What I learnt in 2007

I would sum up 2007 as unpredictable, educational and eventful.
A year of tea parties, cake, shopping handmade online, hair straighteners, elections and job interviews.
This year has ended very differently to how it began.
I started the year with high hopes of a fashion career, having just graduated from Whitehouse and landing a part time job at Hot! clothing. But things never turn out how you expect , I often think you should expect the unexpected. Well the job was originally supposed to be three days a week, so I kept working at Mr. Whippy on the weekends, but they got busy and kept calling me in for extra days, many weeks I would work six days a week. But then suddenly, as the busy season begins to slow they decide they no longer need me as there is no longer enough work for me. And so the job hunt begins...

Luckily while bouncing from one interview to the next I made some interesting, and rather significant discoveries.
First of all I discovered the wonderful, yet frightening world of social networking. I kept hearing about 'myspace' and being the curious person I am, i decided to join up to this infamous 'myspace' I quickly discovered I knew little about coding, but with help, I soon learnt the fine art of code (or at least taking advantage of other peoples code). Myspace, as dodgy as it is, had some significant plus sides, and I reunited with some old friends, acquaintances. As the year progressed I began to join more and more social networks, including the very popular 'facebook', 'deviantArt' which I have found extremely inspiring, as well as 'We love Etsy' , 'IndiePublic', Flickr, YouTube and StyleMob.

My second great discovery after leaving 'Hot! Clothing', and probably the most significant, is Etsy. Etsy has had a HUGE impact on my year. Instead of buming around, moping because I couldn't get a job, I have been able to occupy my time, making and selling things online. This of course taught me an awful lot! To start with I had to learn how to use paypal, and get over my fear of spending money online (I was very hesitant to spend that first 20 cents to list an item). I also began to shop online for the first time. I became very encouraged and inspired by all the amazing work I was seeing. I also learnt a lot about promotion and getting your name out there. I even learnt how to use a forum, yes its sad I know, the first time I entered the forum I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

But it has all paid off and I have had some amazing experiences including gaining wholesale orders, selling my work around the world, become a featured seller on etsy and even having my work published in a book.
I felt like I just had a crash course in running a business.

Another thing I discovered online is the wonderful world of blogging. I have an extensive list of blogs I now read as well as the fun task of keeping my own up to date.

It has been an iteresting year, and I have learnt a lot, I'm going to Tafe next year the study Graphic Design. So I look forward to learning even more :)