Ending 2017, Beginning 2018 Report
Normally at this time of year (well, earlier than this, I’m running a bit late!), I like to do a wrap up and reflect of all I did in the previous year, and look forward to plans for the next year.
I’m going to keep it pretty concise this year.
Businessy Things and BIG changes
I ran sales and clear outs, closing down the Fairies and Fantasy store as it previously existed. That means no more multi-artist range, no more wholesaling, no more manufacturing from my studio, and no more dye sublimation printing. The Fairies and Fantasy store has been around for over ten years, so this was a big change for me, but will free up a lot of my time to create art again.
Replaced the old Fairies and Fantasy store with a new range of products. All my art prints are still available, and products from this store are all managed and shipped by a third party, again, this is a huge time saving measure for me. Because 2018 is about CREATING ART AGAIN!
My Printable Fantasy Etsy store was finally loaded with downloadables for all my colouring book designs, stationery, and more thanks to my super awesome designer assistant, Kim from KILA designs.
Publishing Things
I published-
Faedorables Minis Colouring Book
Faedorables Cute and Creepy Colouring Book
Victorian Romance Memory’s Wake Colouring Book and Grayscale Edition
Ponds and Flowers Colouring Book
Fairy Magic Colouring Book
Emotionally Charged audio book
Fairy Inspiration Colouring Journal
Grayscale Fairy Companions Colouring Book
My colouring designs were reprinted in/by- Colouring Heaven specials, Nemesis Now special editions, Spanish editions
My art was licensed to products like- travel mugs, pillows, clocks, lamps, trinket boxes, jigsaws.
I released the Memory’s Wake Omnibus edition in paperback, and Editions Du Chat Noir released the French edition of Hope’s Reign
My art was published in- Magical History of Unicorns, Oracle of the Unicorns
I wrote these blog posts- Let’s Talk Writing- The Promise of Genre, Defeating Procrastination, and when it Defeats You
With the help of amazing fans I created this video about why colouring is awesome.
Art I did
Not much. This is pretty dismal really. This year will be different.
I DID start going to life drawing classes again which was wonderful and I’ll be doing more of in 2018.
Personal Stuff
I went to Japan! It was amazing.
My daughter started school! Also amazing.
What I didn’t do
I didn’t publish a calendar for 2018. I have done calendars every year for a long time, but with the dismay selection of new art created, and the wind down of the manufacturing I’m doing from my studio, I decided to skip this year. Instead we created digital printable calendar options.
No new Empaths books. Still. I KNOW. But I did write stuff. Secret project stuff. Stuff was written. Just not Empaths.
Attended
Books by the Bridge, Mind Body Spirit Festival in Sydney, Supanova Sydney, Sydney Comic-con, Central Coast Comicon.
And this year?
A lot of the bigger changes in 2017 were designed to make way for more creative time for myself. Having more help with my business, and cutting back on the non-creative side of my work was a big focus. 2018 is going to be all about writing and painting. I want to PAINT again. Colouring books have been fantastic, but I feel like I’ve done nothing but outlining art for two years straight and I need to PAINT. With value, and colour and shading and PAINT.
So there will be less colouring books. I’ll try and release something for colouring fans, but new paintings and writing will be my main focus.
After much soul searching, I’ve decided that writing is still really important to me too. I have stories I want to tell, and I enjoy the process of crafting a novel. I have a bunch of plans here, some secret projects, and some distant future ideas. You might not see much on the writing side for a while, but it will probably be happening behind the scenes.
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If you have any more ideas about what I should be up to in 2018, leave me a comment 
