Affair…ME…what???

Ok you caught me…..I have been having a little side affair with my sewing machine.  See pictures below.  All of these pieces are for sale at A.E.

handmade one-of-a-kind fingerless gloves: created from recycled sweaters.  $27.00

handmade wool/silk collar with velvet ribbon tie: $50.00

Advice…

A friend of mine just gave me the best business advice. 

“Don’t let your business run you, you run your business”.

One of my biggest struggles in business is figuring out when enough is enough.  I could spend all of my time working on my business.  In my mind there is always something that could be improved, contacts to be made, products to be created, customers that need to be called back, new artists to be discovered…..

I love what I do so much that I sometimes forget their is life outside of Archival Elements.  I guess this is what it feels like to be truly passionate about something.  But how do I find that balance?   The past 5 years Archival Elements has been my baby.  It has progressed and grown in ways I never imagined.  I can remember when I first open my doors for business.  I would sit at my computer and hope for a customer to come through the doors.  Slowly the one customer became 10 and now 5 years later I feel that I can’t keep up.  I am at a point where it is not just a “one woman show” anymore, I need worker bees and new equipment to help me work more efficiently.  What an amazing feeling that I started Archival Elements on a dream and now it has become my lively hood.

Maybe… I do have balance!