2009 – what a year!

Happy New Year

Here it is – the last day of 2009.  Traditionally, this is when thoughts turn to reflect the year gone by, as well as look forward to the new year to come.

2009 for me?  The story of 2009 for me has its roots firmly planted in 2008.

Sometimes you can go for years and nothing eventful happens.  About 18 months ago, midway through 2008, I was walking into work thinking how uneventful my life had become, how samey, how mundane (although my job could never have been described as mundane – I was a manager/teacher in a young offenders’ institute – an “expect the unexpected” kind of job – although after 12 years, even the unexpected becomes vaguely predictable!).

Then our house was suddenly sold after over a year on the market.  

sold

The very same week I was told I was being made redundant.

redundant

Yikes!  Nothing was mundane any more!

One of the reasons for moving was to get a studio for me to work in (my art helped with my migraine problem but didn’t mix well with family mealtimes: “Would you like gravy or perhaps paint on your dinner?”) - so the redundancy did make us think twice about moving, but didn’t put us off.  The art would not just be a hobby anymore – with a purpose-built studio, rather than a kitchen table, it could become a business.

We found a fab house with potential for a large studio, storage/loading for craft fairs/markets from the attached garage, and (a very welcome bonus!) a huge garden.  The downside?  The house had been sadly neglected – and hadn’t been lived in for over 2 years.  64 (yes, sixty four – I counted them) overgrown conifers dominated the space I now call a garden. 

conifers

The would-be studio (second “garage”) was made from asbestos, tin, bits of fence and wooden pallets, bound together by a tangled mess of ivy (probably the only thing holding it upright). 

The house itself was (almost literally, it turned out) held together with seventies-style hessian wallpaper coated with several decades-worth of nicotine.  It needed a replacement roof, rewire, replumb, new heating system, new kitchen, new bathroom and, as we discovered when we stripped the wallpaper, wall ties to help the walls stay where they should be – er, together and not inches apart.

crack in the wall

Not much, then…

I was actually made redundant on the 11th December 2008.  We moved into rented accommodation on the 12th December.  The sale and purchase completed on the 19th December.

Newly redundant, with just a new part-time job and a business plan to my name, I became project manager, wallpaper stripper (oh God, what a job!), chief painter and, of course, brewer-upper for the myriad workmen – builders, roofers, electricians, plumbers, asbestos-removers - you name it.

work has started

a new doorway

shiny new flooring

The business finally got underway once the house was habitable and the studio rebuilt:  http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/creating-the-garden-studio/

Wow, what a year it’s been!  It’s been a massive learning curve for me – and I’ve loved, loved, loved every minute.  I’ve learned about building, roofing, kitchens, IKEA, B & Q, websites, blogs, search engine optimisation, taking/editing photos (ok, I’ve still a way to go on that one!!), craft fairs, farmers’ markets, and the value of sharing advice.  That includes giving as well as receiving.  Both have been very valuable. 

I’ve discovered frogs, dug up boulders, chopped down trees, used a chainsaw, made plum jam (well, what else do you do with 15 lbs of plums?), planted (and dug up!) all sorts of stuff, pruned an overgrown grapevine, crawled through roof spaces, climbed up onto roofs, got RSI from too much ceiling-rollering, scrubbed a very green greenhouse, froze (as well as painted) in my new studio, met all sorts of new people, made people smile, made people gifts they were pleased to give to others and also to themselves, stood all day at an outdoor market in sub-zero temperatures and not only survived intact but actually enjoyed the experience…

Phew!!!

I suppose what I have done is built a home and a business this year.  Wow, I hadn’t thought of it like that before!! 

It’s been inspiring, it’s inspired others (I know because they’ve told me) and I in turn have been inspired by many others who are doing something similar to me.  I found this blog post particularly inspiring: http://www.thatcanadiangirl.co.uk/blog/2009/12/14/the-hardest-thing-about-an-idea-is-to-get-it-started/ - it’s not all about the success for me, it’s about the doing.  The scraped knees alongside the victories, to paraphrase Vero’s blogpost.

We are in the middle of a recession, and it definitely hasn’t been easy.  But it most definitely has been very rewarding.

I don’t know what 2010 will bring.  I hope it brings you at least some of the joy and satisfaction  I’ve had in 2009. 

Happy New Year!