We've got lots of changes coming up at Castle GlassHouse this month, (hopefully one really big one), so I guess it's time to bring you all up to date!
Fun!
As I'm sure you're all aware, the holiday season is fast approaching, and September is my main prep month, where I do as much as I can to get ready for my busiest time of year. However, I'm also working hard on having lots of fun this September.
I know that sounds kinda silly, but I find it so easy of falling into the mindset of 'Oh I have free time, I should spend it working!' Please note: This is not a healthy mindset.
This month I'm determined to enforce my 'One Day Per Week Off Work' rule, as well as working fun time into each and every day, from something as small as spending 10 minutes playing with the cat (or next door's dog, the most adorable Butter Bean you ever saw) to something super fancy like going to see the Grayson Perry exhibition in Rochdale one afternoon, or driving over to Altrincham to meet my handsome new nephew Lobo.
Holiday Prepping
Work wise though, I have a loooooong to do list for September-
Last year was my busiest holiday season ever, and I'm so incredibly grateful to each and every one of you that ordered my products!
But at times... it was HARD. I'm talking 'minimum sleep, daily trips to the post office and many, many cancelled plans' hard. By the end of January, there was a sizeable part of me that never wanted to look at a piece of glass ever again!
Now don't get me wrong, I very quickly got over that feeling, but this year I want to do things better. I want to have as much product as possible made in advance, have everything set up and ready to go, so that when the orders start rolling in, I don't have to put every waking hour in to keeping up with them. Just, y'know, most waking hours...!
All this means that I spent a couple of hours this morning, on this glorious sunny day, soldering Christmas trees! I don't know if I'll ever adjust to the fact that when you run a business like mine, you need to start thinking about next Christmas around March time!
Potential House-Shaped Spanner
So that's my two big focuses for September, but there is a Potential Spanner (PS) that may be casually tossed into the works at any point.
You see, me and the fella are in the process of buying a house! So exciting! But, the process is taking a looooong time to complete, (thank you pandemic) so although our offer was accepted in April, we still don't have any idea when we will be completing and getting our keys.
As I work from home, this has made life kinda difficult, because I'm not sure when I'll need to pack up all my office and studio equipment to move, and I've been holding off from stocking up on packing supplies etc. because I do not want to then have to move them to a new house!
When it eventually does happen though (and please, please let that be soon!), you can expect to see lots of content showcasing my new workspace, which I have already carefully planned out several times! Fingers crossed that the process will be done soon and we'll be packing up the cats and heading to our new home soon!
Big Ears has a BIG BIRTHDAY!
Speaking of the cats, an exciting event happening at the end of this month is that our darling Big Ears is turning 13! She's becoming a teenager! I'm planning on spoiling her rotten for her birthday (even more so that usual) with copious amounts of Lick-E-Lix and some exciting new toys. She's also suggested I run a little promotion for you all, to celebrate her milestone, so keep your eyes peeled for details coming soon.
So a busy month ahead with lots to get done and lots to celebrate and enjoy- what are your plans for September?
