For this small business ( and a lot of others!), there isn’t a lot to look forward to once the boom time of Christmas is out of the way. All that
January brings is chilly draughts and the invariably depressing last minute Tax Return (2021 WILL be different).
There is a slow and gradual pick up of work nearer the Spring, but those first couple of chilly months are often a chance for early business Spring cleaning, piles of admin (I am looking at new branded stationary quotes today) and recuperation from the busy business of the festive season.
So, from the fug of the business grind, imagine my delight at being contacted by The National this month – recognition! They got in touch via a recommendation from past clients (which is always a nice thing to discover). They must have said some nice things and pointed out some of their favourite items as The National wanted photos for a wee feature called ‘Meet the Maker’. They had a few questions for me to answer about Illustration etc and how I do things.
All press is good press (so they say) but in a Covid-19 world of closed shops and slow sales, the best kind of press reminds folk they can buy nice things made by people who really need that support.
Buying from a wee business and pre-paying for services are the things that will keep folk going during this interminable series of closures and lockdowns. Every order I receive lifts my spirits because at the other end of the transaction there is a person who likes what I do and wants to keep a piece of it.
I’m lucky that I have anything to sell at all. Many of us freelancers have no work; theatre makers and massage therapists, musicians and hairdressers. That list is just the folk I personally know. I suppose this is a wee reminder that we all depend on each other.
