August ‘21 Newsletter
Paint, pots, and a whole lot of pivoting.
From the age of fourteen, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: a lawyer. I was good at all the English subjects at school, captain of the Debating team, and was silly enough to believe that being a lawyer was just like it was on TV (spoiler alert: it's not). I studied law straight out of high school, and landed my dream job while I was in my final semester of uni. For the next 13 years I worked as a lawyer, loving my job (mostly) but feeling like there was something missing.
It wasn't until I attended one of those paint-and-sip workshops and felt a lightning bolt of pure joy that I realised what was missing: creativity. I have always been creative, 'making this' and 'hot-gluing that'. But while I was busy grinding away at corporate life, creativity had taken a back seat. After the painting workshop I felt a renewed sense of inspiration and started trying to squeeze in creative experiences whenever I could. I painted ceramics, learnt how to throw pottery, and tried my hand at acrylic earring making. It felt glorious. So much so that I quit lawyering to manage the very same paint-and-sip company that had sparked that joy for me in the beginning.
The word pivot has been used a lot in recent years, often in corporate terms to describe the change in direction of a business. I think it's important to know that we can pivot personally too. Sometimes those pivots happen and we don't get a choice: a break up, job loss...a pandemic. Other times they happen because we feel emotionally stuck or we realise that what previously made us happy no longer does.
I started working full-time on The Artful Grimmer in January this year. Sometimes I marvel at how much pivoting has happened in a relatively short time. Was it scary? Yes. Was it hard sometimes? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
Ann x
New pots and artworks are LIVE!
As a VIPPP - Very Important Pot and Painting Person - here is early access to some special pots and artworks I have been painting. The August release is live NOW so get in quick before the collection goes live to the general public.
Sew much colour!
Did you know that my pot designs are available as fabric now? The amazing people over at Material Difference have three exclusive patterns available in 4 scales and 25 fabric bases…yes, 25! The fabric bases range from swimsuit material to cotton to French terry to ribbed knit and everything in between.
