Looking Ahead

Yesterday was my birthday. It's crazy stuff, I tell ya.

It seems I hold many of the same ideas and values dear that I did in my 20's, but now I know how to put them into action, am more confident in my abilities, and am actually taken seriously by others. I know, how exciting and odd at the same time (muahahaha)! Since I have been in grad school these past two years (has it really been that long already? How can it be that I am now closer to graduating than I am to registering for my first semester?!), my sewing and embroidery, alongside my little etsy shop, have developed in ways I never expected. I have also stepped into new roles and opportunities in the other half of my professional life in the museum world. I still love having this split identity, even though it can be stressful juggling the two worlds at times. They are equally important parts of me and I feel lucky to be able to pursue lines of interest in both. Just this semester, in addition to classes and the million+1 projects I have going, I've begun some part-time work on campus, embarked on my internship and thesis, and may have the opportunity to start teaching sewing and embroidery classes in the Boston area soon!

As you can imagine, that doesn't leave a lot of time for custom orders (and yes, this is the point I have been building to). It has been an agonizing decision to come to, and one that I have pondered over for some time now, but I know now that this is the right time to stop taking on any more custom shoe orders for the foreseeable future. To be clear, I will still be blogging here and updating my etsy shop with ready-to-ship items, but will not be accepting orders for custom embroidered shoes.

It's been a pleasure and an honor to work with all the clients who have entrusted me with their requests over the years, but I no longer have the time to keep up the level of service I feel my clients deserve. It's difficult to justify the long-term viability of the work when communicating the details of each order, an unpaid task, takes far more time than the embroidery work itself. In addition, there are now many who have copied my designs for resale at lower price points and I don't feel it is a worthy competition. If there ever comes a day when I am able to do more custom shoes, I will be sure to let you know (I will update this post if that is the case). In the meantime,  I'm looking forward to putting my embroidery to the test in new endeavors, including teaching, pattern drafting, and if I get my way, hopefully more opportunities for publication. By doing so, I can continue to balance both worlds, just in new and different ways. On that note, I do have a new embroidery pattern I hope to release sometime in the coming month, so keep your eyes peeled!