If you're like me, you got home from work today and you were so tired that you accidentally shampooed your hair with lotion (yes, I work on Saturdays, and no, I'm not kidding about the lotion).
Since I am an unemployed lawyer, I am spending the holiday season working a temporary retail job. The work is hard, but I'm lucky enough to be working for an amazing textile designer (honestly, she's so talented it's almost scary). It is a pleasure to work alongside her and help to sell her amazing designs. It's also very inspiring to see a crafter who has really made it as a professional artisan. Designing, creating, and marketing her work are her full-time job. She sells at craft shows, boutiques, and museum stores all over the United States and in several foreign countries. I don't expect to turn my work into a full-time job any time soon, but it gives me hope that I may be able to do so in the future.
As much as I love to crochet it's a struggle not to collapse into bed as soon as I get home from work. Like most crafters, selling the things that I make isn't my only job. Here's a snapshot of an average day for me right now:
I do my best to get up by 8:00 even though I don't have to be at work until noon. I spend a good amount of time looking for a law job online, then turn to managing my Etsy shop. On a good day I'll have made a sale, which leads to gift wrapping, receipt printing, coupon coding, and a brisk walk to the post office with my cute little parcel. I try to post a new item on Etsy every day, but it's very hard to keep up. The next best thing is reposting an item or two in hopes of bumping that item (and consequently, my shop) closer to the top of a few people's searches. I try to squeeze in some photo editing for items that are in the pipeline, or maybe even pre-write a product description or two. By 11:00 I'm usually crocheting away on the subway while precariously wedged between a few large businessman. I try to work on something, whether it's a hat, flower pin, or pair of booties, whenever I have a long train ride (as a bonus, crocheting booties might make people think I'm pregnant so I have a better chance of scoring a seat). I arrive at work at 12:00, ready to spend the next 6 hours engaged in non-stop selling, smiling until my face hurts, and wishing there were a painless way to be on my feet all day. The evening commute provides another good opportunity to crochet. I stumble through the door a little after 7:00 and make an appointment with my dear friend and lovely model, Emily, to take some photos during a few precious weekend daylight hours. By 8:00 I've settled in for more job searching, blogging, business planning, designing, and crocheting.
Sounds busy, right? Don't worry, I still find time for plenty of eating and dawdling. Probably a little too much of both, actually.
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