Saturday 30 April 2011

2011 - The Story So Far

Yo blog, long time no see.  How's things?  Crikey, where's the time going?

4 months into 2011 and this is my first post of the year.  Stuff has happened in that time which has forced my hand professionally but hopefully in a good way.

For family health-related reasons, it's now no longer a good idea for me to be out of the house doing a 9-5 job.  I could see the day coming and maybe that's why I've been a bit reticent about throwing myself into applying for jobs.  So I'm no longer prepared to compromise, it's becoming a home-based freelancer or nothing.

Money has always been the stumbling block stopping me from going for it.  Hopefully that's about to change as the government is about to introduce an updated version of the old Enterprise Allowance Scheme (which helped me start my first business in the late '80s).  This should offer more of a financial cushion to support me with materials, marketing, etc, if only for a few months.  The trouble is nobody knows when this scheme's starting or exactly what it's going to offer!  So right now I'm badgering the Job Centre every time I visit and I've been booked in with a new business support group who will hopefully be more use than all the other idiots I've been shunted off to see over the years!  Ah well, we'll see.

In the meantime, I'm giving my online shops a spring clean and over the next few weeks I'll be adding new designs and products for your purchasing pleasure.

First up, I've taken some designs I originally submitted to T-shirt design competition site Allmightys and added them to my Zazzle store.  They're inspired by 3 of my favourite animals and are bound to turn heads as part of your summer wardrobe.

(The following images are mock-ups.  The finished products are available in a variety of styles and colours although I have presented them on the colour I feel suits them best.)

A mean-looking red deer stag confronts his opponents with his vicious antlers, ready for the rut.  Shirt available in light and dark formats.


Hundreds of individually-drawn feather details on this glorious peacock, strutting his stuff for the hens.


A salmon makes a death-defying leap up a raging waterfall to reach its ancient spawning ground.

The shirts cost from $22.95, giving you a practical, hard-wearing garment and also a unique piece of artwork you will never find anywhere else.  So if you enjoy reading this blog or my Scrapbook, or if you like to follow me on Twitter or Facebook, please do what you can to support my shops and spread the word to new followers.

Next in my shop spring clean I'll be adding new products to my Café Press stores, putting some of my Zazzle designs onto new items and also unveiling some new additions to one of my ranges.  Watch this space!