Creativity Is Time Consuming

Tyler and I are going through a lifestyle change of sorts. This was always the plan, however it definitely gives us a few challenges here and there. In the beginning, our company was really about him learning to be a carpenter and me having a creative outlet. We didn't know that we'd be opening an Etsy shop, building a commerce website, hauling our furniture and decorative items to craft fairs, building a bigger workshop or creating a company Facebook page that demands our attention every day. Since January of 2017, we've learned how to manage all that, but it is still a learning process. Being lifelong learners, that is to be expected for us. That is definitely our style, since forever. Learning everyday along the way. Now instead of waking up and deciding what we are going to create in hopes that people will like it, we wake up to orders!

We review and change our construction schedule almost daily. We are affected by the weather - big time! Even though we have a nice shop, it really isn't big enough to exclusively work inside. We both have worked ALL summer long in this triple digit humidity outside because we have orders to fill. We are more organized with our big shop calendar now because we HAVE to be!

What we need to keep telling ourselves (especially me) is that everything we do is very labor intensive. And while I want everything done NOW, that is just impossible and actually stressful. I come from a very customer centric background so learning to relax and enjoy the creative process is paramount. For example, we were given some beautiful live edge cedar planks that a local business owner wants us to make a custom barn quilt out of for a new home. Even though they (and really every single customer) have said "no rush", those cedar planks have stared me down every time I step into the shop every day since we got them!

Our social media following is continuing to grow every week. Our Facebook page has grown from about 250 followers last fall to over 1600 today. We are selling items every single day and working very hard to keep it all going. We are excited that we have grown enough for this to happen in this short time. We've even had several interviews with local media and those should be released soon. One thing is for sure, quitting my office job in February was a very good decision. Being able to focus on all the many aspects of owning a business as my full time gig has changed everything. From designing and working on actual projects, working on our website and social media platforms, customer service, answering questions and yes all the regular life stuff too. It all takes time. And the more time I spend doing those things, the better they all turn out. I suppose that is true with everything. We are not just creative - we are determined.

Having all our supplies ready for working on what we want on any given day is a lot of work and organization. Tyler is an absolute trooper, and I've gotten a little better at not asking for too much all at once. We've come to the realization that the name of our business is truly perfect. Sawdust for the actual construction and Sage for the wisdom in knowing how to organize the many facets of our day as creative people. If you would have told me that I was going to stay at home and be an artist as my job, I wouldn't have believed you- but here we are and it is amazing!