A Good Day in Austin
Working at Paper Source for the last few months has been an incredibly inspiring and fun way to enhance and inform my freelance work, while challenging me to remain focused and efficient.
It's admittedly hard to work 30+ hours a work there, and put in as many hours as needed for my own business (also, this whole finding cute shoes to stand in for a full day of retail is daunting) but it has truly been so beneficial for me. I love being a part of my customer's projects and empowering other people to help their creative vision come to life. I love getting to play with different tools and be exposed to beautiful materials I wouldn't have considered using otherwise. It's excellent for keeping me on a somewhat normal schedule and for forcing me to interact with other human beings as a showered, clothed member of society (working from home got really ugly for a few weeks last year). And yeah, the discount is pretty great, too.
But, mainly, there are two big opportunities that working at Paper Source has afforded me that I am exceptionally grateful for this month:
1. Good Day Austin, the morning show on our local Fox affiliate, contacted our store about doing a little segment on Valentine's Day crafting. I got nominated to represent the team on air and, after getting the ok from the corporate office, went in to the Fox studio to tape the piece last week. It aired this morning and now it's online, right here:
2. At the end of the month, I'll be leading a workshop on hand lettering at the Austin Paper Source! It's already sold out, so, it's definitely happening unless that measles outbreak makes it this way.
All Paper Source customer service associates are expected to teach workshops, but this one is a little scary for me because I'm developing the curriculum from scratch.
Gulp.
Notice that I specify "leading" a workshop - not teaching, or instructing. Just leading folks through some materials, techniques, and wisdom that people have been generous enough to share with me over the past year and a half. I think it will be beneficial for all involved, and I basically hope no one complains/wants their money back.