Why I changed my career after 20 years and why I love it !
Hi Folks ! So I often get asked how I began my business and why I am doing this after over 20 years in an entirely different industry, so I thought I would write a blog to tell you guys all about it ! Enjoy my lovelies and if you have anything else you want to know, please don't hesitate to contact me...I love a blog suggestion !
I used to spend my days rubbing bodies...
"I reckon if I added up the number of people I have massaged, preened and pampered we are talking over 18,000 treatments at least !! Thats a lot of panpipes and candle light !"
Hopefully you have gathered that I used to be a massage and beauty therapist before moving here to Sweden. I have spent my time over the last 20 years in various ways from managing an award winning holistic health spa, working in a local village salon and also had my own mobile treatment business followed by working at home, providing treatments from my very own treatment room. And I have absolutely loved every minute of it on the whole !
I have been very lucky to have had jobs that I have thoroughly enjoyed and have enhanced my life.
Aside from working in retail whilst studying in college I have been really lucky to have found a career that I have absolutely loved. Nothing gives me more joy then helping people to feel better whether it be physically or mentally .. the wonder of massage and other holistic therapies is that the power of touch is a magical one and I have seen first hand how much difference it can make to people. To be with someone and offer them some time, patience and comfort in a difficult moment is a special gift and throughout the years I have learnt how important it is to really listen to people, to put myself in their shoes and to remove myself from judgement. I have made some very wonderful and dear friends through my time as a therapist and I do miss it sometimes, the real connection of hands on skin and peace and quiet, the feeling of safety and friendship, it has been a real passion to me and a time I will always be thankful for.
So why did I change my work after all this time?
"Every moment is a fresh beginning" T.S Eliot
In 2018 I decided to set up a little side hustle creating mostly wooden painted decorations, fairy light garlands made from felt flowers and bespoke illustrations. It all started when I decided to make some for myself, shared them on social media and much to my delight started to get orders for them... so it was really quite an accidental process.
It's one that I am now so grateful for as when the pandemic hit I had to close the door of my treatment room and find another way to fill my heart and to bring a little bit of happiness to others and that is when my illustrations really took off.
I stopped doing the handmade crafts so much as they lent themselves so well to craft fairs and I really found a passion for drawing and making bespoke greetings cards and illustrations for peoples loved ones.
New country, new job !!
And then we made the move to Sweden, in December 2020 and we were met by the most beautiful and stunning scenes I have ever seen. Swathes of soft, white snow, pine tree lined, long country roads and stunning blue skies lit every creative spark I had but I had to put any artistic endeavours on hold in order to get to setting up a whole new life in a country we had never stepped foot in and lets just say that Swedish bureaucracy is very thorough and can be very slow !
After a year or so of living in Sweden I decided to start drawing and painting again. It has been a slow process but I feel constantly inspired by the wonder of mother nature and my head is now whizzing with ideas !
And so here we are. You join me at the very beginning of this new adventure and I hope with all my heart that it will be one full of twists and turns, love and laughter and wonderous possibilities ! After all, If we can pack our lives into a transit van, move to a country we have never even visited and set up a whole new life in the middle of a global pandemic, then I am damn sure that I can make a success of this growing and heartfelt new business of mine !
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