Holiday Sabbatical Art Projects!

Mini Sabbaticlas, self-care,

Hi! Happy New Year!

2017 is the Year of the Rooster!
2017 is the Year of the Rooster!

Hope you had great holidays!

I had a very relaxing sabbatical week off the week before Christmas. I took it real easy, just hanging out, making art, and spent some time with friends and family.

In case you didn’t know, I take every 7th week off to recharge and rest.

I learned this concept of Small Scale Sabbaticals from Seanwes (A great place to get inspiration for your creative small business by the way!), and I’ve been taking my mini sabbatical week off since October of 2015.

It’s still one of the best business strategies I’ve ever implemented. When you’re growing your business, it’s easy to just keep working many hours because there is always something that needs to be done. Yes, I enjoy the hustle most of the time, but if I don’t intentionally take a time-off, I will eventually burn out. And if you’re burned out, you will no longer have the energy or passion to pursue what you love. That would be so sad!!

I ended up working through the last couple of sabbaticals, unfortunately, and I’d been feeling the effects for a while…

So for this sabbatical week, I was determined to not work!

I’d scheduled a few social events, but the rest of the week was wide open to do whatever I wanted!

One of the things I’d like to focus on when I’m on my sabbatical is making art for fun.

Which, I confess, is not easy nowadays.

Making art is my job now, and even if I’m just doodling, part of me is always thinking of ways to turn it into a product, like, hmmm, this floral design would make a good birthday card, or oh, I could turn this into a print for the holidays! and so on. It’s not a terrible thing since I’m still being creative and having fun, but just something to be aware of.

Anyway, here are some of the paintings I made for my 30-minute daily painting project during my sabbatical. (You can read this post to learn more about the project!)

Lots of oranges!

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A couple more food paintings related to the holidays.

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I made banana walnut pancakes on Christmas morning. So yummy!

On Friday, my friend and I went to Emerald City Fired Arts in south Seattle and painted this dinner plate ❤

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Here is the finished piece!

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I’ve also been getting into embroidery lately since I had so much fun with a cute embroidery kit by Beth Colletti Art & Design earlier in December. I practiced some stitches on the blockrprinting practice fabric while we watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies on Christmas day! It was THE. BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVERRRR!!

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Embroidery is quite fun and meditative! I’m not sure if I’d do anything with it, but I’d like to continue practicing this fun craft! I have hundreds of block prints to embellish, you know?

I realized since drawing or painting is always going to feel somewhat like work, I want to explore other types of arts and crafts to have fun with in the coming year.

Last but not least, I made this painting of me and Dave during my sabbatical. Through my daily painting practice, I’m painting more with gouache (an opaque watercolor) and LOVE it!

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I think this is going to be our Christmas card next year 🙂

Hope you got to spend some time relaxing and being creative during the holiday season!

Here is to another year filled with making, exploring, and learning ❤

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

 

 

Mindfulness Art Gallery!

Illustration, New Products, , , ,

Hey there, friend!

Hope your December is going well!

It’s crazy this year is almost over… When this post comes out, I’m gonna be teaching my last block printing workshop of the year! Then heading out to Wisconsin in a couple of days to see my in-laws! It’s definitely feeling like the holidays now.

You may remember I created 12 new artwork for the fall/winter stationery collection, and I thought it would be fun to showcase them today 🙂

I’m calling it the Mindfulness Art series because I created it to remind myself to have peace and calm in my life.

I started creating this art series after going to my second 10-day silent meditation retreat earlier this year (you can learn more about my experience here.) I came home super chill and centered and wanted to nurture those blissful feelings by creating these artwork.

 

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You are exactly where you are supposed to be.
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May all beings be happy, peaceful, and liberated.
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Appreciate what you have every day.
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Be gentle with yourself.
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I’d rather be here and now.
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Every day is a new beginning.
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Forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made.
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It’s OK if the only thing you did today was breathe.
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There is enough for everyone.
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You can always start again.
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Live like you have everything you need.
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You are enough.

I hope my art and the messages will help you find a little peace and positivity in your life, too! That’s what it’s all about anyway 🙂

And if you’re a Seattle local, I’m showing them at Tin Umbrella Coffee in south Seattle throughout the month of December, so go check them out 🙂

Meet lovely people and enjoy locally roasted coffee!
Meet lovely people and enjoy locally roasted coffee at Tin Umbrella!

p.s. These art prints will also be available on my Etsy shop as well, so check back and/or sign up for my newsletter to be notified when they become available 🙂 Bonus if you tell me which ones you’d like to see as a print!

Ok, friend, I hope you have a wonderful day and a peaceful holiday season!

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

 

30-minute daily painting challenge is ON!!

365 day illustration challenge, Growth & Development, My Thoughts

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The other day I posted this drawing on Instagram, and the cation read:

“Ok truth time – I haven’t drawn anything for 2 weeks. It’s a shame, I know. // I’ve been spending most of my time putting together my winter collection and other tasks, and you know how it goes. There is a lot of photoshopping, uploading, writing, posting, promoting, emailing, scheduling, packaging etc. etc. // Last night I finally doodled this while watching Netflix and it felt so nice. // I feel like I need to be intentionally creating work now more than ever. For myself and others who can use beauty and light in their lives.”

It was difficult to admit I hadn’t made any art (including doodling!) for two weeks!!! I mean, how can I call myself an artist If I don’t have a consistent creative practice? Isn’t the whole reason why I quit my day job to pursue my passion (=make art) full-time?

Right.

I get being an entrepreneurial artist means you need to have a strong business practice, and you don’t get to just make art all the time.

I’ve been focusing a lot on the business side of things because that’s where I had the least experience in, and I also enjoy the hustle of working on my business. But that doesn’t mean the only time I create art is when I’m designing new products or when “I have time” (well, look what that got me! Two weeks of not making art!!).

I had a wake-up call to me – in order for my business to grow, I need to nurture my creative practice more intentionally and put more time and energy into it. And business aside, I want to be a person who truly values creativity, and I want my action to align with my words. 

So, here is the deal. I decided to start a new 365 day painting challenge!

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My first painting was of our beautiful persimmons.

You may remember between April 2014 and April 2015, I did a daily drawing project called 365 Day Happiness is, where I made a drawing about happiness every day for 365 days.

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Happiness is Apple Cider. Isn’t that the truth?? Pen, watercolor, and colored pencil on paper, 2015.

That project helped me find and develop my own creative voice, and I became more confident as an artist. I also got many cool opportunities through the project, like being featured in one of Lisa Congdon‘s speeches and starting a partnership with Sakura of America.

This time around, I’m not gonna have a specific theme, but I’ll paint or draw something for 30 minutes every day (my big inspiration for this comes from August Wren, who is on her year 3 of daily painting!) and share it on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

I’m excited to practice painting with gouache (i.e. opaque watercolor) and other media, and limiting it to 30 minutes a day makes it less overwhelming. What scares me the most about putting a time limit is sharing work I don’t think are great 😀 You know, because when 30 minutes is over, it’s over. I’m not gonna try to make it “perfect” before sharing it with my audience. No matter how much I hate it, it’s going to be shared! And that makes me feel SO vulnerable!! EEEEEK!

But, my goal is about showing up every day and not about making a masterpiece every day. 

Like Jennifer from August Wren says, I’m not gonna apologize or make an excuse for work I don’t think are great. I’ll just paint every day, share, and move on.

Doing a daily project like this is a really good practice in letting go. And the thing is, number 1, people probably don’t think it sucks as much as you do, and number 2, nobody’s gonna remember your post 5 minutes after they see it 😀 They’re just not as emotionally attached to your creations as you are! So it’s OK 🙂

I want to do this for at least one year but potentially longer. I know once it becomes a habit, it’s just gonna be something you do every day, and you’ll start to miss it if you don’t do it. Painting every day is an awesome thing to do anyway even if I decide to switch my career at some point in the future!

When I had the inspiration to start another 365 day project, I thought about starting it on January 1st. But there is no real reason to wait, is there? I was afraid I’d lose a momentum or come up with excuses not to start if I waited.

So I just started my daily painting challenge 2 weeks ago! And here is a couple more 🙂

This painting is about how I'm becoming appreciative of my body the way it is now <3
This painting is about how I’m becoming more appreciative of my body the way it is now ❤
My mild kimchi :D
My mild kimchi 😀

You can follow along on any social media I listed earlier although Instagram (@honeyberrystudios) is probably my favorite. Use the hashtag #yukosdailypainting to view my paintings so far!

Hope you enjoy! And feel free to join me in the daily painting challenge. I can use a company in this journey 🙂

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

 

 

“Year of the Rooster” Holiday Card Behind the Scenes Creative Process

creative process, New Products, Shop, ,

I’ve been designing a special New Year’s greeting card for the past couple of years in addition to more traditional Christmas-y holiday greeting cards.

And I’ve always created a design around the Chinese Zodiac animals.

2015 was the Year of the Sheep
2015 was the Year of the Sheep
2016 was the Year of the Monkey!
2016 was the Year of the Monkey!

New Year’s Day is the biggest holiday in Japan and I have a fond memory of celebrating it with my family from January 1st through the 3rd. There would be lots of traditional New Year’s food my mom and grandma had prepared, and we’d go to the shrines to pray for a healthful year.

This is not exactly what they made... but you get the point!
This is not exactly what they made… but you get the point!

We’d send New Year’s greeting cards to our family and friends in December, and as long as you send it out before Christmas, they’d deliver them right in the morning of January 1st. I always looked forward to sorting through a big stack of them to see my friends’ cards and enjoyed reading their messages.

Designing a Chinese zodiac animal New Year’s card has become sort of a tradition for me. And it seems to be popular with customers who want something a little different for the holidays as well.

OK, so 2017 is the Year of the Rooster!

And these are the roosters who took the main stage of my New Year’s greeting card 🙂

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Fun and colorful roosters!
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This guy may be my favorite 🙂
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Roosters have such fancy hairdo!
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and pretty outfit.

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The most fun thing about these roosters is they all seem to have such personality! They make me chuckle 🙂

First step of my creative process was I did a Google image search of roosters and browsed a gallery of pretty and exciting looking roosters. They’re so much more interesting than hens to look at 😀

My style is not a photorealistic one, so after I study my reference materials, I typically draw from imagination and memory. I also don’t sketch with pencils first for most of my designs because I like the un-planned wonky look better.

I wanted it to be bright and fun and also wanted to work in a color palette I hadn’t chosen for my other stationery products for the season. Yellow, teal, and orange seemed like a fun color combo!

I used Sakura Koi Watercolor Field Sketch set with various gouache and watercolor paints I had.
I used Sakura Koi Watercolor Field Sketch set with various gouache and watercolor paints I had.

I started with drawing different parts of the roosters with one color, and switched to a different color and kept adding on to them rather than completing one rooster at a time. Less cleaning of the brush that way :D, and it’s easier to see the overall balance.

What’s cool about painting with gouache (it’s basically an opaque watercolor) is once they dry, you can add lines and patterns with another color and have it really stand out!

Once I felt the watercolor/gouache drawing was done, I let them dry completely and added some lines with my favorite Pigma Micron pen. I like how the black line pulls everything together at the end.

Micron pen, you're the one for me <3
Micron pen, you’re the one for me ❤

And then I scan my drawings and the hand-written “Happy New Year 2017” message in to Photoshop to clean up and design the layout.

Voilà! Here is your 2017 Year of the Rooster greeting card 🙂

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I love how they turned out! Aren’t they fun??

(I use StationeryHQ for printing my greeting cards. Their products are high quality and services are great. I recently switched to 100% recycled paper as well.)

If you’re looking for a holiday greeting card that’s a little different (or something to delight a chicken aficionado in your life), try these Year of the Rooster cards 🙂 You can order yours here!

Hope you enjoyed the behind the scenes peek today. I’ll see you soon!

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

How to Get Inspired by What You Eat

Food, My Thoughts, Recipe, self-care

I love to eat. And I love to draw what I eat! Surprise!

One of the creative business podcasts I listen to is Seanwes podcast, and he said in one of the episodes that to grow an audience, you need to curate what you share.

He says if you’re an illustrator, don’t be posting a bunch of pictures of your lunch. Instead, you should be drawing it!

That advice stuck with me, and I only shared the drawings of what I ate on Honeyberry Studios’ social media accounts for a long time. (I do share a ton of food photos on my personal account, though!)

I noticed as I made more drawings of food, I became more connected with what I ate.

When you draw what you eat, you take the time to notice the details of what’s on your plate. The ingredients, steps you took to prepare them, the texture, the aroma, the portion of your meal, and of course, the happiness you feel on your tastebuds.

On top of that, food journaling automatically gives you something to draw!

No more staring at the blank page when you’re feeling un-creative 😀 You do eat something every day, don’t you?

Here are some of my more recent food drawings:

vegetable sticks and peanut butter illustration

Veggie sticks and peanut butter. A simple and satisfying snack idea!

zucchini pasta with creamy avocado sauce with salmon with vegan walnut pesto illustration
Zucchini pasta with creamy avocado sauce and salmon with vegan walnut pesto. What a refreshing and tasty lunch!

BTW, you can check out the illustrated recipe for the zucchini pasta with creamy avocado sauce here 🙂

Japanese breakfast kale natto miso rice illustration
I have these phases where all I want to eat is Japanese food. All. the. time. Here is one simple meal I enjoyed the other day.
Oh, this Avocado Chocolate Pudding is so decadent and amazing...!!
Oh, this Avocado Chocolate Pudding is so decadent and amazing…!! My dairy-loving husband approves, too.

Oh man, these drawings are making me hungry… 😀 I better go feed myself now!

Do you want to learn how to create your own food journal? I created a tutorial for Sakura of America and you can watch it on their YouTube channel here.

Eat well and happy creating, my friend! xo

Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

Taking a time off when you’re swamped

Mini Sabbaticlas, My Thoughts, self-care

{Hi friend – I just wanted to acknowledge that this has been a rough week for many of us… I happen to write this post about self-care (or sort of a failed attempt at one) and hope it helps you in some ways. Know I’ve been thinking about you <3}

I just took my mini sabbatical week off during the first week of November, and it was not easy.

(If you’re not familiar with the mini sabbatical, I take every 7th week off to rest and recharge. I adapted the concept from Seanwes. It’s pretty much the best, and you should totally do it, too!)

I’ve been taking my sabbatical week off since last October, and since it’s a regular thing, I put it on my calendar in advance. And it helps me to not schedule any deadlines or client work during that time.

My mini sabbaticals force me to be more productive during my “on” weeks. Since you are taking a week off every 7 weeks (so 6 weeks on, 1 week off) you’re forced to get 7-weeks worth of work done in 6 weeks. I remember being super productive right before I left for a vacation at my old day job, and it’s a very similar feeling.

For this sabbatical, even though I knew it was coming, I didn’t plan well enough in advance so everything was behind.

First of all, I had to prepare for my winter holiday stationery collection release that was scheduled for November 1st.

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Yay, it’s here!
I was already behind getting everything ready for it due to planned and unplanned events this summer/fall – I swore last year I was going to start getting the holiday collection ready earlier in the summer – well, now I’m telling myself I need to start planning for next year’s collection, like, NOW. Sigh.

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I seem to need a reminder for the lesson #1 above, “Everything takes way longer than you think.” over and over….and over. Note to self: Always expect things will take longer. Things will go wrong. Schedule buffer!!! 

(BTW, who said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”? I do feel a little crazy going through this yet again!!!)

On top of that, my really good friend from Japan was visiting last week. So I had to juggle my collection launch timeline and hanging out with her for several days. Eeeek!

Although I had to bow out of some of the social engagements so I could finish work, we did manage to do some fun things together, like visiting the Seattle Art Museum to check out their Yves Saint Laurent exhibit (it was exquisite!), visiting my American parents on Camano Island, seeing our mutual friends, and taking a day trip to Portland.

And, I taught my block printing class on the last day of my sabbatical.

Honestly I was feeling so run down and tired that I didn’t feel like I was on my A game, but the students seemed to have a great time and did a wonderful job! Seeing how much fun my students had during the class always lifts up my spirit ❤

Look at their gorgeous work!!
Look at their gorgeous work!!
My sabbatical was not the most relaxing or rejuvenating, and I’m definitely feeling a little burned-out.

For example, it takes more to get and stay motivated. I’m tired and can’t stay focused on my tasks. I’m feeling low energy in general. The grey weather and daylight saving time change are not helping either! Not to mention the election… OK, I can’t go there, yet 😦

Holiday time is not the most relaxing fun time for a small creative business owner (or anyone? :D), and I really need to be more vigilant about self-care.

I need to listen to my body and be compassionate with myself. Giving myself permission to slow down or change my plans, especially during my hustle time, is still one of the hardest things!!

To recover from my not-so-relaxing sabbatical week :D, I’ve been taking things a little easy this week. I’m getting back in my regular routine of early bedtime (I try to go to bed by 9:30pm), cooking and eating more at home, and limiting my social engagements so I can just stay home and enjoy my alone time. I don’t know if it’s the age thing, but I seem to need a lot more down time than I used to to recover from stuff! 😀

Unfortunately, you can’t just batch your self-care all at once during your time off every 7 weeks.

Taking care of yourself in small doses every day really makes a difference! And, incorporating your small self-care habits into your daily routine is the key to success 🙂 Once you build a habit, it just becomes something you do, like brushing your teeth or washing your face!

I hope you take good care of yourself and stay well, my friend ❤

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

 

 

 

 

My 2016 Winter Holiday Collection is HERE!

New Products

I’m SO excited to tell you my 2016 winter holiday stationery collection is now available on my shop!!

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Let me give you a quick refresher on what’s in the collection! You ready?

1. 2017 Mindfulness Wall Calendar is beautifully illustrated with watercolor, gouache, and pen, and every month you will get my handwritten positive message to inspire mindfulness and gratitude.

2017 Mindfulness Watercolor Calendar

It’s 5″x8″ and fits perfectly above your desk where you will get the gentle reminder to pause and breathe every day.

Here is the preview of the pages:

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2. Who wouldn’t love getting a handwritten note? Send these Peaceful Homes Holiday Greeting Cards to share your holiday wishes.

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They come in 3 colorways: traditional green & red, cool teal & yellow, and pink & blue if you’re looking for something a little non-traditional and fun.

The simple illustrated designs of these holiday cards will bring peace and calmness during the busiest time of the year!

3. And my new kraft notebooks also come in 3 designs: Green Leaf, Circle Flowers, and Succulent Plants.

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I like to write down my accomplishments (both big and small) every day in my notebooks. I’d love to hear how you want to use yours! 🙂

4. Last but not least… In case you just WANT THEM ALL (I know, it’s so hard to choose!), I’ve created a holiday gift bundle for you!

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It includes the 2017 calendar, a box card set (assorted colors), and a set of 3 notebooks. It’s a sampler of the new holiday collection, if you will.

And by ordering the bundle, you save $10! You’ll definitely get the most value out of my new collection when you order the bundle. Oh là là!

You can gift the stationery set to a very lucky friend, turn them into multiple small gifts, or of course, keep them all to yourself 🙂

Heck, you’ve been working so hard this year, you deserve a little treat, don’t you think?

Well, friend, I’ve been working my butt off for this collection and can’t wait for you to have these goodies! I feel so lucky I get to make people smile with my creations every day. Let me help you be the one to bring smiles to your loved ones’s faces today ❤

In case you missed the link, you can view more photos and shop the new collection here.

Have a wonderful day! xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot

Tools & Resources to Grow Your Creative Business

business, Services & Tools I use

it's-business-time

I know many of you’re an artist/maker yourself and trying to grow your creative business.

I appreciate it when I learn new resources and tools to grow my business, so I wanted to share some of the resources I’ve found helpful.

This is kind of a random list, but I hope you find some of these helpful 😀

If you’re considering wholesaling your arts/crafts to retail shops:

  • Megan Auman’s “How to Sell Your Products to Retailers” online class on CreativeLive – an artist friend of mine recommended this class to me, and WOW was she right. This is solid gold and worth every single penny. It’s quite extensive and detailed and packed with actionable steps to make your wholesale business successful. At the time I’m writing this blog post, I’ve probably only watched 50% of the contents (it’s very long), but I’ve already made a return on my investment by implementing one thing I learned in the class. You need to watch this if you’re curious about wholesale!
  • Etsy Wholesale – As a small creative business owner, I rely so much on Etsy to sell my products online. I know it’s not perfect (my biggest pet-peeves being you have to compete with so many people who sell similar products at a really low price.) and I’d like to have my own online shop someday, but for now it’s working. Etsy also offers a platform to wholesale to retailers, which I’m considering applying for. I also learned a lot about wholesale policies and pricing from just reading their Wholesale Guide.

If you’re struggling with copy-writing:

  •  Laura Belgray’s website, Talking Shrimp – I first discovered Laura on a webinar she did on copy-writing. She’s so hilarious and her materials offer lots of real-life stories and examples that will make you cry with laughter. When you sign up for her newsletter on her homepage, you’ll get a free cheatsheet for writing your tagline. I look forward to her newsletter, too, because it always makes me laugh 😀 and I need laughter in my life more often!

If you get distracted by too many blog articles and online resources when you should be getting other work done:

  • Pocket app – Pocket is awesome for saving articles and online classes to watch later. I often get sucked into the interweb’s rabbit hole when I’m supposed to be getting my other work done.It usually starts out when I’m checking my email in the morning.I’d open one newsletter from a creative business blogger I like and starts reading the post. And I find a link to another article that sounds intriguing like “5 signs you need to redesign your website immediately!” I click on that and start reading another article…and another… Before you know it, you’re overwhelmed with more marketing strategies to implement and worksheets to fill out… Wait, what was I supposed to do today? 😀
    With one click of a button, you can save the articles and webpages on your Pocket app! I usually try to set aside a couple of hours a week to read and learn new things, and having everything in one place is really helpful. I can pick and choose what I want to learn depending on what mood I’m in and how much time I can spend.

If you use Instagram for reaching your audience and want to up your game: 

  • Meighan O’Toole’s blog – Meighan is an online creative business strategist and offers lots of free and paid resources for creative business owners. She doesn’t just talk about Instagram, but I read this blog article “9 Tips to Create a Cohesive, Branded Instagram Feed” and learned a bunch!
  • Link In Profile – It lets you add links to your Instagram images and send your followers to where you want them to go. I’ve just ended my 30-day free trial, but it’s seriously saving me time and I enjoy not stressing about updating the clickable links on my Instagram profile every day! I just signed up for a personal plan (it’s $9.99 per month after the trial period.) It’s a little difficult to explain in writing how it works – you can view my Instagram profile to try it out yourself 🙂
  • Alex Tooby‘s free Instagram tips & e-course – Alex offers free and paid services to increase your engagement and profits on Instagram. Her free offerings include Must-Know Insta Tips eBook, 7 Day e-Course, and IG Supremacy Checklist. I took her 7 Day e-Course and learned a few new tricks on using hashtags!
  • Later‘s blog – Later is an app/service that lets you schedule and manage your Instagram posts. OK, full disclosure, I’ve had Later account for a long time but haven’t used it as a scheduling tool (yet). BUT I learn so much from their blog posts! Just this morning, I got this post 9 New Instagram Features You Probably Missed in my email inbox. Totally useful information for someone who uses Instagram for their business (like me!) The Ultimate Guide to Using Instagram Hashtags was also pretty awesome and I recommend it to my friends all the time!

Ok, that’s it for today! Do you use any of these? What other tools, articles, classes do you find helpful? Please share in the comment below!

Thank you ❤

p.s. I’m gonna be on my sabbatical week off this coming week! My good friend is visiting me from Japan, and I’m super excited to hang out with her 🙂 You’ll probably see a couple of blog posts from me, though, about my winter holiday collection release (yay!) but won’t see my regular post until the following Sunday, November 13th. Just FYI!

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot