At the time this post goes out, I’ll just have gotten back from my trip to Yellowstone National Park with my mom 👯♀️
(I’m on sabbatical next week, but I’ll probably share some pics with you 😉)
Rather than skipping my post for a week, I wanted to send you a quick reminder…
Yes, that’s right. Say YES to yourself!
Give yourself what you need to feel good and whole. It’s not selfish. Your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being is very important. As important as your family and friends’, if not more.
And according to my therapist, whom I trust very much, needs are not negotiable.
So here you go, my friend. You have my unconditional permission to say yes to yourself. Today and always.
I take every 7th week off to rest and recharge. 6 weeks on, 1 week off, then repeat. (I still take the weekends off in the meantime, or the weekend equivalent 😬)
It’s on my Google calendar perpetually, so I don’t even have to think about it.
Brilliant, right? The idea is not mine. It’s seanwes.
(BTW, he’s writing a book about it. Totally check it out if you want to learn the hows/whats!)
I’ve been practicing it since October 2015, and I’m pretty certain I would’ve been burnt out in my biz a long time ago if I hadn’t been taking the regular time off.
During my mini sabbaticals, I still engage in my biz to keep it going, like replying to my customer emails and fullfilling orders.
But other than that, I try to keep my calendar open and do what I feel like doing.
Last week, I had a few obligations that took me out of sabbatical mode, but I still got to do things just for fun.
Here are some highlights 👇🏼
I’ve been baking more lately. I wanted to eat chocolate-y cookies, so I made these Chocolate Crescent Cookies. They were delicious 🌙These porcelain cuties came out of the kiln. I turned them into little pins ❤️ They’re not for sale, but I’ve got a few more kitties and birdies and plan on putting them in my shop when I have the time. Sign up for my newsletter if you wanna hear about it first!Dave’s working on Orcas Island for a couple of weeks, and we share one car, so I took him there last Wed. I miss his big smile 💗On my way back from Orcas, my ferry was late for over an hour 🤦🏻♀️ so I doodled this. I’d had a difficult confrontation with someone the day before and had been processing it. Making art about my emotions and situations always helps.And then I was back to work at Redmond Arts Festival last Friday – Sunday. It was a great show and I was so happy many of you came out!
Self-care is super important, my friend.
And NOT selfish.
Hope you’re doing something to recharge your energy as often as you need!
When I hear a little voice in my head say, “Don’t do it! It’s dangerous. You’ll fail and everyone’s gonna know about it!!,” I have to pause.
I remind myself of what I’ve heard on a podcast once that the regret of not doing something is much worse than the regret of doing something.
So when I created a bunch of new work for my 2020 calendar (coming in October!), this message resonated with me the most.
Here is the thing – I tend to deflect when someone tells me I’m brave.
I think, “No, I’m not brave. It’s no big deal. It happened because of _______ (my parents, my partner, my situation, my age, my luck, fill in the blank!)”
Do you do that, too??
(Did you notice I did that earlier when I mentioned it was Dave who was the brave one when I quit my job? 💁🏻♀️ Correction: It took both of us to be equally brave to make that decision.)
I’ve been practicing owning my own bravery – no matter how small it is.
The more I notice myself being brave, the more confident I feel in business and life. And it helps me put myself out there more and share my gifts with others.
See? It’s a win-win.
You’re brave, my friend 💛
xo
ps. My new collection offers this and other encouraging new designs 😘 Go get inspired today.
Do you ever get a funny look when you try to explain to a stranger what you do?
“What do you do for a living?”
“Oh I’m a Cheese Sprayer.”
“A cheese what!?”
Ok, maybe you don’t have an odd-souding job like Chesse Sprayer (look it up, it’s a thing.)
And really, neighter do I.
But there is one thing I tell my customers that gets a funny look, oh maybe 75% of the time.
It’s not the fact I’m obsessed with cats. Or that my bedtime is 8:30 😴
It’s when I tell people my stickers are dishwasher-safe.
I tried to ignore that funny look at first – I thought I was reading their faces wrong. You know, sometimes, people just look funny and it has nothing to do with you.
But then I noticed the sense of relief in them when I followed up with “so you can put the sticker on your water bottle, and it won’t peel off.”
I’d worked for another local DV org for 14 and a half years before making a transition to working in Honeyberry Studios full-time and have always been a big fan of the Network.
So I was honored and surprised when I got an email from my friend, Eli, who is the Board President at the organization a few weeks ago.
In his email, he said he thought I’d be a great candidate for the position and asked if I’d be interested in joining the team.
I was very excited for the prospect of joining the Board but hesitated to say yes at first because I didn’t feel qualified.
When I pictured “Board of Directors,” I imagined a group of people who are white, older (than me), upper-middle class, and have a corporate job or a “real” business.
(You know, not a “handmade” kind of business…)
I didn’t fit the profile at all 🤷🏻♀️
Big imposter syndrome kicked in, and I was swallowed in a whirlpool of “what ifs” and worst-case scenarios.
What if I suck at the job? What if I couldn’t deliver what they expected from me? What if I make a bad decision or give terrible advice? What if it’s more time-consuming and stressful than I think?
I was afraid they’d find me out.
They’d be disappointed and it’d be super awkward. And then they’d wish they’d never asked me to join the team, and now they have to have a meeting to make a plan to gently exit me from the Board and never speak about it ever again.
I know, my imagination runs WILDsometimes – it’s good for my creative work, but not so good for other situations 😛😭
Eli and I had a few back-and-forth about the logistics and my concerns – he patiently reassured me that I had a combination of qualities they were looking for.
While I still felt an imposter-syndrome hangover, I wrote this letter of intent.
That’s when I knew I really, really wanted to do this.
So I was very happy when I got a call from Eli several days later telling me that I was officially IN! 🥳
Interesting, though, that my imposter syndrome got even worse when I shared the news on social media.
A lot of people sent me kind, encouraging messages and congratulated me. It was wonderful and overwhelming at the same time.
Overwhelming because a lof of the comments were about me as a person, like “you’re great” or “you’re wonderful” and I didn’t feel I deserved it.
I was telling Dave how these comments were making me uneasy because I hadn’t actually done anything yet.
A little voice inside me was saying, “Yuko, anyone can join the Board. But what are you going to accomplish? You’ve been away from the work for so long. Do you remember half of the things you said on your resume?”
Yeah, right. People should really hold off on congratulating me until I do something awesome.
Maybe I shoud’ve kept it a secret.
And then Dave said, “You know you’re gonna do great work, right?”
Right.
Sometimes when my brain tells me I can’t do something, I listen to the people I trust, who say “yes you can.”
from my next collection 💙
If I trust their judgement, and they say they believe in me, then I should believe in myself, too, you know?
It’s so meta, but I think you get it.
And that’s how I’ve gotten over the most recent bout of self-doubt.
Being uncomfortable with something new and unknown is healthy.
I know I’ll continue to have moments of insecurities throughout my life – after all, I’m a human being with lots of feelings (LOTS) – but I’ll also continue to learn and practice skills and tools to manage them more effectively so I can get back to being my whole self more quickly.
Why am I telling you all this?
Well, because I wanted you to know it’s OK if you feel this way too.
when I say I make art that tells me what I need to hear, I mean it 🌵
You’re not a robot🤖
Sometimes we stumble and get stuck. There is no shame in that, my friend.
I know you can, too.
xo
ps. my friend Sarah at Saltstone Ceramics is having Queer and Dear show throughout this month and July! Go enjoy the work of amazing queer artists in person or online 🥰
When I’m at shows, I often see my customers carefully go through my prints and cards and have an emotional reaction.
I hear:
“Oh…this is so true.”
“My sister needs this.”
“Your art is so HAPPY!”
And occasional (and my favorite)
“I’m dying of cuteness 😆”
I also hear:
“Your cards say exactly what I wanna say!”
YES!
What that tells me is my messages feel more authentic than the ones you find at big box stores.
It makes me happy because I do care a lot about what I say on my cards.
Art is important, of course. And the message is equally as important!
When I craft my messages, I pull a lot of inspirations from my past work in social service.
At the domestic violence organization I worked at, we were trained to be non-judgemental listeners and supporters of the DV survivors.
Not an advice-giver or tell-them-what-to-do-er.
That approach was perfect fit for my personality. Everyone’s situation is so different. I don’t even wanna pretend to know what’s best for other people!
Instead, I let them know I saw and heard them. I wanted them to know they were not alone, and that they didn’t have to prove anything to me.
No matter what you’re going through or how you feel about yourself, you deserve respect and dignity.
So when I create messages for my work, I ask myself, does this feel respectful? Would I actually say that to someone I care about?
Or would it be helpful for me to hear this?
Because when I dig deeper – and making good work always requires you to dig deeper – I’m the one who needs to hear those messages the most.
I’m no better than you. I don’t have it all together. I need to be reminded of my worth every day.
Art heals, and to be honest, I’m just as much of a recipient of its healing power as you are ✨
Art also connects people.
Even though I’m severely introverted 🙋🏻♀️ I still need connection to other people to thrive. And my art has helped me to share myself and connect with so many awesome people (like YOU ❤️).
I’m super grateful that you’re at the receiving end of my creations, and I hope my art is helping you to connect with your loved ones, too 🌈
(It’s a practice I’ve been sticking to since October 2015 inspired by seanwes.)
I often get asked what I do during my sabbaticals.
I stick to my routine more or less because I feel the best when I follow my routine. I also maintain my biz, like responding to emails and shipping orders. I try not to schedule big deadlines during my sabbaticals.
Other than that, I prefer to not have anything pre-scheduled so I can do whatever I feel like!
If Dave happens to be around during my sabbaticals (he also has his own business), we might go see a movie or go thrift shopping. Maybe I do a big picture planning for my business. Or just read and doodle on my couch.
(You can read my blog posts to see what I’ve done during my past sabbaticals.)
I do what refuels me.
I work very hard while I’m “on” so having a regular recharge time has kept me from getting burnt out.
Do you have a regular time off or self-care routine? What refills your energy reservoir? Or are you having a hard time taking care of yourself?
Tell me in the comments 😊 I genuinely love hearing from you!
There won’t be any blog post next week. See you in a couple of weeks 😘
I often take so much for granted – my husband, health, friends, etc.
When I’m in a funk, this message is a great reminder that I still have a lot of things to be grateful for.
I’ve got this in a sticker form and have it on my laptop where I see it every day 🌈
It’s easy for me to feel I’m not _____ (pretty, talented, thin, productive, focused, loving, good wife – you name it, I got it.) enough especially when I compare myself to others (more on that next.)
It’s nice to see this reminder and tell myself that I’m enough the way I am today.
I use social media, like Facebook and Instagram, every day for my business. I love how easy it is to connect with my friends and community there.
At the same time, it’s made it so much easier to compare myself to other people on the internet.
These are the thoughts I have often:
“Woo, look at her beautiful studio space! My work space is a mess, and I can never show it to anybody.”
“Her shop has so many sales! I wonder if I’d ever be so successful.”
“Wow, she has so many followers and likes on Instagram. Why don’t I have more?”
I still have these thoughts, but this message grounds me.
I remind myself that there are lots of people who have fewer followers or “likes” (or not on social media at all!) and have a very successful business.
(Or HAPPY.)
And everyone’s journey is different. I’m the only person who can know 100% of what’s going on in my life and business. What works for someone else may totally be a wrong choice for me.
It helps me to find peace wherever I am in life.
And if you’re having similar struggles, I hope it helps you, too 😊
In Japan we have a saying: January goes, February runs away, and March leaves. I guess people have felt this way about the first three months of the year for a long time.
It’s nice to know it’s not just me. Hehe 😀 Do you feel the same way?
In the meantime, I have a few announcements today, so let’s jump right in.
First off, I have a couple of new items available in the shop!
“Self-Care is not Selfish” design is now available as magnets!
It’s been one of my customer-favorites, and the vinyl stickers with the same design has been very popular as well. I’m excited to add this to my magnet family.
Honeyberry Diary 