A year ago I quit my job. A really nice job with fun colleagues. A job as an engineer for which I studied quite long. A field of work that I still really like. But yet, I quit my job to start doing something else. For my parents, and many colleagues and friends this wasn’t a logical decision at the time. But for me it has been one of the best choices I made over the last years.
“Choosing happiness has to do with following your passions and prioritizing the things that just make you very happy.”
I believe you can create you own happiness. That has to do with making choices, with following your passion and prioritizing the things that just make you very happy.
A year ago we celebrated that I quit my job. Cheers!
What my biggest passion is, I discovered when I first had a stand at a craft fair in February last year. During a day at the office I made a spur of the moment decision to ask the organization of a large craft fair if there was a tiny stand available for me. And a few months later I was standing behind some tables with my freshly printed crochet patterns, yarn from my own stash and quilting fabrics that I bought during an online black Friday sale from the US.
“Working with all those pretty materials and sharing that passion with others, that makes me so very happy!”
During that fair I talked to so many lovely people. Of course it’s nice to hear that people like your designs and patterns. But at the same time I discovered how much I liked to explain to a newbie sewer what she would need to get started with quilting. Or to help someone find the perfect yarn colors for her next project. Working with those pretty materials and sharing that passion with others made me so very happy. I was bouncing all day long behind my stand.
The first craft fair I attended with Sugaridoo
That craft fair made me think. If my hobbies made me so happy, shouldn’t I do something with that? It wasn’t that I was unhappy with my job. (I still get super excited by a nicely coded simulation in Matlab.) But the idea that I could build something for myself. A business where I can decide what I work on, what I do each day and how much time I take for friends and family is really something special.
So that is what I did. I started working full-time on Sugaridoo, on July the first 2017 I changed from being employed to being a entrepreneur. Now a year has passed, and in that year so many things happened. I attended a lot of craft fairs, published my first book the Sugaridoo Sampler, launched the Sugaridoo Webshop and started working from my own studio in March this year. Crazy to take a look back in time and see how Sugaridoo grew over a year. Maybe it’s my pregnancy hormones, but I’m having happy tears right now realizing that I can do all of this. Every day.
Art quote by Miekinvorm.nl
Your own business is something that is always changing and growing I think. Sugaridoo didn’t became as it is now over night. On March the 25th 2013 I soled my very first crochet pattern. That is already 4.5 years ago. By giving it time and attention it grew slowly to what it is today. And there is still so much room for change and improvement. But that’s totally okey. I took the first step to ‘Make it Happen’. Awesome to work on that everyday!
Thank you so much for being a part of my Sugaridoo journey.
Love,
Irene
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I started my own bussiness since the second year of me in college ( it was on 2011 ) ,, i like making handmade stuff alot and sell them like crochet scarves , blankets and cup coasters ,, also i make polymer clay customized items ana also started 6 months ago to learn how to quilt ( i just wish to have some good fabrics where i live ” Egypt ” ) … Oh by the way i also make handmade women accessories … Loving all of that and you remind me of myself … After college i worked only for one month and quit it to concentrate on my own one <3. Greetings from Cairo,Egypt
You are truly an inspiration!
I am binge watching, night 2 of your Vlog. Was able to connect tonight to read a few Blog posts.
You are adorable. You are a natural and very pleasant to listen to.
It is truly fun to watch what is going on in your part of the world.
I work in machine sales in Phoenix, Arizona. We too do craft and quilt shows, and you’d never know you are a world away. Same thing for us.
Keep up the good work.
I tell myself and my children, keep finding your passion [it changes!] and follow it. The money will come. Thank you for sharing your story and passion with all of us!!!