22/06/2020
So I heard this song the other day :"oh as you run, what hindered love, will only become part of the story". So here goes a part of the story of the Found Makery. It started out of a beautiful relationship, a strong courageous woman whom I very much look up to, helped me establish a wedding stationery company. It kicked off bigger than I ever could have imagined. Jobs were big and streaming in. We never expected this and were blown away by how a company can be successful overnight. It was great but for me, an artistic soul, it was also a lot. A lot to accomplish, a lot of expectations I had to live up to (my own and others). If you know me, you will know that I am soft hearted and for this industry I had to be tough...late nights every night with no break. I knew that there were woman who would thrive in circumstances like this (with intense demands, no rest and high pressure) but it wasn't me. And that bothered me because I kept comparing myself and asking why I couldn't handle it. I felt like a failure to the person whom I learned so much from, my family, my friends, my husband and myself. I thought I could handle the pressure but I couldn't. I had multiple anxiety attacks where I couldn't breathe. By the end of wedding season I was a wreck. A burnout..My anxiety got worse. Meanwhile we had another dream we wanted to pursue that would be more sustainable.(not seasonal). This is where Willow and Roo came about. Ruan wrote the story of Giraffe and I had to illustrate it during a time that I felt incapable, anxious and broken. Needless to say I drew about 1000 giraffes before Ruan approved one because most of them looked sad and awkward. Haha. Anyways, I wasn't sure how I would continue with the Found Makery but then, as I was sitting one day drawing giraffes, I felt something inside me say “Follow the sun”. As in do what the sun does. The sun always rises again. It always shows up. It doesn't quit. So I kept drawing and I kept creating even when I wasn't in a creative space at all. And I decided not to give up on the Found Makery but to make it into what I wanted it to be and not let this be the end of the story but only a part of it. Continue in comments…
@ Cape Town, Western Cape
