A New Direction!

I was working on my wedding album (because if you're not going to get your photos printed for your five year wedding anniversary in April, it's not going to happen) (I'm talking to myself here), and as I was sorting through our photos, I had a moment where it hit me how much I had evolved from the girl in those photos.

In 2015 I was just starting One + Only Paper, unsure if designing wedding invitations was even going to work out, and behind the scenes feeling really anxious and insecure about basically anything and everything.

In 2019, I had my third fantastic year in business - honestly what I had dreamed about and more in 2015. I was working with incredible clients and planners who not only wanted beautiful stationery, but also valued the services I provided, I had the flexibility and the ability to travel more frequently (something I had always dreamed of with my career), and I had about a million ideas on how to improve and expand in the future.

I also spent a lot of 2019 questioning if I even wanted to do stationery any more. I found myself feeling like I was always plugged in, like I wasn't ever doing nearly enough, and feeling like I wouldn't be able to handle it if even a minor issue arose, or a client was even mildly unhappy with part of their experience. The funny thing about it was that I think last year was probably the smoothest running year I have ever had, and I still couldn't shake this feeling that it was all going to fall apart.

I think one of my best and worst traits is that I do not give up. If there's something I believe in, that I believe I should be doing, I am going to try it from every angle until I get what I want. It's a huge factor in any success I have had, and it also means that I sometimes hold onto things longer than I maybe should. I actively have to remind myself that if I don't enjoy doing something in my personal life, like a hobby, I don't actually have to keep doing it. And for something as big as my entire career... well it was scary to even think about letting that go.

So I blocked out 2020 in my bookings calendar, and started playing with the idea that maybe I don't make wedding invitations any more. For stationery, you do things so far out that even though I started seriously thinking about pivoting in July, I was still fully booked with clients through the end of the year. Which basically means I've had a lot of time to think about my future, and get comfortable saying that:

For 2020 (and the foreseeable future), I am no longer accepting wedding stationery clients!

What am I going to be doing now instead? WELL, as per usual, I have a ton of ideas. I have a loose outline of how I want the year to go, but I don't want to talk about everything before I'm ready - I haven't even updated my website yet, ha!

The first thing I'm pursuing is that I will be releasing a collection of original watercolor artwork in April! That's a sneak peek up above. They're large scale abstract landscapes ranging from 12 x 18 to 33 x 40 inches, and I'm so excited to show you more, and talk more about them in the upcoming weeks.

I'm also making a commitment to be more present on Instagram - I got pretty frustrated with the app (and honestly wasn't sure what to talk about/show on there since all my content was wedding related!), and took a bit of a break, but I'd like to take you with me as I begin this new career journey.

Finally, if you're still reading, THANK YOU so much for sticking with me! I'm incredibly grateful for everyone who trusted me with their wedding invitations, the wedding professionals who trusted me with their clients, and supported me in our projects together, and to everyone who chooses to check in with me even when I drop off the face of the earth for weeks at a time.

I'm so excited to see what the future holds.