My sewing machine is being serviced. It can take up to 6 weeks but is much better than having to buy a new machine at some future date. Unfortunately my back up machine has been at the repair shop since August. I damaged this machine by working it into the ground and it broke 2 weeks before Christmas last year. Which resulted in a very expensive purchase. A part that is needed for my Janome to be repaired is manufactured in Japan and after the Tsunami they’ve had a hard time receiving the part. So my patience is a small price to pay.
During this time, I haven’t been sewing, but I have giving a lot of thought to my business and my family.
When I started The Itty Bitty Bag Company in April of 2009. I had no idea the success I would have. It began as something non-domestic to do during nap time, as I had just left a full-time 50+ hour a week job. It was a necessary transition for me. Fast forward 2 1/2 years and there is a 6 week wait on custom orders. Nights, weekends, every waking moment was about bags. Getting it all done seemed effortless. I had a supportive husband who helped me with my marketing and late in the evening we would come together and enjoy a few moments before we went off to sleep.
Ah, not everything is as it seems….
This became routine. Another thing that became routine is that I would forgo running or hot yoga so that I could sew more bags. I skipped lunch often or threw something down my throat on the way to pick up my pre-schooler. I would blog during dinner time. I took photos during the best possible light…right when my 8 year-old was getting off the bus in the afternoon.
By now you are seeing a trend.
On top of all of this…we’ve been doing repairs on our home since late April of last year. I took a break this fall but we are still finishing those small home renovation projects. I have one more very large renovation project and as anyone doing this type of home improvement knows…you are the project manager or everything falls apart or there are significant delays.
I stopped working 50+ hour weeks so that I could be home and take care of my family. Both of my daughters needed me to be home and I wanted to be home with them. Was I really here?
No one would question whether I am good mom, of course I am. This is not what I am saying.
Stepping into the room…massive health issues for mom.
Is it gluten? Yes. Is it Dairy? Yes. Is there something else still wrong? I have no idea. Doctors visits very often. I am now in the hands of a very good doctor who is also a Naturopath. She practices functional medicine. She asked me a very good question. Who takes care of Jen? At the time…no one. Husband works very long days and then evenings I was working.
In addition to my health issues. I’ve also had some personal items to tackle. We can’t do it all. Very often we just push the items we don’t want to deal with under the rug. Instead of doing that, the past few weeks has meant many changes in my life. Some life altering. All have had the most amazing effect. What doesn’t kill you certainly can make you stronger. Rather than run from any issues I might have or pretend they don’t exist. I am facing them full on and feel stronger for it. The most crucial item I’ve changed is spending better quality time with my husband. We’ve been best friends since High School. It is easy to take that friendship and love for granted…well not for granted really. It is hard to explain. You love each other but you are so bogged down in the day to day that it is not the same. Not bad…just different. So some of the changes are with my evenings. Rather than heading right up to my studio…we are spending good quality time together.
How will this impact my business…well it has to impact it to some level as there are only 24 hours in a day. It has been hard to keep up with it all.
ITTY BITTY BAG IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!! So breathe….
That said, my business model needs to adapt to my lifestyle. I live a gluten and dairy free life and that requires lots of cooking at home. My girls do need me. They need to know that their days are important and share them with me…not just be the taxi driver. They love seeing me peek in on them at Irish Dance. They smile and beam knowing I am proud. They need me to have more patience and to receive more hugs & kisses. Taking time to just hug and breathe not feel so rushed. And my husband needs me too. And please let’s not forget that I am not a machine and need to take care of me too.
I was surviving but certainly not giving 100% to myself or to my family. So I plan on setting out a real work schedule that includes all the elements of my business: sewing, photography, blogging, listings, marketing, social networking and be more realistic on how many custom orders I can complete. Ah, the list goes on.
My time should open up by fall when our 4 year-old starts Kindergarten. Also, I’ve given some thought on sharing the workload, teaching, patterns and tutorials. My mom may be helping me in the future but the time has come to expand my sewing business. Everything will still be 100% handmade but one person can only sew so many bags and run a business. I am happy with all the success and continued support, so stay tuned for some very positive changes. This is all very good news!!
This is by no means a sob story but feel it is important to share the highs and lows of running this handmade business. I know many of you follow me as a mentor and felt this was necessary to share. We always hear about success and many of us wonder how? How on Earth does he or she do it all. You either have help or make sacrifices. Sometimes the sacrifices and choices must come at the hand of your families needs. Every persons situation is unique to them. There isn’t a magic recipe but rather the right ingredients to find your own balance.
Do you have balancing tricks? If so, please share some here.
Great post, Jen. Glad that you are taking the time you need to take care of yourself.
Such a great post and I am so happy you are taking some time for you and your family. Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes of a handmade business! I am also working on finding balance!
xo
Jen,Thanks for this post! I really needed to read this today. It’s so easy to get busy with family and work that we forget to check on ourselves. I’m working on that too!
Elizabeth
Oh honey…you are not the only one. I’m in the same boat. It’s very hard to find the right balance…I’m still struggling, so thanks for this post. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one feeling overwhelmed.