A Morning Cup of Jo Creations

Mind vomit at 3AM: Squashed dreams and new beginnings.

(Epilogue as a prologue: HOLY CRANBERRIES!!!  I just finished writing and it’s 5:30AM!  TWO HOURS have passed by!  I apologize for the extremely long length of this post, and I completely understand if you want to scroll right past it because I probably would, too.  Haha.  After doing a bit of proofreading, I’m actually surprised to see that I could form such coherent sentences at this time of night while also drowning in my own mucous.  LOL I know that may be TMI, but oh well.  I’ve been pretty sick since Christmas, and hope none of you have been experiencing something similar. >.<  Anyway, I’m going to stop writing now and try to get a few hours of sleep.  Happy Friday!  I’d love to hear your thoughts if you really do proceed to read this post.  Reply here or message me to share. <3)

I don’t typically post stuff like this on A Morning Cup of Jo because I feel it’s too personal, so I’m happy I created this blog to share my experiences. :)  My mind is racing and I’m finding it too difficult to sleep, so I thought I’d unload some mind vomit to get everything out of my system.  Maybe expressing this in writing with have some cathartic effect. 

The day started out kind of blue, but then picked up with a burst of excitement! 

While having my cup of coffee this morning, I decided to work on a post that features my 2011 collection of amigurumi creations (it will be posted at a later date).  While doing this, I reflected upon what I have accomplished this year and what I have yet to accomplish in the years to come.  Although this was one of the best years of my life (considering I finally figured out my career and life goals), I realize now that my goal of opening an online amigurumi shop is too unrealistic.  My life is going to get even more hectic as I work harder and take bigger steps in the pursuit of a teaching career… and if I only managed to design/make around 20 amigurumi animals THIS ENTIRE YEAR (to give away as gifts, nonetheless), how would I ever manage to crochet enough for a shop?  

I’ve informed many inquiring people that I’m too busy to open a shop right now, but that I’ll be working on opening one soon (typically with excited exclamation marks and smiley faces).  The optimism was still there.  The hope.  I still told myself that it could be done.  However, by the time I finished that cup of coffee this morning, it hit me — this dream that I’ve held onto for so many years will not become a reality.  Haha this all probably sounds really over-dramatic, but it was something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.  I found a passion, and I wanted to share it.  It was a life goal of mine, and today I realized that this life goal will not be achieved. :/

After getting over how blue I felt this morning, I realized that I didn’t have to completely give up the dream.  If I just start writing down my patterns as I create my amigurumi and take more work-in-progress photos, I could sell those online for cheap prices and maybe create a few free tutorials on Tumblr! Maybe I could even sell kits that include my patters along with supplies?? :D  So even if I can only manage to physically crochet a handful of animals this year, at least many others would have the opportunity to share in this hobby with me!!  

I’ve considered this option before, but I’ve always been hesitant because there are people out there who are willing to plagiarize and steal credit from the original designers (some may unintentionally do so).  I’ve seen it happen way too often.  Random Etsy shops will pop up with knock-offs of amigurumi I know someone else designed (since many of them have books and published patterns).  The thought of that happening to me used to infuriate me, but I’ve now come to see the situation in a different light.  If someone were to make an amigurumi based off my pattern and then sell it, I think I’d be okay with that. Ideally, people would use my patterns for personal purposes (like making gifts for friends or for fun), but why should I try stopping them from selling their finished pieces?  After all, they would be selling handmade items that they put a lot of time and effort into crocheting.  If I don’t have the time to make amigurumi to sell, shouldn’t I celebrate and support those who are inspired by my designs and have the time to start their own shops?  Maybe I could live vicariously through them. :)  By selling my patterns, I’d just be offering these people the designs and guidelines to help them along.  I started A Morning Cup of Jo because I wanted to share my passion and create a community of positive support for independent crafters and artists… and I have every intent to continue doing so. 

So there you go, I’m saying this in writing.  If I decide to finally write down patterns and begin selling them online, you can use my patterns to crochet an animal/object and sell it on your own Etsy page.  All I ask is for your thoughtfulness and consideration; I hope that you’ll give credit to my design/pattern (or anyone else’s pattern for that matter) and add a link to the original source (like my online shop if you bought it or my blog if it was free) in the description of the item you intend to sell.  Also, although I wouldn’t ever suspect my followers of doing so, I hope people will not copy my patterns and sell them as their own.  Please, always give credit where credit is due (I say this because I experienced a minor, but negative incident a few months ago regarding one of my photos being plagiarized).  It’s just the decent thing to do when any form of artistic/written expression is involved.  From one crafter to another, I thank you in advance and greatly appreciate your kindness.

Wow that was a long tangent; now back to today’s events.  After the squashing of a dream and then the attempt to save it, I talked to my aunt.  She’s been the strongest supporter of my goals and dreams since I was a child and my best crafting buddy, so it was only natural that I discuss this with her.  She agreed with my view on the whole idea of selling patterns and was excited to hear that I’ll make it a New Year’s Resolution to start writing them down.  Haha. 

After chatting some more, we even tossed around the idea of starting a joint business together!  O__O  Why didn’t we think about this earlier?!?!  I’d still run my pattern shop, but we could do something together that we’d both enjoy.  We’ve both had a love for special events (like weddings, baby showers, birthdays, etc) for a long time and we both LOVE making stuff to help make those events even more memorable.  I wish I had pictures of all the crafts we’ve done and how much fun we’ve had!  (Again, I need to start taking more work-in progress photos.) >.<  

Starting a small online business with my aunt would be so wonderful (and her family’s been hurting pretty badly in this economy, so that’s extra motivation for me to work hard and help her out).  We chatted up a storm about all our ideas, and we’ll be seeing each other to chat more tomorrow (or more like “in a few hours from now” since it’s already 4:49AM).  I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve, unable to sleep because I’m anticipating Christmas morning.  What could be in those presents?  Am I going to get everything I want?  The mystery and endless possibilities that await me have always been more exciting than knowing what lies ahead, but I guess that’s life. :)

I may have given up on one particular life goal (at least for now), but I’ve now been greeted with the excitement of new goals and new beginnings.  Let’s see what adventures 2012 will hold.