fingers & toes crossed!!!

.

I want to give a big thank you 🙌🏻 😘 to all of who made it this far, thanks for reading till the end! Would love to know more about you and hear your comments!!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜