As most of you will know 2023 has been one shit show after another. The first 6 months were taken up with dad's drama, deconstructing his empire & business (and the only thing he ever cared about), dealing with his incidental lung cancer (untreatable) and his complete detachment from reality. He's been in his new home now for a good few months and whilst he's still toxic as ever, the dementia is responsible for the removal of a thin veil of decency. The dust has settled and we can now breathe whilst we intermittently fix his park home up so it doesn't disintegrate in his absence.
On the 22nd Nov Ben, my youngest son (aka the baby), broke both the bones on his right leg & my Xmas marketing & making was halted so I could go & be his mum & make sure he didn't die out there. Suffice it to say whilst 3 weeks in Thailand wasn't what I needed, the sun, heat and time I got with Ben really did me the world of good. He's doing great now on his crutches & Salford ortho are happy with his progress.
Just a heads up for 2024. More consistency, bigger, badassy pendants & all the gemstones are on the cards for me this year. I've quite the collection to choose from and whilst a house move may be on the cards (my house is sinking) I'm approaching this wobble as an opportunity to expand my space.
This year I'll be attending more gemstone workshops to help with my gemstone identification & gemmology training (thanks to Sally & @gemmologyrocks). My skills will be pushed to the next level with the help of @lucywalkerjewelleryschool and in the background a career 180 is in the works (if I'm lucky) which will free up 80% of my time.
Running a small business is incredibly difficult, especially when you have so many moving parts & elements like I have. I've got the jewellery side, the folio/journal/card side & the lapidary side. I have so many rough opals & rocks to cab I could cut solidly for 3 years & still not run out of rocks! Sadly, cutting rocks is postponed until the warmer weather as I've made the decision to move the dirty work outdoors. It makes sense because I've got £100's of card stock in my room that really can't get dirty!
So what to expect in the new year/new me blurb? Hopefully a regular-ish newsletter, better engagement and I'd love to develop a sense of community. I've successfully divorced my personal Facebook & Instagram pages and joined a fabulous little business group that is helping me tie everything together! This year really will be Mizzicats Emporium's year to shine bright like a Zircon!
Have a lovely new year everyone & thankyou for your continued support-Cat x