Hello. Does anyone remember me!? I'm that girl who used to blog a lot more regularly but got swept up in a ton of life changes that are transforming my 2018 (and hopefully my future).
So. In May I quit my office job. I was sick of being treated like crap, sick of the complete and utter lack of room to develop, and sick of having to put all my real hopes and dreams on hold because my job was draining me so much. It set back both my physical and mental health in a big way. You get one life, as far as we know, so you might as well not spend most of your waking hours of it in a place that hurts you deeply. It wasn't a decision I took lightly. There was a lot of scrimping and saving involved beforehand so that if I did finally take a leap of faith, I could comfortably do what I wanted to do. And I did it.
I routinely talk about my current life on instagram and I know some of you already follow me there, so you'll know I started a fashion design course! I never really got into specifically why, though.
I'm doing a Fashion Design HND, and then a work placement after I graduate. The way I see it is, I never got to have any kind of formal qualification or training in my passion, and I was getting to a point where I needed some form of guidance when it came to growing a business, learning more industry techniques, and generally understanding the design process. I also knew that if my business didn't work out the way I planned, I wanted to be able to have the opportunity to work in the industry in a different way, be it through doing alterations/bridal, or being a pattern cutter, etc.
I don't regret going to university and having done a degree in a different field. It made me a better writer and linguist (speaking of which, if the fact I regularly dream in French is anything to go by, I need to keep up my learning of that language because my brain clearly enjoys it!). It expanded my horizons in an interesting way. And ultimately, had I not done that degree and gone through what I did, I doubt I would have ever taken the leap to start my indie label in the first place!
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| Tip for small spaces: get a folding table so you can set up a workspace, and pack it away again when needed! Here I was doing a design sketchbook assignment and watching Project Runway! |
I'm a couple months into the course and I'm enjoying it. It's fun and challenging, and it's been good to meet some new people along the way. On top of this, I'm pumping my time into my brand. I've got my first truly big event coming up in October: MCM London Comic Con! I've wanted to vend there for years but never felt ready. I am now! I'm in the process of making a ton of stock, expanding my product ranges, and piecing together all the little things I'll need to make my stall look the best it can be!
It's been such a long time since I found myself waking up in the mornings and having a clear, positive sense of purpose. Fashion is my passion, and knowing I can continue to make my own little mark on the alternative fashion world is a great feeling.
It feels like a personal renaissance is going on. I feel inspired to create and to experiment with my own style. I'm learning how to manage time on my own terms again, and I hope I can put out more content that people will find interesting or useful or just plain entertaining! I hope you'll join me for the ride!
Have you ever made any drastic career changes or decided to re-train? Got any big life changes going on at the moment? I'd love to hear all about it!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time ❤
It's so great that you're pursuing your fashion dream! Good luck with vending at MCM Comicon too, that sounds fantastic.
ReplyDeleteHaha my life is hectic right now. Moving in a week, getting married in three :p
Thank you so much! It's nerve racking as it's such a huge event but fingers crossed I can prepare in time!
DeleteWow, good luck! Those are such huge life changes to happen all at once. I hope everything goes smoothly for you, and that you can kick off your newlywed life in a space that makes you feel comfortable and content ^_^
It's incredible that you found the courage to pursue your passion, fingers crossed it will all work out for you. The job market and how it all works at the moment is pretty depressing (I know as I'm looking to change jobs), but I have not yet figured out what is it that I'd love to do most, let alone found the guts to do it. However, I've no doubts that you will find your place in the fashion industry, if that's what you're passionate about then your heart will know what's the right thing to do. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, dear. I am feeling hopeful as I have much more of a focus and plan than I did before, when I kept jumping from one ill-fitting job to the next.
DeleteChanging jobs or careers is so daunting, but once you have your moment of clarity, things will fall into place for you, even if it's in a way you least expect! Sometimes it takes doing something that isn't right for you before you can really figure out what your path is. I was scared to cause a huge upheaval in my life but I knew I was more scared of how my life would turn out if I didn't.
Thanks a lot for the kind words <3
That sounds so exciting that you are able to do fashion college now, I imagine that studiying something creative like fashion is much more fun and a complete different experience then studiying something classical where you just have to memorize stuff from textbooks.
ReplyDeleteI'm also currently studiying for the second time because my first university degree was something I didn't love at all and I only studied it because I had to. Back then I hadn't figured out my dream or life goal yet and just chose something what I thought would give me a good job later. I think when you just finished school and never had any life experience you can't know what you want to do with the rest of the life. Now looking back I'm always torn between that my first degree helped me to be the person I am today, but that I also wasted my time for something useless
It's a very different experience for sure! There's still some research/book aspects to it that are very familiar to me, but the more creative projects are very challenging.
DeleteI completely agree with you. It's ridiculous to expect young teenagers to have a definite idea of what they want their career to be when they have so little life experience, and probably haven't met a lot of people outside of their own hometown etc. There's so much pressure to make decisions immediately, when perhaps it's better to time some time away from school and work your first job, save some money, travel, and figure out who you are instead of rushing into university (which isn't even a guarantee of a good career later on... I am living proof of this!) What are you now studying? ^_^
Sometimes I wonder if I completely wasted my time but I try to look at the positives I got from my first university experience. I think I needed that time to understand myself more and the work ethic I learned while I was there is something that still serves me today.