I went to Doinky Doodles in the morning to collect the rest of my goods. one last time. going up those stairs, looking at the emptied out shelves, greeting the shopkeeper… everything said ‘one last time’. Xin and Doinky Doodles (and Maki-squarepatch before this) has always been a major inspiration for me to start crafting to sell. note the use present tense, she still inspires me!
(“But you will be taking sad pictures,” she says. but not really, the shop on closing still looks so colourful and filled with goodies!)
This was the first shop I ever consigned items to (not to mention the longest! since 2010) and I would never forget being ridiculously happy getting that email of acceptance! I will miss the cosy shop with its colourful walls and quirky 100% handmade goods, I will miss the awkward conversations (we are both introverts and she said i was so quiet when we first met!) and all the poking around!
After I posted my sad feelings of the closing of the shop, people began to speculate about why it closed. no it isn’t the problem of landlords in this case, not at all! Just an artist’s constant journey to try something new…
Even in my last chat with her at the shop, I learnt (and was reminded of) a lesson about running a business and life. That no matter how successful or how unsuccessful you are, you can always try something new. It is often that the successful are told to continue on with what they are good at, hardly anyone tells the successful to “give it all up, go try something new.” yet, that is what she is doing. I think knowing that there is always other side-roads along the way, it makes starting anything a lot easier. It doesn’t mean that by deciding to focus on my handmade business now that I will be stuck doing it, similarly with someone who holds a full-time job. It is ok to experiment! And the important thing is to enjoy what you are doing ‘now’.
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