Doing a little stocktaking

This morning, Facebook gave me an 'On this day...' snapshot as it always does, of things that I have posted on this date in previous years. Today, it reminded me of a blog post I wrote on 25 November 2016.

The opening paragraph read as follows (you can read the whole post here, if you're so inclined):

The last couple of days have been very difficult for me. The brief version is that I have lost my beloved workshop space. You know the cliche 'it never rains, but it pours'? This wouldn't happen while everything else was hunky dory. Oh no! It has to happen while we're trying to sell our house, and while Mr Namasi is trying to find work (in a less than ideal job market) before his notice period comes to an end, following the demise of the business he has been working for. And while I am waiting to find out whether 'the big C' has taken up residence in my body.

It seemed like an appropriate time to do a little 'then and now', without burying myself (or you) in the 'what went between' bit.

I have lost my beloved workshop space. We have since moved house, and I now have a workshop space at home. It is much smaller, and not terribly weatherproof, but it's adorable and I love it to bits!

We're trying to sell our house. As you can deduce from the previous paragraph, we sold our house. Not without a few glitches along the way, but it happened. And the proceeds from that sale are what keep the wolf from the door. I especially love our current house, the village and the countryside in which it... yes, I think nestles is exactly the right word.

Mr Namasi is trying to find work. Mr Namasi's search continues. The job market is fierce, and I/we have lost faith in the recruitment industry. At the time of writing, he is in the process of setting up an IT consultancy business... but still open to the idea of a role within an existing company.

I am waiting to find out whether 'the big C' has taken up residence in my body. The 'big C' had not taken up residence in my body, and a minor - albeit extremely painful - procedure was all that was needed. Poor Mr Namasi was subjected to the sounds of his wife squealing in agony as he waited helplessly in the waiting room.

Karyn's Kreations has been rebranded as Karyn's [re]Kreations. A new logo has been designed. A van called Barney has been acquired, and I'm making a real effort to find avenues to take my pieces to market.


So please spread the word: I have stock to hand, including great Christmas gift ideas. I also accept commissions and offer 1:1 sessions and group workshops. And I'm raring to go.

Rebranding, hard launching and all that malarkey

For the past couple of years or so, Karyn's Kreations has been a sort of semi-hobby, but plans are now afoot to make it 'proper'.

So I've been in discussions with various advisers (an ongoing process) and Mr Namasi and I are looking at our options.

I don't want to lose the personal touch - the investment of myself into each and every piece. I don't want the pieces themselves to become disconnected from their own stories. Their own histories. So I am exploring a way to incorporate my gift for narrative into the business, to make sure those stories are told. More of that anon.

I'm planning a rebrand. There are quite a few businesses called Karyn's Kreations out there. So that clearly needs to be revisited. And so I thought: mostly I remake stuff out of reclaimed material, revisiting it and giving it a renewed lease on life. That's a lot 're', right there. On top of that, the business was born out of my hobbies, my recreation. So I thought, how about Karyn's reKreations?

What do you think?

I'm also busy building a proper website, so that potential customers are able to find and buy my pieces online.

You'll probably notice those changes over the next while. The look and feel of the spaces I occupy online may be a bit fluid for a period. But fret not. I'm still the same friendly Upsycho I always was, making the pieces you've come to expect. I'm still accepting commissions. I'm still offering crafting lessons.

Hopefully it will become easier for you to access them. Once all my ducks are in a row and all my pigs in one pen, there'll be a 'hard launch' with a prize and everything. So watch this space.