Welcome

Firstly I'd like to say a big HELLO & WELCOME to my new readers and followers, I have been looking at some of your websites and blogs and have been very inspired!

Today I have been on a 'Power of Momentum' course run by a local life coach who is a friend of mine. It made me realise what is important in my life and has given me the drive to change a few things. Even though I love my work and need to work because I don't have any financial support from elsewhere, today made me realise that I need to take more time for myself, family & friends and it reminded me of a great little story that I have up in my studio at all times. This is it, I hope that you like it:

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and then a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open up your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City or Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Perhaps twenty years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting" answered the American laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And then after that?"

"After that", concluded the American, "you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny fishing village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying the company of your wife and friends."

More examples of my patterns

Bloggers networking

One of the blogs I follow 'Lovely Clusters' has come up with an idea for bloggers to network. Check out her post here on March 22nd http://lovelyclusters.blogspot.com

This is an example of what you need to write:

Hi, my name is Amanda Lincoln & I am a Surface Pattern & Graphic designer, based in Hertfordshire in UK. I live with my housemate Matt and my bunny Maisy has the run of the garden.

I have three sides to my business, I design pattern for product such as wrap, giftware, scrapbooking, cards, partywear etc. http://www.amandalincoln.co.uk/portsp01.html

I also design licensed character product using style guides for manufacturers of things like mobile phone accessories, tablewear & stationery. http://www.amandalincoln.co.uk/portlp01.html

Plus I work with new & small businesses, designing logos and stationery http://www.amandalincoln.co.uk/portgd01.html

I have always loved being creative and I feel so lucky to be able to do this as my job. I have a particular passion for anything girly and Hello Kitty is my favourite license to work on.

This is my email address if you'd like to contact me:

amanda@amandalincoln.co.uk

Print & Pattern

I am very excited to see my work featured on my most favourite blog - 'Print & Pattern' today *GRIN* take a look here http://printpattern.blogspot.com

Casual Networking

I run a small networking group in Hertfordshire and we are meeting tomorrow, if you fancy coming along then the details are below, it'd be great to welcome new businesses:

Casual networking does exactly what it says on the tin.... I know some small businesses are nervous about networking and so I wanted to organise something less formal to what you usually find.

Basically we meet up and chat with other new and small businesses, rather than a more formal networking where you may need to give a brief ‘elevator pitch’ style talk of your company, this event will just be in a local bar or pub.

Casual groups are a good way to ease yourself in to networking if you’re shy or nervous, as you’re not going to be put on the spot to describe your services in front of bunch of experienced pitchers – it’s more a case of having a chat about what you do with a few people within the group.

The next one will be from 18.00 at Cinnabar Cafe in Stevenage Old Town on Weds 24th March. They offer light lunches and pastries if you'd like to eat whilst there and obviously the usual bar drinks and hot drinks are on sale too - they also have wi-fi access too for those who may need it.

Cost £3.50.

Feel free to bring other people along who may be interested in Casual Networking.

Any questions please mail me.

Stampin' Up

I went to Stitch & Craft at Olympia on Saturday to get some inspiration. Unfortunately I didn't come across a great deal that inspired me, apart from a great little company called Beyond-fabrics, unfortunately their website doesn't do the little stand I saw justice, but they do have a shop in Columbia Road, London, which I'm sure I'll be checking out in the future.

I also came across an American company who has bought stamping parties/workshops to peoples homes, A Stampin' Up! workshop is a crafting event where you open your home and invite your friends to enjoy an exciting demonstration provided by a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. When you host a workshop, you'll see new project ideas, learn different stamping techniques, and have fun with people you enjoy. I love the idea and I'm very tempted to have one, I just need to find enough local crafty friends interested in coming.

Check out: http://www2.stampinup.com for further information.