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Last night, I finally had one of those moments where it really sank in that another year had passed. 2015 started out pretty rough and was not by any means my best year. It was another year full of tough change. Major lifestyle changes were made, relationships with people and friends changed, and many business adjustments were made. In addition, it's been a tough year for Baltimore, which has really made me do a lot of thinking on a larger scale.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, my paternal grandmother ended her battle with dementia and passed away. While I was not very close to her and did not feel an overwhelming sense of grief as I had when my maternal grandfather had passed, it felt like another reminder that this was a year of loss.

Thinking back on my year, I see some positive light among the harder moments, but I am definitely looking forward to a fresh start. And perhaps in time, I'll write about the tough aspects to get it out my system for the new year. But for now, I thought I'd look back on some of my goals for 2015 and see how those evolved throughout the year.

1 // Continue learning new things. I would call this a success. I learned how to be resourceful in order to make it through the slow summer season in my business. I learned how to rebrand and expand my business, realizing that it is always a work in progress. I learned new life lessons about friendships and relationships. I learned how to run a printing press and set up my own (I still need to write about this!!). I learned how to make new things and take time for myself. And I hope that in 2016 I'll continue to be a learner.

2 // Get out of the house a least once a week. Yet again, a success! Since my studio is in my house, my hope was to get out of the house once a week to do something fun so I don't feel so confined. Andrew and I were mostly successful with our weekly Wednesday happy hours, only missing a few weeks here and there when life got extra busy. However, by consciously deciding that I needed to get out of my house, I spent several days a week doing various fun activities-- hiking, going to yoga class, grabbing coffee and working at the coffee shop, or going to a park to do some reading and sketching. And it worked! I felt less frustrated about being in my house all day. I'll continue to intentionally seek time like this in 2016.

3 // Make more local art connections. I would call this a partial success. Or maybe a work in progress. I have definitely connected with a few other artists in the area, which is exciting. However, I still feel like I am on the outskirts. I tried to start a monthly gathering with other artists and failed. However, I've gained a few new connections in other realms. Still making baby steps here, but I guess things like this just take time.

4 // Find community within my personal life. This is also a baby steps kind of thing. On one hand, we had several get togethers in our home which helped us feel like we were closer to being a part of a larger community. On the other hand, we felt that we somewhat lost some major friendships due to changes in our lives. Those losses have been incredibly hard since they were sort of unspoken, immediate, and a product of natural life changes-- something that we ultimately had no control over. While Andrew has been able to adjust to these more easily since he still has a solid community through work, it has felt isolating to me and much more difficult to deal with. On the other hand, these changes have brought other longtime friendships into the spotlight as we feel we've been able to identify who the most important people are in our lives and personal community.

5 // Be more organized and follow through. This was mostly a success, and it will be something that I continue to focus on. I was better with following through on concepts and ideas for my business. I followed through on personal goals as well. However, I find that sometimes I easily give up after a first attempt if things don't go as planned. So, there is still work to be done. As for organization, I feel as though I've already laid the groundwork and put the tools in place to try to continue on that path.

6 // Find affordable studio space of my own. This definitely didn't happen. It is nearly impossible to find affordable studio space in Baltimore that is nice enough for my purposes. There are plenty of affordable raw spaces, but for someone that needs a finished space in which they can do the clean things (product photography, computer use, etc.) along with the dirty (mixing ink, using a printing press, etc.) it's just not feasible for my current budget. I actually stopped actively looking for spaces because my frustration would spiral into wanting to leave Baltimore to find a cheaper city, which opened another huge can of worms. I'm fairly content with my studio space as it is now, even if I find myself stepping over boxes and feeling cramped from time to time. I've realized that this is just something that I need to put on the back burner for now.

7 // Send more snail mail. Total FAIL. I need to sit down and consciously make time for this. I have a mental list of people that I need to send cards to, but I always think of it at the most inopportune time. It's time I start writing this list down and actually doing it. And as always, if you'd like to help me jumpstart this goal, you can always send me some snail mail to the following address:

Heidi Shenk
PO Box 12396
Baltimore, MD 21281

And there you have it, friends! That is 2015 in review. How did you make out on your 2015 goals? Are you happy, like me, that this year is over? What do you hope to improve upon for 2016?

Every year, I am faced with a very familiar dilemma.  Thanksgiving arrives, we eat food and give thanks, and then I send out a newsletter email announcing a massive sale for my business. And each year, it sort of makes my stomach churn. It's not that I don't like offering a sale or discounts every now and again, but more so the consumerism of the whole weekend really bothers me.

I hate Black Friday. Yup, I hate it! To me, Black Friday and the other following days all feed into one giant conglomeration of gross consumerism. I'm not quite sure what trampling each other at a Wal-Mart for the best deal on a giant tv has to do with the holidays. And being somewhat of a minimalist, I prefer not to buy things just for the sake of buying things. While I'm not really religious, I still like to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season. For me, the holidays are about being thankful for what we have and giving to and caring about others. It's a chance for us to all take a step aside and reflect on each other as people instead of ourselves. It's about love.

However, in years past, I gave into the madness. I felt pressure to host a sale even though it didn't make me feel so great. Sales like that are tough for small, handmade businesses too. It's a juggle between your bottom line and the expectations of customers. It almost feels as though you have to compete with the big box stores and offer absurd discounts that may not really be feasible when you consider your time and materials. People forget that your costs are much higher than that of Target or Wal-Mart, and often times they overlook the amount of work you put into each item. It's almost as if they forget that small business owners are just that-- a business, a person trying to make a living and put food on the table and pay the bills.

As Thanksgiving neared, I struggled to feel even a bit alright about joining in with the shopping madness yet again. I began toying with the idea of trying to turn the weekend into a positive. I thought about how rough of a year this has been for many of us in Baltimore. We all need a little something to brighten our spirits in this city these days. And with that in mind, it just felt right to donate to non-profits in Baltimore and give back to my city.

After I made the decision to donate instead of host a sale, I began to worry. Would people be angry that I opted to go this route? This past weekend is usually one of my busiest times of year, and there are a large group of customers that only ever purchase from me if they have a coupon code. I was certain that I'd lose their business or that they would actually get upset with me for not hosting a sale this year. I had fully prepared myself for taking this on with the certainty in mind that I would actually lose business in comparison to previous years. And that in itself was a little scary to think about for a small business like mine.

However, the opposite happened. They still purchased their holiday cards. They still bought pencil sets to fill up their stockings. And they told me how excited they were that 20% of their sale was going to be donated. I even had two people come to my booth at the Charm City Flea on Saturday that had read my newsletter and were excited to make a purchase as a way of contributing to a charitable cause.

This past weekend was a success. This morning, I wrote checks for several hundred dollars for both Gather Baltimore and The Living Classroom Foundation's Believe in Music program. Most of all, I felt that these last few days made me have a little more hope for humanity. It reminded me that I'm not the only one that cares about others or has a general distaste for the consumeristic ways of our society. Most of all, I realized that people want to help each other. Sometimes, all we need is a little nudge or reminder to step up to the plate.

So, thank you! Thank you if you made a purchase this past weekend! Thank you if you made a donation to my chosen organizations! And most of all, thank you for proving me wrong and for showing me that people do care! I am so incredibly thankful for the people who I get to call my customers, and I am certain that they are the best people around. Because of you all, we're able to help programs that will continue to build and strengthen this amazing city that I get to call home.

xo Heidi

 

 

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family! I have a lot to be thankful for this year, and I've spent a lot of time reflecting upon that. Often times, the weekend following Thanksgiving turns into a mad rush of shopping. In years past, I've hosted sales for you all-- my most loyal customers. This year, I'm going to do things a little differently.

A lot has happened here in Baltimore over the course of the year. Many issues of struggle and inequality came to head this past April. For many, these issues were new to them, never before in the limelight. For others, like me, they were problems that I saw bubbling under the surface during my time spent teaching in a Baltimore City classroom. And for many, they are daily realities.

So, this year, I hope to start a new Black Friday and Cyber Monday tradition of giving. Instead of offering a coupon code, I want to give back to my city. While I often offer 20% discounts in my shop, instead I'll be donating 20% of my sales from Friday through Monday to two organizations that really mean quite a lot to me-- Gather Baltimore and The Living Classroom Foundation's Believe in Music program. I've outlined a few things about each program below to help provide a better understanding of how invaluable they our to our city.

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Gather Baltimore is a local non-profit that works to bring surplussed fresh fruits and vegetables to families and people who are in need. Baltimore is known for its food deserts-- sections of the city where getting basic healthy foods is a challenge. Gather Baltimore is working toward providing for these types of people both through donations and through their blue bag program, which offers affordable fresh fruits and vegetables that are a surplus from local grocery stores and markets. Gather Baltimore is also helping to change the way we look at food waste and sustainability.

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The Believe in Music program works to uplift and empower Baltimore City students through the self-expression of music. Through the program, music is used to both create community awareness and also foster a connection to music within their daily lives. Music is an important aspect of my daily life, and this program provides what I believe to be an often overlooked necessity of expression within the public school setting here in Baltimore City.

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From Friday, November 27 through Monday, November 30, I'll be donating 20% of all revenue towards these amazing programs. Please join me in giving back to Baltimore! Even if you don't plan to make a purchase, please consider donating to these programs in the coming days. For those of you that do make a purchase, I'll be sending a special thank you your way. Additionally, if you make a purchase of $40 or more and mention this blog post when you place your order, I'll be sending an extra surprise your way.

And lastly, if I haven't already said it a thousand times, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all that you do! I am incredibly grateful for each and every one of you. You enable me to do what I love doing each and every day.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

If I'm being honest, this year's holiday line was a challenge. I had a tough time thinking about the holiday season, as I often do, in September. On top of it all, I decided to try printing a few letterpress cards, which presented its own challenges. Some of you may know that I acquired an old printing press this summer (I really should dedicate an entire post to that!), and while it was mostly ready for printing, I needed to make several adjustments to the press to make it function properly. It was a major learning experience, but a super fun one!

The letterpress line includes three cards printed with gold or silver metallic inks. The cards are printed on 120lb cotton card stock, and are truly luxurious. The metallic ink lettering gives a little bit of a shimmer in contrast to the color.

And my line wouldn't be complete without a few snarky cards. I have two new additions to a small line of honest cards that are paired with gold envelopes, and one new illustrated card that reveals my sentiments about snow. I lived in Syracuse, New York for five years of my life, and grew up in Indiana in a lake effect region close to Lake Michigan. Snow is not my friend, and I'm happy to enjoy the more temperate winters we get with minimal snow in Baltimore.

And finally, of course, I am celebrating the launch with a coupon code! You can use the code HOLIDAY20 to receive 20% off in the shop or on Etsy from now through Wednesday. Stock up on holiday cards, pencils, notepads, or whatever you'd like! And as always, thank you all for your continued support-- you make my job the best job on the planet! :)

They're here! And I'm so excited! I've been working on these new products for well over a month, and they're finally ready to share with you all. Today, in addition to the new weekly notepad planner, I'm introducing two smaller notepads, and a goal planner.

The notepads are 4"x5.5" and are perfect for keeping track of small tasks, jotting down a grocery or errands list, or just taking some quick notes. Each notepad is 50 sheets of high quality paper. While I'm super excited to be able to add these to my line, I'm even more excited for the new goal planner.

Lately, I've needed a little extra motivation and organization to get bigger picture ideas accomplished. I'm the type of person that benefits from writing things down, so I designed this goal planner to help me follow through on larger projects.

The planner is 5.5"x8.85" and also have 50 sheets of high quality paper. You can utilize this in multiple ways. I choose to fill out a sheet and hang it up so that I can visualize multiple goals as I work on them. Others might choose to work on one goal before ripping off the top sheet and moving on to the next.

The goal planner has space for you to jot down ideas, plans of action, obstacles, and even an end reward for accomplishing your goal. There are large and small task checklists that you can check off as you go. Each of these new products was designed in mind to be stylish yet functional and can be paired with the matching weekly calendar notepad.

To celebrate the new launch, you can use the code YAYNOTEPADS to receive 15% off any order of $15 or more from now through tomorrow, Thursday, October 29th. I hope that all of these new products will help you stay organized as you finish out 2015 and as we approach a new year!