5 Things I Gained from Missing a Year's Goal

While I was cramming during the last week of June to churn out listings, I already felt that I couldn't make it. But somehow it didn't feel so bad. It's because, during the 100-listing creation craze, I have gained even important things that surely will help atelierniSHASHA for years to come.

One of the Patterns Sets I bundled up for my 100-listing Goal

Hello, dollings! So how is July greeting you so far? Wait, what? We’re already halfway through 2023? Now let me check my goals… Ooooopppsss!!!

I shared with you the previous week that I was aiming to list my 100th product on my Etsy shop by the end of June 2023. That was the single goal I had for the last 12 months actually. I have paused editing tutorial videos, taking in commissioned doll clothing work, building dioramas, taking outdoor photos, and even with my other passions such as painting and drawing. Heck, I even didn't blog regularly! This is all in the hopes that I can focus on achieving this one single goal.

However, I wasn’t able to achieve it! As of date, my Etsy listings are at 90-ish. So yeah, it’s kind of an Oooops. Right? Right? Well, as I pondered in the last few days - actually, both yeah, and nope. Here are the "things" I mentioned earlier that I gained from missing the goal :)

I was able to establish a simple system for my Canva assets for the listings

When I was just starting to release my first sewing patterns, all my marketing and sales graphics are done in Inkscape. It was an easy transition as I was once an Adobe Illustrator user, which is pretty much similar to Inkscape. But when I learned about Canva, an online graphic designing platform that is fun and free, I was hooked! It wasn't until this year though that I became a power user. Not until I decided to churn out listings for my goal.  

For the last year, I was able to develop templates for my Etsy listings that really made me smile. I liked that even a non-professional graphic designing person like me can create assets that I can use not only on Etsy but also on Pinterest where a lot of DIYers and crafters can be found. Canva enabled my listing preparation to be easy and fast, and I can actually schedule a listing launch daily! Now with my templates in place, I can spend more time perfecting my patterns. Thanks to this goal I set, a reliable system was born to make things easier for me.

I learned composition while designing Canva assets

Early this year, I purchased some art-related online courses to further study composition, colors, layering, and visual arts basics. However, I didn't have enough time to practice the new-found knowledge in oil painting. I did do some drawing in February and applied a bit of composition. But I felt I didn't explore enough.

Thank goodness for my 100-listing goal, I was able to apply some composition concepts to my Etsy listing assets. I learned to arrange shapes, balance colors, and place focal points, among others. Although I take a long time making these Canva assets, I am having so much fun!

I realized I had a lot of good ensembles just waiting to be offered as bundles

When I was making a list of the patterns I'm going to fill the 100-listing goal with, I also included offering bundles of my already-existing patterns for relaxed production in between. This is because creating patterns from scratch can be really exhausting and time-consuming. These old-pattern bundles are such productive ways to chill for a bit in between developing new end-to-end patterns.  

And it made me feel a bit proud of the garments I have made in the past. Truly, most of them are very easy to mix and match - something I always strive for in my own and my dolls' wardrobes. 

I found a more productive use for my iPad Pro + Procreate

Last year I purchased an iPad Pro because I wanted to learn digital illustration. I also purchased watercolor and gouache digital brushes, and tutorials to go with them. The project that uses these tools will have to be moved to a later time though, so for a while, my iPad was not productive. But since I had to do a lot of background erasing for my assets in Canva, I tried doing it in Procreate instead of my trusty GIMP. Somehow, I found it so much easier to do it on iPad and I'm so glad I found a way to use it while the supposed project for it is still on pause.

I have learned to background-erase fast and with such high quality in my PNGs.

Last but not least - I now have 90-something listings!  

Yes, this is one of the gains that seemed to sound like it was not a gain at all!  Funny how we are so set on achieving something, and never really see right away the more important aspects of the journey, right? 90-something listings may not sound so grand, but looking back, this was a dream for me. I have always wanted a business that allows me to do the activities I enjoy, allows me to create things for myself and for others to enjoy and use, a business that also helps with my financial goals, and finally, a business that I can say I am really good at building and running! Ikigai, eh?

So yeah, not really bad, right?

I do remember now something I've heard before - something like setting a goal and forgetting about it. Perhaps, I had been forgetting this goal for the last year. I hadn't really been very adamant about achieving the number. I was just doing my thing. And I think that's okay - it's even awesome that I have learned so much in exchange for the goal itself. It's just perhaps a matter of perspective, right?

Ahhh.. I could be talking endlessly now if I wouldn't stop here. Again, I haven't written a proper outline for this blog post so please forgive my blabbering. Thank you so much for your time and I hope to have you here on my next blog post. 

much love from the Phillippine Islands,

shasha