Sew Creative Bags
A labor of love and creativity
"I love being around creative people and beautiful handmade things. In a world where too much of what we have is mass manufactured, I love to support people who do things differently. There is a lot to be said for people who keep the traditions alive and remind us that we can do things for ourselves. An enormous amount of talent is lost when people are not able to follow their passion and do what comes naturally to them. More of us should take that leap. The world is a better place for it." ~Me
That is the philosophy I try to live by. A love of what you do and a passion for how you do it are really all one needs to get started. There is no such thing as failure if you do what you are meant to do. I come from a background in the arts and psychology, and I've always leaned toward the creative. My additional training in retail management and sales helped to pave the way toward the creation of my own business. Most of what I've done, I've learned from the ground up or by trial and error. SewCreativeBags is the product of the journey so far. In the last year, I've expanded my handbag business to include an online store and I'm hoping to expand it even further this year through a Kickstarter project that would enable me to hire at east 2 part time workers.
But I do not want to do this in the traditional corporate template. My goal is an experimental one. It is my wish to begin a process to help redefine the workplace. It has been my experience that the corporate world and the schedule it requires can sometimes be overly stressful for mothers who feel torn between loyalty to the job and loyalty to family.
It is my hope to grow my small startup into a larger business that embraces working mothers (or fathers who fulfill that role) and allows them the flexibility and freedom to not have to see those loyalties as mutually exclusive. Balance is possible. By working with each other instead of competing against, it is possible to change the very nature of the work environment. It is as much the responsibility of the employer to nurture and facilitate an employee to help that individual achieve their goals as it is for the employee to produce the desired effect for the company.
A job should never be a final destination. It should be a place to learn and widen your skill set so that you can move on to the next achievement. There are times when that process is a slower one. Raising a young family is one of those times. As a mother, I do understand how difficult it can be to juggle it all at once. I don’t know any parent that hasn’t felt the pressure to prioritize their day in a way that makes them uncomfortable, anxiety ridden and resentful. That is not an employee who will maximize a company’s potential. By removing that single piece of dissatisfaction in the workplace, a sense of loyalty and camaraderie can be created. That energy can only serve to move momentum in a positive direction.
The Bitcoin community has taught me that it is possible. When people decide to do things differently and to discard an outdated template in favor of a new paradigm, something very special is created. Others begin to see that the infrastructure and the rules they have been a part of all of their lives are nothing more than an arbitrary design. They do not need to obey or abide by them. Anything is possible. Anything. One of the highlights of my life was the
opportunity to meet John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman. It was not that book, that changed my view of the world, though it did play a large role in shaping my view of corporations and the potential damage they can do on a global scale if left unchecked.
It was a book called The World is as You Dream It.
The members of the cryptocurrency community are the embodiment of the theme of that book. To change the world, you must first change the dream. What is it that we want? That is how we determine how to move forward.
"We have dreamed it: therefore it is. I have become convinced that everything we think and feel is merely perception: that our lives--individually as well as communally-- are molded around such perception: and that if we want to change, we must alter our perception. When we give our energy to a different dream, the world is transformed. To create a new world, we must first create a new dream."
So I hope you’ll join me in the small part I intend to play in the global transformation. We all have a role – we just have to figure out what it is.
I will be posting updates on the Kickstarter project in the next 2 weeks. I’d love it if you would follow along and spread the word. I also hope I have inspired you in some small way to take a chance and to try to do one small thing differently today.
Small actions can have massive impact.
Tracey Leonard
Sew Creative Bags