A Lesson

A few months ago when I was on my way to teach at a college in Kent, I was browsing in W H Smith and came across a magazine called Reloved. It was early in the morning and on the first day of publication, so I think I must have been one of the first people to buy it. I read it on the train, loved it and said to myself, ‘my work would look great in this magazine’. It is full of projects and ideas by creative people. Kirstie Allsopp  is a regular contributor.

Now a few years ago, that would have been it, I would have carried on with my normal, busy life and done nothing about it. However, I have changed and when I arrived home in the evening, exhausted from the give, give, give of teaching, I sat at the computer and emailed the editor Sally Fitzgerald, with links to my Etsy shop and blog (actually I emailed several people, as I wasn’t sure who the appropriate person would be). The next day, an email was sent to me explaining that the editor was on holiday and if I am honest, I thought that would be the end of it.

A week passed and I hadn’t heard anything, but to my surprise an apologetic email arrived the following day from the Sally. She told me quite succinctly, that yes, she loved my work and would love me to do a piece, what did I have in mind? I had to read it twice!

Now the reason I am telling you this is because there is a real lesson to be learnt here. I have spent years being creative and not sending emails like the one I sent to Sally, not really pushing myself and I am sure that many of you have done too. Well I have had enough of being a bit timid. You can’t sit around hoping somebody is going to find you, you have to get yourself out there and I think the thing that stops a lot of us from doing that is fear, but when you think about it, fear of what?

The next day, spurred on I sent an email to ‘Wye Valley Reclamation’  and asked if they would be interested in stocking my pieces of furniture and guess what they said!

I hope that reading this will inspire some of you to send an email.

Here is a sneak preview of the piece which I have done using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and my Kota Stencil, which you can find here

You can buy the magazine on September 5th (The publication date has been brought forward by a week)