I can't believe it is officially 2016 and another Catmas has come and gone. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday! I know I did! But like so many others at this time of year, I'm sadly not immune to the stress and exhaustion that comes along with the holidays. Now that all the seasonal craziness is winding down, I'm happy to re-focus my energy from Christmas gifts and family events to the future of Lady and the Cat.
With the new year, I've done lots of reflecting on where this blog (and Lady and the Cat in general) has come since its inception in September of 2014. In typical fashion, my first instinct was to criticize myself for all of my goals that fell short over the last year. For example, my dreams of farming mass quantities of catnip (laugh if you will, but this prospect was a thing at one point), opening a hugely successful Etsy shop, and getting myself a paid web domain obviously did not happen. Not completely from lack of trying, but alas...no catnip farm to speak of.
Sorry to disappoint.
What I can say, though, is that I've actually accomplished a whole heck of a lot. So now it's time for the gooey, gross part where I talk about all the good stuff. A year and a half ago, I had the lightbulb moment to start Lady and the Cat as a way to simultaneously express my creativity and connect with other crazy cat ladies. I honestly didn't know what Lady and the Cat would be exactly, just that I felt so claustrophobic without an artistic outlet of some sort. So I did a ton of reading on handmade markets, started to blog, networked with other indie crafters online, and quite literally got my hands dirty making any and everything cat-related to see what kinds of creations I landed on. And while my expectations and realities didn't always align, I'm pleasantly surprised with the things I've pushed myself to do. While I have slacked for a few weeks here and there, I've consistently blogged over the past 18 months. I've met other crazy cat ladies and other handmade artists. I've developed a small yet original product line that, while polarizing, is surprisingly appealing to a particular demographic of people. I tested the limits of my own productivity and landed a spot as a vendor at my absolute favorite local handmade market. I've sold at said market twice now and come out having made a profit both times, something I would have never expected during my first year of such a brand new endeavor. I overcame my social anxiety and actually did these shows despite the strong instinct to throw up and stay home under blankets. I've taken my failures and come up with ways to improve upon them in the next year, and in fine-tuning these creative adjustments, come up with new and better ideas for the next year.
It's crazy to sit back and look at how far Lady and the Cat has come...and even crazier to think about how this is still just the beginning for me. There is so much room to continue learning and growing, and the more involved I get with this, the more inspired I am. Which is wonderful, because for the first time in my life, my deeper involvement in a project has caused my passion to grow rather than falter. For the first time, I'm enjoying a project so much that the "finish line" isn't the important part, but rather the journey. And while I still have so much to accomplish, I can't help but feel proud of the positivity I've cultivated in my life all thanks to this little kitten of a project.
So to anyone still reading, thank you so much. I know I always thank my readers at the end of a post, but I truly do mean it from the bottom of my heart. I'm a weird, anxious, hermit cat lady artist whose best friends are a couple of Maine Coons. I never expected to receive so many good feels from all of you simply by sharing what I love. So to all the people still sticking around on this blog, "Liking" my Facebook posts, sharing these entries, or coming back to my vendor booth to buy another kitty ring, you all are the real MVPs.
I'm so happy that you're still here to continue this ride with me, and I can't wait for you to be part of Lady and the Cat's continued growth. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Now that I've gone and made a huge cornball of myself, I'll give it a rest. But I can't wait to keep the momentum going in 2016, and will continue blogging and sharing as much as possible with my awesome cat-loving community! There are still some really exciting announcements that I'm hanging onto that you won't want to miss!
Until next time...
Xo*
Jess
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