Where I ended

Coming to the end of my 2 year break, I realised that I couldn't go back to the way it was. It only leads back to burnout. My business needed to change, I needed to change.

Where I ended:

If you have been here since the beginning of my sewing journey, I think that almost makes you part of the family by now, right? It's been 8 years since I decided to take my little hobby and turn it into my own business. At first it was just a little thing I was doing on the side and making a little money here and there. Over time it grew into a little fashion brand (now closed), an online sewing school, making entire collections for fashion designers and my very own shop in the heart of Cairns CBD.

I feel like I've done a little of everything over the years, but I was also jumping from one thing to the next and not giving myself a chance to breathe. I just kept going and going until I couldn't anymore. I could barely function, and that wasn't fair to myself or my family.

I loved my time here in my shop, but I quickly learned that it wasn't right for me, or my business.

In this space I had done so much for my business and went down a path I had thought about for a very long time. I truly loved the space but it just wasn't right for me. As a very introverted person, I didn't like that people would come right up to the windows and stare at me for a very uncomfortable amount of time. I would also need to work long hours to complete commissions and the journey back to my car was a bit dangerous at that time of night. Along with many other reasons (including the ridiculous heat of Cairns!), it wasn't the right space for me.

So after 13 years in the beautiful city, I said goodbye. To all of my friends and family who had been there with me, I will miss them very much. But I wanted more to my life and my family needed a chance for more as well. So we made the huge move down to Brisbane and into MUCH colder weather. We're happily freezing down here right now so the move has been very positive already.

But what about Bespoke Stitchery?

To be completely honest, I thought about closing everything down and just focusing on my family and my studies. I wanted to reduce my stress as much as possible and do little by little until I'm ready to get back to work again.

Well that lasted all of 6 weeks.

Yep, by the time we moved into our new house and started unpacking, I had already started planning what I wanted to do again! Apparently I was a lot readier than I thought I was! But I wanted to take it slow this time. Give myself a chance to build the foundations properly and make sure I am supported better this time. I can't do my best for my clients if I'm not supported as well.

So what am I doing now?

I'm building everything back up again. I'm working with better systems to help me run the business and not burning myself out with admin work. I'm making sure that everyone who either works with me or learns from me, are able to get the best out of me.

I already have my free sewing course and my advanced corset making course ready for students to join as soon as they're ready. But my pattern making course is being completely remade. I got some amazing feedback from some of my students and I can see exactly what they mean. So I am remaking it from scratch and will be releasing it as soon as possible. I can't give you and exact timeframe because I'm in the middle of creating the framework and video outlines right now. It's the most intensive part of the process and I don't want to rush through it. Taking my time with this step makes the final course so much better! You'll see, I promise.

I did put one of my courses up onto YouTube though!

A lot of people were hoping I would put some free content up onto my YouTube channel so I was able to put my entire Dressmaking Techniques course up there! It's got every single sewing technique you could need in just a few videos. Plus how to set up a domestic and industrial sewing machine too.

Check it out here:

I have a long way to go before I'm really back in the groove again but I'll get there soon. In the meantime, I'm looking after my health, making friends and finding all the good Korean fried chicken and Ramen restaurants in Brisbane.

I hope you're doing well and I'll share more when the foundations of Bespoke Stitchery are up and running again.

Andi xoxo