I love my kids. I love them with every inch of my soul, every drop of my existence. They are my inspiration, my reason for being. But I also love dropping them off at pre-school and leaving them there for a few hours, because that's when I get some well-earned 'me time'.
'Me time'. I never seemed to need it before I had kids. Back then, it was 'me time' all the time. I had so much 'me time', I didn't know what to do with it. Frankly, I was bored of it. I was with myself all the time, why should I spend extra time with myself? And when my husband and I were together without kids, we not only had an abundance of 'me time' for ourselves separately, we also had an excess of 'us time'. At one point, we were sick of the sight of each other, we had so much 'us time'.
Now, things are different. 'Me time' is valuable commodity around here. Especially since the kids don't take 3-hour naps anymore in the afternoons. My husband and I battle for 'me time' regularly. Sometimes I will use going to the bathroom as an excuse to get an extra bit of 'me time', when it isn't actually my turn. And I'm convinced my husband will sometimes invent a chore that needs to be done outside in order to steal a bit of 'me time' for himself.
And when I finally do get those few precious hours of 'me time', I blow them. I vacuum, wash dishes, do the laundry, work on mialeentje marketing. 'Me time' isn't supposed to be wasted on household chores and work, is it? 'Me time', I'm sure, is for having a massage or a facial, enjoying fresh flowers, having a laugh, catching up on fashion trends in the latest issue of Elle, that kind of thing.
The thing is, though, that I get all that stuff during my non 'me time', with my kids I mean.
Having a massage, for example: If I should lie down anywhere, the kids see that as an invitation to jump on my back, which is better than any Thai massage you could pay any amount of money for.
As far as a facial goes: having kids pretty much means going around without make-up on anyway, so my face is in such good condition lately, I don't even need one!
As for fresh flowers: My daughter Mia can find a flower within seconds of being outside, with which she'll decorate the house and herself. So I am pretty much surrounded by fresh flowers, even if they are in the form of weeds, every day.
And catching up on fashion trends? To be honest, I never really paid any attention to trends anyway. I prefer to make up my own, and watch what Mia is doing. She is my trend guru when it comes to gathering inspiration for mialeentje.
Come to think of it, who says 'me time' has to be when you're by yourself? I tend to find lots of 'me time' opportunities throughout the day, like when the kids are busy playing in the dirt or when my husband is venting his frustrations about lousy drivers. For a moment, I can enjoy the sound of a breeze rustling the leaves or a particularly pretty birdsong and recharge my batteries until one of the kids get a dirt clot in its eye or my husband realizes I'm only half listening to him. So it was just a few seconds of 'me time', but a valuable few seconds nonetheless!
So, as it turns out, I actually get plenty of 'me time' satisfaction when it's not officially 'me time' at all! I guess I should re-define what I understand to be 'me time'. It's a time to rest, to think, to ponder, to dive into the lake of me... make that a dip my toes in the shallow end of the lake of me (a dive would simply take too long to manage in the few hours the kids are away). No, real deep self-exploration and peace of mind can only be achieved during an extended period of time of 7-9 hours, and the only time I can manage that is when I'm asleep. I guess I'll just have to rely on my subconscious to ensure I get the 'me time' I'm entitled to...
Showing posts with label mamapreneur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mamapreneur. Show all posts
April 23, 2010
April 14, 2010
I've Got Designer Genes.
When I was eleven or so, my dad and I were having one of those talks about what I was going to be when I grew up. I don't remember exactly what I said to him, but I remember at one point he told me I had 'designer genes'. I remember being shocked, since I was sure I didn't own a pair of designer jeans at all! Much later, it became clear to me what he meant, and that it was true.
My parents are both designers - my dad is an industrial designer and my mom is a photographer. My brothers are also both designers. In my early teens, I tried to rebel against design. You see, I wanted to be an artist, like my grandfather. I wanted to use pure mediums like charcoal and wear oil paint stains on my clothes and go around smelling of terpentine, like a real artist should! I wanted to roll up my sleeves and mix my own sweat and tears into my work; only then could I consider myself a true artist.
After art school, what did I end up doing? I became a graphic designer. And after that? A fashion designer. My dad was right - I really do have designer genes. It's undeniably genetic.
Now that I'm a mom, I am curious as anything about what my kids will grow up to be. They have such an interesting mix of creative genes in them! Next to all the artsy folk in my own family, my husband is the result of an artistic gene-pool as well (which is incidentally probably why we accept one another's eccentric behavior; we're just used to it). He is a professional musician and his parents were both artists.
Both of us can't help but assume our children will be artistic in one way or another when they grow up. Heck, they already are! My daughter Mia was able to draw with a crayon before she could even feed herself, and my son Bram can beat out a rhythm with his bottle that would make Steve Gadd green with envy.
When Bram plays a tune on the keyboard, Mia starts doing arabesques. And when they're finished, they applaud for themselves. They're natural-born performers.
When Mia wants a new dress, she will skip into my studio and point out exactly which fabrics she wants, how many pleats she wants and which trimmings she wants it to be trimmed with. Her gift for styling at three-and-a-half just blows me away.
When Bram empties out his box of blocks, he immediately begins constructing the world's most inconceivably high tower. He's two years old, and he has a dream.
When Mia sees anything that even remotely resembles a flower, she goes ape. She cannot resist the temptation to pluck even the teeniest weed or dead bit of grass if she thinks it would look nice in a bouquet. Her eye for composition is astounding.
But there are also times when my kids are about as artistic as a sack of potatoes. When Bram tries to paint, he seems to think the object of the activity is to throw as many paintbrushes as he can on the ground and then run all over the paper while giggling madly. And when Mia was recently introduced to the concept of painting Easter Eggs, she was much more interested in how quickly she could make them spin them around till they rolled off the table and broke. (Needless to say, we had a lot of egg salad sandwiches that day.)
I have to remind myself, they are still kids. They are doing what all kids are doing at the same age, so before I go and declare how amazingly artistically-inclined they are, I should probably take a step back and just let them do what they think they're doing, namely, making a mess and having a really good time in the process.
And at the end of the day, who knows, they might just both grow up to be accountants. Which is absolutely fine with me...as long as they're accountants with a passion for music and flower-arranging, that is.
My parents are both designers - my dad is an industrial designer and my mom is a photographer. My brothers are also both designers. In my early teens, I tried to rebel against design. You see, I wanted to be an artist, like my grandfather. I wanted to use pure mediums like charcoal and wear oil paint stains on my clothes and go around smelling of terpentine, like a real artist should! I wanted to roll up my sleeves and mix my own sweat and tears into my work; only then could I consider myself a true artist.
After art school, what did I end up doing? I became a graphic designer. And after that? A fashion designer. My dad was right - I really do have designer genes. It's undeniably genetic.
Now that I'm a mom, I am curious as anything about what my kids will grow up to be. They have such an interesting mix of creative genes in them! Next to all the artsy folk in my own family, my husband is the result of an artistic gene-pool as well (which is incidentally probably why we accept one another's eccentric behavior; we're just used to it). He is a professional musician and his parents were both artists.
Both of us can't help but assume our children will be artistic in one way or another when they grow up. Heck, they already are! My daughter Mia was able to draw with a crayon before she could even feed herself, and my son Bram can beat out a rhythm with his bottle that would make Steve Gadd green with envy.
When Bram plays a tune on the keyboard, Mia starts doing arabesques. And when they're finished, they applaud for themselves. They're natural-born performers.
When Mia wants a new dress, she will skip into my studio and point out exactly which fabrics she wants, how many pleats she wants and which trimmings she wants it to be trimmed with. Her gift for styling at three-and-a-half just blows me away.
When Bram empties out his box of blocks, he immediately begins constructing the world's most inconceivably high tower. He's two years old, and he has a dream.
When Mia sees anything that even remotely resembles a flower, she goes ape. She cannot resist the temptation to pluck even the teeniest weed or dead bit of grass if she thinks it would look nice in a bouquet. Her eye for composition is astounding.
But there are also times when my kids are about as artistic as a sack of potatoes. When Bram tries to paint, he seems to think the object of the activity is to throw as many paintbrushes as he can on the ground and then run all over the paper while giggling madly. And when Mia was recently introduced to the concept of painting Easter Eggs, she was much more interested in how quickly she could make them spin them around till they rolled off the table and broke. (Needless to say, we had a lot of egg salad sandwiches that day.)
I have to remind myself, they are still kids. They are doing what all kids are doing at the same age, so before I go and declare how amazingly artistically-inclined they are, I should probably take a step back and just let them do what they think they're doing, namely, making a mess and having a really good time in the process.
And at the end of the day, who knows, they might just both grow up to be accountants. Which is absolutely fine with me...as long as they're accountants with a passion for music and flower-arranging, that is.
April 06, 2010
Third Culture Mom
Only a couple months ago, I found out I am a 'Third Culture Kid' , or as I prefer to call myself, 'Terminally Unique'. I was born in the U.S.A, but I moved to the Netherlands when I was 15 and became an adult in this country, which essentially means I don't feel really American... And even though I am now a Dutch citizen and have been living here for almost twenty years, I don't feel Dutch either. I'm a bit of both but neither one completely. It's confusing, I know, but that's what it's like to be 'terminally unique'. And it doesn't get any easier when you start raising kids.
But being a TCKid or 'Global Nomad' (as we're so lovingly nicknamed), is not just about feeling like you don't belong anywhere. If that were the case, we might as well be called 'Eternal Pre-Teens'. I've found there are three other especially tough things a TCKid has to cope with when raising children - there's the language issue, the cultural idiocincracies and the family dillema.
the language issue
Because my native language is English, but I live in a country where the first language is Dutch, my husband and I decided to raise our kids bilingually. It's a challenge, to say the least, since they both are taking a lot longer to get the hang of comunicating in general than other kids their age who are raised in a single-language environment. But, thanks to Holland and its wealth of government subsidies for bilingual kids, both Mia and Bram are benefiting from extra attention and speech therapy, so they'll be able to hold their own once they start school.
Besides raising my kids bilingually, I am also set on presenting mialeentje in two languages as well. Not only because I hope to reach the largest amount of potential customers by offering two languages, but also because I want to present my business just like I present myself. I just am both languages, in person and online. On my site, I label and describe everything in Dutch and English, and use little flags to make things clearer... I just don't know if that's helpful or utterly confusing.
the cultural idiocincracies
Dealing with a different culture is tough enough without kids, but once they come into the picture, it gets even more complicated. I'm talking, in particular, about the holidays. Just about every holiday is celebrated differently, named something different or involving different things in Holland, and ever since the kids were born, I've struggled with how to deal with this. I grew up with the American versions of these holidays, while my husband grew up with the Dutch versions. So which version do we go by? A perfect example is good ole Christmas versus the Dutch gift-giving holiday, Sinterklaas.
There are some fundamental differences: firstly, the man himself - in Holland, you've got Sinterklaas, and in the states, you've got Santa. Two completely different guys bearing gifts. Secondly, the day - in Holland, Sinterklaas bangs on your front door and leaves behind a burlap bag of gifts on the doorstep on the evening of the 5th of December. Santie Claus, on the other hand, lands on the rooftop while everybody's sleeping and whips down the chimney on the 24th so that the Christmas tree is surrounded by presents on the morning of the 25th when everybody wakes up.
Then there's the issue of the good man's residence, his choice of vehicle and his helpers. Sinterklaas, who lives in Spain, journies to Holland by steam boat, accompanied by a few dozen acrobatic Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes) who apparently are instructed to bring back the naughty kids in the same burlap bag that held the presents. Santa leaves his home on the North Pole and his staff of handy elves behind to make his journey by a flying-red-nose-reindeer-drawn sled. Let me tell you, it is not easy to mesh these two into something the kids will comprehend, let alone buy.
For now, my husband and I have decided to wait till the kids are actually able to tell us what they want as gifts before we worry about explaining the differences between the two versions. Call it procrastination if you will, I call it good sense.
the family dillema
So what happens when your nomadic parents pick up and move from one country to another when you've barely got a handle on your zit problem, then pick up and move back ten years later? You've got a family dillema on your hands, is what happens.
When my parents moved back to the states, we didn't have Skype or Facebook or cheaper rates for our mobiles. We had a very poor internet connection and e-mails in which you couldn't send an attachment larger than 1.5mb without the whole system crashing. Thank the Scandinavians for inventing Skype so that I, for one, can let my kids get to know their grandparents via webcam, or 'be there' for my brother's wedding in Phuket! It's certainly no surrogate for the real thing, but it certainly makes online communication a lot more worthwhile. Last year wasn't my first Skype Christmas, and it will most certainly not be my last.
TCKids, Global Nomads and Terminally Unique Syndrome... Put together it makes for a steadily growing phenomenon, now that the borders of this world are diminishing and people are having babies all over the place. Take another look at the people you know, you just might know someone who is terminally unique too - in any case, you do now.
But being a TCKid or 'Global Nomad' (as we're so lovingly nicknamed), is not just about feeling like you don't belong anywhere. If that were the case, we might as well be called 'Eternal Pre-Teens'. I've found there are three other especially tough things a TCKid has to cope with when raising children - there's the language issue, the cultural idiocincracies and the family dillema.
the language issue
Because my native language is English, but I live in a country where the first language is Dutch, my husband and I decided to raise our kids bilingually. It's a challenge, to say the least, since they both are taking a lot longer to get the hang of comunicating in general than other kids their age who are raised in a single-language environment. But, thanks to Holland and its wealth of government subsidies for bilingual kids, both Mia and Bram are benefiting from extra attention and speech therapy, so they'll be able to hold their own once they start school.
Besides raising my kids bilingually, I am also set on presenting mialeentje in two languages as well. Not only because I hope to reach the largest amount of potential customers by offering two languages, but also because I want to present my business just like I present myself. I just am both languages, in person and online. On my site, I label and describe everything in Dutch and English, and use little flags to make things clearer... I just don't know if that's helpful or utterly confusing.
the cultural idiocincracies
Dealing with a different culture is tough enough without kids, but once they come into the picture, it gets even more complicated. I'm talking, in particular, about the holidays. Just about every holiday is celebrated differently, named something different or involving different things in Holland, and ever since the kids were born, I've struggled with how to deal with this. I grew up with the American versions of these holidays, while my husband grew up with the Dutch versions. So which version do we go by? A perfect example is good ole Christmas versus the Dutch gift-giving holiday, Sinterklaas.
There are some fundamental differences: firstly, the man himself - in Holland, you've got Sinterklaas, and in the states, you've got Santa. Two completely different guys bearing gifts. Secondly, the day - in Holland, Sinterklaas bangs on your front door and leaves behind a burlap bag of gifts on the doorstep on the evening of the 5th of December. Santie Claus, on the other hand, lands on the rooftop while everybody's sleeping and whips down the chimney on the 24th so that the Christmas tree is surrounded by presents on the morning of the 25th when everybody wakes up.
Then there's the issue of the good man's residence, his choice of vehicle and his helpers. Sinterklaas, who lives in Spain, journies to Holland by steam boat, accompanied by a few dozen acrobatic Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes) who apparently are instructed to bring back the naughty kids in the same burlap bag that held the presents. Santa leaves his home on the North Pole and his staff of handy elves behind to make his journey by a flying-red-nose-reindeer-drawn sled. Let me tell you, it is not easy to mesh these two into something the kids will comprehend, let alone buy.
For now, my husband and I have decided to wait till the kids are actually able to tell us what they want as gifts before we worry about explaining the differences between the two versions. Call it procrastination if you will, I call it good sense.
the family dillema
So what happens when your nomadic parents pick up and move from one country to another when you've barely got a handle on your zit problem, then pick up and move back ten years later? You've got a family dillema on your hands, is what happens.
When my parents moved back to the states, we didn't have Skype or Facebook or cheaper rates for our mobiles. We had a very poor internet connection and e-mails in which you couldn't send an attachment larger than 1.5mb without the whole system crashing. Thank the Scandinavians for inventing Skype so that I, for one, can let my kids get to know their grandparents via webcam, or 'be there' for my brother's wedding in Phuket! It's certainly no surrogate for the real thing, but it certainly makes online communication a lot more worthwhile. Last year wasn't my first Skype Christmas, and it will most certainly not be my last.
TCKids, Global Nomads and Terminally Unique Syndrome... Put together it makes for a steadily growing phenomenon, now that the borders of this world are diminishing and people are having babies all over the place. Take another look at the people you know, you just might know someone who is terminally unique too - in any case, you do now.
April 01, 2010
Viva La Social Media!
Social media. Without it, we'd be lost. I, for one, rely on Facebook to find out what my family and friends are up to, whether it's just acknowledging their status update or posting huge virtual hugs and kisses to my loved-ones (who all live in different hemispheres). It really is an ideal way to share banal information with each other, as if you were literally sitting in the same room together having a chat over a cup of joe.
But what is really so social about social media? According to my Facebook profile, I have something like 311 friends, which does not in any way whatsoever reflect my real social life. But it certainly gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I see how many friends I've accumulated since joining Facebook. When it was the rage to 'unfriend', I didn't 'unfriend' anybody. Why should I? I like all my friends! On what basis would I 'unfriend' someone? That they invited me to join a ridiculous group or install a pointless application? I couldn't warrant that as an excuse, since I've been guilty of doing the same myself. No, all my friends are staying right where they are, regardless of how much they've spammed me in the past.
So social media has been blooming for years, and it's just now dawned on me, that it's not only the perfect way to reconnect and stay connected with friends and loved-ones (or perfect strangers, or old classmates I had crushes on), it's also the perfect way to spread the word about mialeentje! I'm also finding out that just about every entrepreneur who's anybody knew this already. (I am a bit defiant when it comes to online trends...) And it's all connected, thanks to the magic of internet feeds. Now I can write something on one site, share it onto another, follow it on a third and post it via a fourth. It's an automatic, instantaneous media offensive! I love it!
Lately, I've been following reactions on a Facebook discussion forum regarding blogs. I only just recently breathed life into my own little blog after having neglected it completely the past couple years (having another baby kind of got in the way...), and now that I've given it a new purpose and an extreme template make-over, I'm finding it to be a wonderful way to vent frustrations and share ideas and anecdotes in the hopes of inspiring like-minded souls. Literally minutes after posting, I got a few positive reactions and even some new followers! I've been 'liked'! And I like it.
I know now that if I want my webshop to succeed on the net, I need to dive into it and take full advantage of all it has to offer. The only problem is that, in my opinion, it has too much to offer. Let's take Twitter, for example. I have never, nor am I likely to ever, tweet anything. I blame my inferior mobile internet connection (with a connection speed that was considered fast in the 1980's), but in reality I am a little apprehensive about heaving yet another portion of social media on my already heaping plate. When I Googled 'mialeentje' recently, I found that I'd been tweeted about, which is even better. Someone found my little business interesting enough to tweet, and it wasn't even me! I see that as a compliment, as well as a relief that I didn't have to do it myself...
Social media is wonderfully time-consuming but it does pay off! Like everything else in entrepreneurship, it's all about investing time, and money. And since I don't have a cent, I turn to what I have plenty of: time... Well, when the kids are asleep, that is.
But what is really so social about social media? According to my Facebook profile, I have something like 311 friends, which does not in any way whatsoever reflect my real social life. But it certainly gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I see how many friends I've accumulated since joining Facebook. When it was the rage to 'unfriend', I didn't 'unfriend' anybody. Why should I? I like all my friends! On what basis would I 'unfriend' someone? That they invited me to join a ridiculous group or install a pointless application? I couldn't warrant that as an excuse, since I've been guilty of doing the same myself. No, all my friends are staying right where they are, regardless of how much they've spammed me in the past.
So social media has been blooming for years, and it's just now dawned on me, that it's not only the perfect way to reconnect and stay connected with friends and loved-ones (or perfect strangers, or old classmates I had crushes on), it's also the perfect way to spread the word about mialeentje! I'm also finding out that just about every entrepreneur who's anybody knew this already. (I am a bit defiant when it comes to online trends...) And it's all connected, thanks to the magic of internet feeds. Now I can write something on one site, share it onto another, follow it on a third and post it via a fourth. It's an automatic, instantaneous media offensive! I love it!
Lately, I've been following reactions on a Facebook discussion forum regarding blogs. I only just recently breathed life into my own little blog after having neglected it completely the past couple years (having another baby kind of got in the way...), and now that I've given it a new purpose and an extreme template make-over, I'm finding it to be a wonderful way to vent frustrations and share ideas and anecdotes in the hopes of inspiring like-minded souls. Literally minutes after posting, I got a few positive reactions and even some new followers! I've been 'liked'! And I like it.
I know now that if I want my webshop to succeed on the net, I need to dive into it and take full advantage of all it has to offer. The only problem is that, in my opinion, it has too much to offer. Let's take Twitter, for example. I have never, nor am I likely to ever, tweet anything. I blame my inferior mobile internet connection (with a connection speed that was considered fast in the 1980's), but in reality I am a little apprehensive about heaving yet another portion of social media on my already heaping plate. When I Googled 'mialeentje' recently, I found that I'd been tweeted about, which is even better. Someone found my little business interesting enough to tweet, and it wasn't even me! I see that as a compliment, as well as a relief that I didn't have to do it myself...
Social media is wonderfully time-consuming but it does pay off! Like everything else in entrepreneurship, it's all about investing time, and money. And since I don't have a cent, I turn to what I have plenty of: time... Well, when the kids are asleep, that is.
March 27, 2010
The Dressing-Up Phenomenon
When I was a little girl, I didn't need an excuse to dress up, but Easter was when I especially went all-out. My mother even bought me an Easter hat occassionally, which I remember was donned with ruffles and ribbons and everything else girlie and splendid. I loved Easter, when I could prance around in a princess dress and Mary-Jane's, looking for my Easter basket and wearing my hair in curls.
My daughter Mia doesn't need a special occassion to dress up either, which is why I refer to her as an 'everyday diva'. Her wardrobe consists of more princess-gear than I ever owned as a kid, and I owned plenty myself. I was in the habit of changing outfits up to three times a day, and sometimes even slept in a party dress if I felt so inclined. My mom told me that I owned so many dresses that if I didn't put on three a day, I would've grown out of them before I even got a chance to wear them. So we were both pleased with my dressing-up obsession.
Sometimes I wonder if I might be depriving Mia of that extra-special feeling of getting dressed up for something extra-special, instead of just because it's a Tuesday. A special occassion deserves special attention, and what could be more attentive than getting all dolled up! But then I remember, my daughter is the product of my own dress-obsessed loins, so I can hardly deprive her of her own natural desire to dress up whenever she wants to.
It's all about accessorizing, knowing how to not overdress. For example, I am a strong supporter of girls wearing tutus to school, as long as they're dressed down enough, like with a pair of jeans underneath. Personally, I've been known to wear an evening gown with Doc Martens to school. Dressing up doesn't have to be saved for a special occassion - just a Tuesday can, and should, be special enough!
Mia is pretty lucky to have a seamstress for a mom, who can put together a dress fit for an everyday diva pretty much on demand. She only need knock on the door of my studio, pick out all the pink flowery fabrics she likes, wait a bit while I assemble them and voilà! She has a new frock, and I have a happy daughter. Like the new mialeentje patchwork dress - Mia chose all the bits of fabric, so I know she will love it. It's pretty enough for Easter and just about every other Spring day! And best of all, when Mia gets tired of it, I'll just put it up for sale on mialeentje!
So when Easter comes along, I won't need to go out of my way to make sure Mia gets dressed up. She takes care of that on her own. And I am happy to know that the days leading up to and following Easter are considered just as important to her. Every day is a special occassion, every day is to be celebrated, and every day is another excuse to dress-up (for us everyday divas, that is).
My daughter Mia doesn't need a special occassion to dress up either, which is why I refer to her as an 'everyday diva'. Her wardrobe consists of more princess-gear than I ever owned as a kid, and I owned plenty myself. I was in the habit of changing outfits up to three times a day, and sometimes even slept in a party dress if I felt so inclined. My mom told me that I owned so many dresses that if I didn't put on three a day, I would've grown out of them before I even got a chance to wear them. So we were both pleased with my dressing-up obsession.
Sometimes I wonder if I might be depriving Mia of that extra-special feeling of getting dressed up for something extra-special, instead of just because it's a Tuesday. A special occassion deserves special attention, and what could be more attentive than getting all dolled up! But then I remember, my daughter is the product of my own dress-obsessed loins, so I can hardly deprive her of her own natural desire to dress up whenever she wants to.
It's all about accessorizing, knowing how to not overdress. For example, I am a strong supporter of girls wearing tutus to school, as long as they're dressed down enough, like with a pair of jeans underneath. Personally, I've been known to wear an evening gown with Doc Martens to school. Dressing up doesn't have to be saved for a special occassion - just a Tuesday can, and should, be special enough!
Mia is pretty lucky to have a seamstress for a mom, who can put together a dress fit for an everyday diva pretty much on demand. She only need knock on the door of my studio, pick out all the pink flowery fabrics she likes, wait a bit while I assemble them and voilà! She has a new frock, and I have a happy daughter. Like the new mialeentje patchwork dress - Mia chose all the bits of fabric, so I know she will love it. It's pretty enough for Easter and just about every other Spring day! And best of all, when Mia gets tired of it, I'll just put it up for sale on mialeentje!
So when Easter comes along, I won't need to go out of my way to make sure Mia gets dressed up. She takes care of that on her own. And I am happy to know that the days leading up to and following Easter are considered just as important to her. Every day is a special occassion, every day is to be celebrated, and every day is another excuse to dress-up (for us everyday divas, that is).
March 26, 2010
What's Up with Upcycling?
The term 'upcycling' originates from the book 'Cradle to Cradle - re-inventing the way we use things' that came out in 2002. Since then it's been a sort of guidebook for folks like me, who believe strongly in recycling and re-using all the stuff we already have. To my knowledge, there is no term for 'upcycling' in Dutch, which makes me wonder: what's up with that? Does 'upcycling' even exist in Holland?
I had the advantage growing up that my parents had a very nomadic way of thinking, and our furniture represented that mentality. We moved around, so our belongings had to be easy to take apart and put back together again. We were sort of like our own personal Ikea. We slept on beds made out of old doors, read by lamps made out of styrofoam cups and played on jungle gyms constructed from huge plastic sewage piping, to name but a few examples. So I was raised how to think creatively about building something I wanted or needed out of existing materials. It's no mystery why I am passionate about my business, mialeentje, which is completely based on re-using.
Now that I have been running a business in 'upcycled' kidswear for over six months, I am beginning to understand how Europeans - the Dutch in particular - think about re-using existing materials. I could be wrong, but I get the impression Dutch people just don't like the idea of re-using anything that's already been used. The secondhand stores I frequent are usually empty, the kids in my son and daughter's pre-school class are all wearing the very latest in new kids' fashion, even the houses people want to live in and the cars they want to drive are most preferrably new and very definitely un-used. There seems to be a very prominent desire (in a large percentage of Dutch people anyway) to maintain a certain status, a status that does not include using secondhand anything.
When I spent a month in America last year, I saw a very different mentality. There, upcycling was not only a known phenomenon, it was accepted, it was practised and it was considered an all-round good thing! Maybe the book 'Cradle to Cradle' had more of an impact om Americans than it did on Europeans, but I was thrilled to see how many people were busy creating their own things out of used materials like it was just a normal thing to do. I should probably mention, however, that I am talking about an extremely small slice of America where a community of exceptionally creative people live, so my preconception that all Americans are pro-upcycling might not be completely realistic... In any case, the term is certainly known and accepted by Americans, whether or not they actually read the book.
I ask myself on a regular basis why my products seem to be more popular with Americans than with the Dutch, and the only conclusion I can come up with is that 'upcycling' is simply 'not done' in Holland. The mentality here seems to be that the value of a new garment goes downhill as soon as its purchased, and after it's been worn a few times, it might as well be thrown away. I am lucky to have a few friends and family who still believe in handing down clothing - without them my kids would be forced to go around naked! Sure, I could buy new things for them, but I can't seem to shake the idea that 'upcyling' is better - it doesn't require any production in the far east for starters.
'Upcycling' is also very simply the way to go when it comes to giving our environment a break, which is struggling as it is. By using what we've got right in our own backyards, attics or basements, we won't have to create any extra co2 in the production, importing and exporting of new stuff. And besides all this, 'upcycling' demands creativity. It forces you to come up with a creative solution, challenges you re-invent, rethink and re-use.
So I guess I 'upcycle', therefore I am.
I had the advantage growing up that my parents had a very nomadic way of thinking, and our furniture represented that mentality. We moved around, so our belongings had to be easy to take apart and put back together again. We were sort of like our own personal Ikea. We slept on beds made out of old doors, read by lamps made out of styrofoam cups and played on jungle gyms constructed from huge plastic sewage piping, to name but a few examples. So I was raised how to think creatively about building something I wanted or needed out of existing materials. It's no mystery why I am passionate about my business, mialeentje, which is completely based on re-using.
Now that I have been running a business in 'upcycled' kidswear for over six months, I am beginning to understand how Europeans - the Dutch in particular - think about re-using existing materials. I could be wrong, but I get the impression Dutch people just don't like the idea of re-using anything that's already been used. The secondhand stores I frequent are usually empty, the kids in my son and daughter's pre-school class are all wearing the very latest in new kids' fashion, even the houses people want to live in and the cars they want to drive are most preferrably new and very definitely un-used. There seems to be a very prominent desire (in a large percentage of Dutch people anyway) to maintain a certain status, a status that does not include using secondhand anything.
When I spent a month in America last year, I saw a very different mentality. There, upcycling was not only a known phenomenon, it was accepted, it was practised and it was considered an all-round good thing! Maybe the book 'Cradle to Cradle' had more of an impact om Americans than it did on Europeans, but I was thrilled to see how many people were busy creating their own things out of used materials like it was just a normal thing to do. I should probably mention, however, that I am talking about an extremely small slice of America where a community of exceptionally creative people live, so my preconception that all Americans are pro-upcycling might not be completely realistic... In any case, the term is certainly known and accepted by Americans, whether or not they actually read the book.
I ask myself on a regular basis why my products seem to be more popular with Americans than with the Dutch, and the only conclusion I can come up with is that 'upcycling' is simply 'not done' in Holland. The mentality here seems to be that the value of a new garment goes downhill as soon as its purchased, and after it's been worn a few times, it might as well be thrown away. I am lucky to have a few friends and family who still believe in handing down clothing - without them my kids would be forced to go around naked! Sure, I could buy new things for them, but I can't seem to shake the idea that 'upcyling' is better - it doesn't require any production in the far east for starters.
'Upcycling' is also very simply the way to go when it comes to giving our environment a break, which is struggling as it is. By using what we've got right in our own backyards, attics or basements, we won't have to create any extra co2 in the production, importing and exporting of new stuff. And besides all this, 'upcycling' demands creativity. It forces you to come up with a creative solution, challenges you re-invent, rethink and re-use.
So I guess I 'upcycle', therefore I am.
March 16, 2010
The Pre-School Predicament
As of April 1st, Mia and Bram's pre-school will only be open two mornings a week. No, it is not a practical joke, it is the cold hard reality of living in a small town in a low-populated region. There are simply not enough kids being born around here, a fact that I always figured was none of business, but which has now abruptly become my problem.
Right now there are only 11 children in Mia and Bram's pre-school class, when there should be a minimum of 16. We're 5 kids too short. I tried to argue that my son Bram really counts for two, but apparently it's not about personality, it's about physical presence. And the saddest news, is that the sweetest most wonderful teacher, the number one reason I can even convince Mia to get dressed in the morning, is forced to leave the pre-school. Without a fulltime job, she can't pay her bills. Logical. Heart-breakingly logical.
When I pick up the kids in the afternoon, I can't help but notice the number of baby buggies scattered around the school yard. Off the top of my head, I would say there are about 20 potential candidates for the pre-school in town who will be able to attend just as soon as they've done a bit more growing. Why oh why did the committee decide to take away two mornings when in a year's time, they're just going to have to give them back again? It makes no sense to me, or to any of the other parents caught up in this mess.
I'm not the only one trying to earn an income while raising one or more toddlers. The other moms and dads I talk to are scratching their heads too as to how they're going to manage to go to work when their children have no place to go three days a week. Even if we do find another alternative, it will be a logistical nightmare to drive our kids all over the place just so we can get a few hours work in, plus it's going to cost us an extra arm and a leg as well! I don't know about the other parents, but I was already on my last limbs...
We're in the process of launching a media offense at the moment via newspaper and radio. We're getting no reaction from the folks in charge of making the decisions that directly affect our lives, which makes us feel like we're not being taken seriously. At this point, it feels like us parents can do nothing but stand by and watch as the 'gods' of pre-school education systematically pluck everything that's important to us and our kids away from us. Well we won't. I don't know quite how yet, but we won't.
Right now there are only 11 children in Mia and Bram's pre-school class, when there should be a minimum of 16. We're 5 kids too short. I tried to argue that my son Bram really counts for two, but apparently it's not about personality, it's about physical presence. And the saddest news, is that the sweetest most wonderful teacher, the number one reason I can even convince Mia to get dressed in the morning, is forced to leave the pre-school. Without a fulltime job, she can't pay her bills. Logical. Heart-breakingly logical.
When I pick up the kids in the afternoon, I can't help but notice the number of baby buggies scattered around the school yard. Off the top of my head, I would say there are about 20 potential candidates for the pre-school in town who will be able to attend just as soon as they've done a bit more growing. Why oh why did the committee decide to take away two mornings when in a year's time, they're just going to have to give them back again? It makes no sense to me, or to any of the other parents caught up in this mess.
I'm not the only one trying to earn an income while raising one or more toddlers. The other moms and dads I talk to are scratching their heads too as to how they're going to manage to go to work when their children have no place to go three days a week. Even if we do find another alternative, it will be a logistical nightmare to drive our kids all over the place just so we can get a few hours work in, plus it's going to cost us an extra arm and a leg as well! I don't know about the other parents, but I was already on my last limbs...
We're in the process of launching a media offense at the moment via newspaper and radio. We're getting no reaction from the folks in charge of making the decisions that directly affect our lives, which makes us feel like we're not being taken seriously. At this point, it feels like us parents can do nothing but stand by and watch as the 'gods' of pre-school education systematically pluck everything that's important to us and our kids away from us. Well we won't. I don't know quite how yet, but we won't.
March 10, 2010
The 'M' word.
My name is not 'Mama'. But I'm thinking of getting it legally changed to 'Mama', since it's the name I go by these days in this house.
It is the very first thing I hear in the morning. 'Mamaaaaa!' my daughter will wail, followed by all the different variations: 'Mama!', 'Mama?' and 'Mamaa-aaaaa-aaa.' My son Bram prefers to use his own version: 'Ma-ma-ma-mah-huh-huh-huh'. I can't help but answer, since 'Mama' is my name, no matter how you pronounce it, which is my identity, which is a pretty important thing, especially if you're a kid.
I accept and embrace 'Mama' as my name, which is probably why I love the term: mamapreneur. It's a delightful combination of the two identities that I am trying to combine in real life. I am finding out, though, that running a business and being a mom are two really completely incompatible things that are extremely difficult to combine, even if you are Martha Stewart. If I were to make a list of thirty priorities, I might manage to get three of them done on a good day. On a not so good day, I can't even manage to make the list.
Even as I write this, my son Bram is using me as a jungle-gym, which I am utterly ok with, but since he's using my right arm for leverage, it makes typing without mistakes a little difficult. Now, he seems to have turned his attention to a marker on the bureau behind me, with which he could potentially scribble all over the walls of the house if I don't take action immediately. And yet I am still writing... sometimes it's just more important to get my thoughts down than cleaning scribbles. It's now suspiciously quiet, so I am going to look around to see what he's up to... It was not a marker he'd gotten his hands on, it was my digital camera. Accompanied by quite a few 'Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma!''s, I have just managed to separate him from the camera and distract him with blocks. But for how long...?
My daughter Mia has a different tactic. She has her regular spot in the nook of the couch from where she uses as many varieties of the 'M' word as possible to get my attention. Mia's main goal is to move as little as possible once she's situated in her spot, so she needs her personnel to do her will, a.k.a, 'mama'.
As I write this, Mia is quiet. I am a little surprised, since a few minutes ago, during the camera incident with Bram, she was calling my name repeatedly, and even using a few new varieties I'd never heard before ('Maaaa-ma-ha-ha-ha' and 'Mammmmmaaaaaa'). I guess she was just crying wolf (who, incidently, might as well change his name to 'Mama' too if he lived here).
But after an entire day of being called 'Mama' in every frequency, decibel and volume level possible, bedtime comes around. 'Mama' is the last thing I hear when I kiss my little diva goodnight. 'Mama...' she whispers. Hmm. You know, it does have a nice ring to it...
It is the very first thing I hear in the morning. 'Mamaaaaa!' my daughter will wail, followed by all the different variations: 'Mama!', 'Mama?' and 'Mamaa-aaaaa-aaa.' My son Bram prefers to use his own version: 'Ma-ma-ma-mah-huh-huh-huh'. I can't help but answer, since 'Mama' is my name, no matter how you pronounce it, which is my identity, which is a pretty important thing, especially if you're a kid.
I accept and embrace 'Mama' as my name, which is probably why I love the term: mamapreneur. It's a delightful combination of the two identities that I am trying to combine in real life. I am finding out, though, that running a business and being a mom are two really completely incompatible things that are extremely difficult to combine, even if you are Martha Stewart. If I were to make a list of thirty priorities, I might manage to get three of them done on a good day. On a not so good day, I can't even manage to make the list.
Even as I write this, my son Bram is using me as a jungle-gym, which I am utterly ok with, but since he's using my right arm for leverage, it makes typing without mistakes a little difficult. Now, he seems to have turned his attention to a marker on the bureau behind me, with which he could potentially scribble all over the walls of the house if I don't take action immediately. And yet I am still writing... sometimes it's just more important to get my thoughts down than cleaning scribbles. It's now suspiciously quiet, so I am going to look around to see what he's up to... It was not a marker he'd gotten his hands on, it was my digital camera. Accompanied by quite a few 'Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma!''s, I have just managed to separate him from the camera and distract him with blocks. But for how long...?
My daughter Mia has a different tactic. She has her regular spot in the nook of the couch from where she uses as many varieties of the 'M' word as possible to get my attention. Mia's main goal is to move as little as possible once she's situated in her spot, so she needs her personnel to do her will, a.k.a, 'mama'.
As I write this, Mia is quiet. I am a little surprised, since a few minutes ago, during the camera incident with Bram, she was calling my name repeatedly, and even using a few new varieties I'd never heard before ('Maaaa-ma-ha-ha-ha' and 'Mammmmmaaaaaa'). I guess she was just crying wolf (who, incidently, might as well change his name to 'Mama' too if he lived here).
But after an entire day of being called 'Mama' in every frequency, decibel and volume level possible, bedtime comes around. 'Mama' is the last thing I hear when I kiss my little diva goodnight. 'Mama...' she whispers. Hmm. You know, it does have a nice ring to it...
March 08, 2010
This Little Business Went to Market.
The most important thing I've discovered about being an entrepreneur isn't the product I'm trying to sell, it's finding people to buy it.
When I began my online business last summer, I made the naive assumption that word would get around and that my target group would simply find their way through the virtual jungle of the internet to my webshop. As familiar as I am with the utter vastness of the internet, I underestimated its virtually limitless virtual borders. There are exactly five zillion webshops specialized in kidswear all over the world wide web, and another zillion are being launched a day. These days, you need a virtual machete to hack your way through advertisements, spam and penis-enlarging products to get to what you're looking for. How on earth would I get the right people to my shop?
Like any beginning entrepreneur set on success, I wrote a business plan and executed various marketing research techniques to determine my target group. (Essentially this meant I went out with a questionnaire and a clip-board and asked people on the street how they felt about children's clothes.) Upon gathering my data, it was clear that my target group consisted of people exactly like me: 30-something 'green' parents.
So now that I knew who was most likely going to buy my products, I had to somehow pave a path on the internet for them to reach me. Then it occurred to me: I had to step outside the box and turn my virtual product into a tangible one. The way to do that was to set up shop. And since I don't actually have a shop to set up shop in, I figured I'd do the next best thing: go to market.
There are various market possibilities in Holland, most of which impossible for me to participate in. The weekly market, a sacred and protected phenomenon in this country, is made up of a select group of regulars and I'd need all sorts of permits and some influential friends to get into one. Then there are flea markets scattered throughout the country in large wharehouses that smell of urine, where anyone and everyone can set up a stall and sell the contents of their garages for next to nothing. I've tried to sell my products at a flea market like this with very little success. Sure, people liked my stuff, but one of my handmade dresses was outrageously expensive for flea market standards. Especially when customers could buy ten dresses for the same price at another stall... Needless to say, my first attempt at a flea market was also my last.
Last summer, while visiting my parents on beautiful Orcas Island, I set up a stall at the local farmer's market. It was an amazing experience! Not only was there an inspiring positive vibe among the other vendors, my target group was all around me and walking right into my stall! People were able to touch, feel, examine, take a closer look at and even sniff my products, which I am sure worked towards their ultimate decision to purchase something. After the summer was gone, I was sad to leave the island, and my target group, behind.
Then I found out about specialized markets for handmade goods in and around Holland. Apparently, there are lots of creative folks around here like me who set up at these markets to sell their crafts; slowly but surely, I was finding out about them. Unfortunately, as soon as I found them, I hit some obstacles. First of all, most of these markets are few and far between. Either they're located at the other end of the country, or they take place so sporadically, it's difficult to apply for one on time. Some of them are affordable, some are absurdly overpriced. I finally found a handmade market that was affordable (that is to say, I was 99% sure I'd earn back my investment) and took place relatively nearby. I packed up my kit and kaboodle and set up shop among a wonderful variety of artisan vendors. I was thrilled to bits - it semeed I had finally found a nitch!
Although I only sold seven items that day, I consider it to be the most successful market I've participated in to date in this country. Although the advantage of having an online business that can reach the far corners of the world pretty much speaks for itself, being able to offer my products in 'real time' and in real life to the right people has more advantages in the long run. But turning my virtual product into a tangible one had one chrystal clear advantage: it sells. Yep, this little business will be returning to market for sure.
When I began my online business last summer, I made the naive assumption that word would get around and that my target group would simply find their way through the virtual jungle of the internet to my webshop. As familiar as I am with the utter vastness of the internet, I underestimated its virtually limitless virtual borders. There are exactly five zillion webshops specialized in kidswear all over the world wide web, and another zillion are being launched a day. These days, you need a virtual machete to hack your way through advertisements, spam and penis-enlarging products to get to what you're looking for. How on earth would I get the right people to my shop?
Like any beginning entrepreneur set on success, I wrote a business plan and executed various marketing research techniques to determine my target group. (Essentially this meant I went out with a questionnaire and a clip-board and asked people on the street how they felt about children's clothes.) Upon gathering my data, it was clear that my target group consisted of people exactly like me: 30-something 'green' parents.
So now that I knew who was most likely going to buy my products, I had to somehow pave a path on the internet for them to reach me. Then it occurred to me: I had to step outside the box and turn my virtual product into a tangible one. The way to do that was to set up shop. And since I don't actually have a shop to set up shop in, I figured I'd do the next best thing: go to market.
There are various market possibilities in Holland, most of which impossible for me to participate in. The weekly market, a sacred and protected phenomenon in this country, is made up of a select group of regulars and I'd need all sorts of permits and some influential friends to get into one. Then there are flea markets scattered throughout the country in large wharehouses that smell of urine, where anyone and everyone can set up a stall and sell the contents of their garages for next to nothing. I've tried to sell my products at a flea market like this with very little success. Sure, people liked my stuff, but one of my handmade dresses was outrageously expensive for flea market standards. Especially when customers could buy ten dresses for the same price at another stall... Needless to say, my first attempt at a flea market was also my last.
Last summer, while visiting my parents on beautiful Orcas Island, I set up a stall at the local farmer's market. It was an amazing experience! Not only was there an inspiring positive vibe among the other vendors, my target group was all around me and walking right into my stall! People were able to touch, feel, examine, take a closer look at and even sniff my products, which I am sure worked towards their ultimate decision to purchase something. After the summer was gone, I was sad to leave the island, and my target group, behind.
Then I found out about specialized markets for handmade goods in and around Holland. Apparently, there are lots of creative folks around here like me who set up at these markets to sell their crafts; slowly but surely, I was finding out about them. Unfortunately, as soon as I found them, I hit some obstacles. First of all, most of these markets are few and far between. Either they're located at the other end of the country, or they take place so sporadically, it's difficult to apply for one on time. Some of them are affordable, some are absurdly overpriced. I finally found a handmade market that was affordable (that is to say, I was 99% sure I'd earn back my investment) and took place relatively nearby. I packed up my kit and kaboodle and set up shop among a wonderful variety of artisan vendors. I was thrilled to bits - it semeed I had finally found a nitch!
Although I only sold seven items that day, I consider it to be the most successful market I've participated in to date in this country. Although the advantage of having an online business that can reach the far corners of the world pretty much speaks for itself, being able to offer my products in 'real time' and in real life to the right people has more advantages in the long run. But turning my virtual product into a tangible one had one chrystal clear advantage: it sells. Yep, this little business will be returning to market for sure.
March 05, 2010
Priorities...
I have to get the spring/summer collection online!
But before I can do that, I have to Photoshop every garment onto a clear blue sky background.
But before I can do that, I have to photograph every garment.
But before I can do that, I have to sew labels into every garment.
But before I can do that, I have to order more labels, since I'm almost out.
But before I can do that, I have to arrange a photo session of kids modeling the garments.
But before I can do that, I have to make the garments.
But before I can do that, I have to gather inspiration and come up with ideas.
But before I can do that, I have to sort out daycare so I can concentrate fully on my work.
But before I can do that, I have to set up my new overlock machine.
But before I can do that, I have to give the overlock machine I've been borrowing back to my mother-in-law.
But before I can do that, I have to clean her overlock machine out and pack it up.
But before I can do that, I have to wash all the spring/summer materials.
But before I can do that, I have to gather all my spring/summer materials together.
But before I can do that, I have to sort through the fall/winter materials to find all the spring/summer materials.
But before I can do that, I have to make room in my studio by holding a big sale on the winter/fall collection.
But before I can do that, I have to advertise the sale and announce the spring/summer collection in a newsletter.
And in order to do that, I have to get the spring/summer collection online!
Arg!
I've set a goal for myself: April 1st.
No joke.
On April 1st, the 2010 spring/summer collection will be online. Which means I have to get all the other priorities on my list done, and am scratching my head a bit as to how I'm going to actually go about doing that. More importantly, in which order!
Julie Andrews once sang, 'Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start'. Hmm. If I knew where the beginning was, I wouldn't be having this problem...
This kind of situation is typical for me, as a multi-tasking mamapreneur. It drives my husband crazy when he sees me starting another project when I haven't completed the last one. I admit, it drives me crazy too, but how else do I do it? Multi-tasking is all I know.
Being a mom is the very definition of multi-tasking, if you ask me. I don't know too many people who are capable of changing a diaper on a squirming kid while poking a straw through the little foil circle on a package of juice while googling something or other online all at the same time, unless it's a mom. I don't even think dads are capable of this kind of multi-tasking - it's got to be a mom thing. Men always finish what they start. Women are always starting something new.
I guess it's in my nature to mix it all up, and till now, it's worked for me. It'll work for me again, you just wait and see.
April 1st.
Spring/summer collection online.
No joke.
But before I can do that, I have to Photoshop every garment onto a clear blue sky background.
But before I can do that, I have to photograph every garment.
But before I can do that, I have to sew labels into every garment.
But before I can do that, I have to order more labels, since I'm almost out.
But before I can do that, I have to arrange a photo session of kids modeling the garments.
But before I can do that, I have to make the garments.
But before I can do that, I have to gather inspiration and come up with ideas.
But before I can do that, I have to sort out daycare so I can concentrate fully on my work.
But before I can do that, I have to set up my new overlock machine.
But before I can do that, I have to give the overlock machine I've been borrowing back to my mother-in-law.
But before I can do that, I have to clean her overlock machine out and pack it up.
But before I can do that, I have to wash all the spring/summer materials.
But before I can do that, I have to gather all my spring/summer materials together.
But before I can do that, I have to sort through the fall/winter materials to find all the spring/summer materials.
But before I can do that, I have to make room in my studio by holding a big sale on the winter/fall collection.
But before I can do that, I have to advertise the sale and announce the spring/summer collection in a newsletter.
And in order to do that, I have to get the spring/summer collection online!
Arg!
I've set a goal for myself: April 1st.
No joke.
On April 1st, the 2010 spring/summer collection will be online. Which means I have to get all the other priorities on my list done, and am scratching my head a bit as to how I'm going to actually go about doing that. More importantly, in which order!
Julie Andrews once sang, 'Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start'. Hmm. If I knew where the beginning was, I wouldn't be having this problem...
This kind of situation is typical for me, as a multi-tasking mamapreneur. It drives my husband crazy when he sees me starting another project when I haven't completed the last one. I admit, it drives me crazy too, but how else do I do it? Multi-tasking is all I know.
Being a mom is the very definition of multi-tasking, if you ask me. I don't know too many people who are capable of changing a diaper on a squirming kid while poking a straw through the little foil circle on a package of juice while googling something or other online all at the same time, unless it's a mom. I don't even think dads are capable of this kind of multi-tasking - it's got to be a mom thing. Men always finish what they start. Women are always starting something new.
I guess it's in my nature to mix it all up, and till now, it's worked for me. It'll work for me again, you just wait and see.
April 1st.
Spring/summer collection online.
No joke.
February 28, 2010
A 'Mamapreneur' in the making
Last summer I finally made a life long dream come true.
As a kid, I had this dream of owning my own shop. I would transform my room into a store all the time. I put price tags on my teddy bears, created my own promotional material, even turned a My Little Pony notebook into a booklet of receipts. Once I managed to get my parents and brothers to visit my 'shop', I relished the moment when I could place their purchases into one of my handmade totes, add a handwritten receipt and say 'Come again soon!' as they walked out the door.
The dream has been growing, gnawing, itching and festering inside me for years. As a grown-up, I was conditioned to do the responsible thing, which was to find a real job instead of pursuing the dream. As a result, the dream got pushed back into the realms of the 'If Only' category of my mind. The dream kept me awake at night. The dream followed be everywhere. The dream wouldn't let me go.
In the years that followed, events beyond my control took place that inspired (or perhaps forced) me to take a career leap from freelance graphic designer to fashion designer. I went to work full-time at an international fashion concern designing clothes for girls 7-14 and loved it while it lasted.
Things changed again almost four years ago when I gave birth to my daughter, Mia Leentje. 19 months later, my son Bram came along. Suddenly I was no longer a nine-to-five career gal, I was a mom. I was no longer researching the latest trends on WGSN; I was researching educational childrens' programming, sterilizing bottles and installing car seats. I couldn't see how I could ever become an entrepreneur with two toddlers running around the house in need of my constant care and undivided attention. The dream had to take its place even further back in my subconscious, so far back I almost forgot what the dream was.
Don't get me wrong! Being a mom is the best thing ever. Being a mom is what finally made the dream come back to life. When I had to stop working at the big fashion concern due to a knee injury, I found myself facing the deep, bottomless pit of unemployment and disability. According to the local unemployment agency, there was not a single job in the region that I was qualified for, or rather, that was qualified for me. One day my job coach suggested I start my own business. They would even foot the bill for a specialist to help me write my business plan! I was tickled pink - the dream went from the back burner to front and center faster than I could say 'chamber of commerce'.
So here I am, a half a year later, owner of my very own online shop where I sell my very own line of upcycled kidswear. Somehow I am managing to combine my professional expertise, motherhood and the dream into something tangible and real. I'm not just an entrepreneur, I'm a 'mamapreneur'.
I am working towards the next stage of my dream, which is to open an actual shop where I can hold workshops, create garments for my customers in an in-house studio and can actually say 'Enjoy, and come again soon!' instead of having to write it in an e-mail. Now, I run a virtual shop, which makes it possible to balance the amount of time I work with the amount of time I spend with my kids. I'm still a long way away from paying the mortgage on the profits, but hey, at least I won't have to quit my day job. Now that the dream is a reality, there's simply no stopping it.
As a kid, I had this dream of owning my own shop. I would transform my room into a store all the time. I put price tags on my teddy bears, created my own promotional material, even turned a My Little Pony notebook into a booklet of receipts. Once I managed to get my parents and brothers to visit my 'shop', I relished the moment when I could place their purchases into one of my handmade totes, add a handwritten receipt and say 'Come again soon!' as they walked out the door.
The dream has been growing, gnawing, itching and festering inside me for years. As a grown-up, I was conditioned to do the responsible thing, which was to find a real job instead of pursuing the dream. As a result, the dream got pushed back into the realms of the 'If Only' category of my mind. The dream kept me awake at night. The dream followed be everywhere. The dream wouldn't let me go.
In the years that followed, events beyond my control took place that inspired (or perhaps forced) me to take a career leap from freelance graphic designer to fashion designer. I went to work full-time at an international fashion concern designing clothes for girls 7-14 and loved it while it lasted.
Things changed again almost four years ago when I gave birth to my daughter, Mia Leentje. 19 months later, my son Bram came along. Suddenly I was no longer a nine-to-five career gal, I was a mom. I was no longer researching the latest trends on WGSN; I was researching educational childrens' programming, sterilizing bottles and installing car seats. I couldn't see how I could ever become an entrepreneur with two toddlers running around the house in need of my constant care and undivided attention. The dream had to take its place even further back in my subconscious, so far back I almost forgot what the dream was.
Don't get me wrong! Being a mom is the best thing ever. Being a mom is what finally made the dream come back to life. When I had to stop working at the big fashion concern due to a knee injury, I found myself facing the deep, bottomless pit of unemployment and disability. According to the local unemployment agency, there was not a single job in the region that I was qualified for, or rather, that was qualified for me. One day my job coach suggested I start my own business. They would even foot the bill for a specialist to help me write my business plan! I was tickled pink - the dream went from the back burner to front and center faster than I could say 'chamber of commerce'.
So here I am, a half a year later, owner of my very own online shop where I sell my very own line of upcycled kidswear. Somehow I am managing to combine my professional expertise, motherhood and the dream into something tangible and real. I'm not just an entrepreneur, I'm a 'mamapreneur'.
I am working towards the next stage of my dream, which is to open an actual shop where I can hold workshops, create garments for my customers in an in-house studio and can actually say 'Enjoy, and come again soon!' instead of having to write it in an e-mail. Now, I run a virtual shop, which makes it possible to balance the amount of time I work with the amount of time I spend with my kids. I'm still a long way away from paying the mortgage on the profits, but hey, at least I won't have to quit my day job. Now that the dream is a reality, there's simply no stopping it.
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