Let me start again
Related to the last post, other things not to do in a pandemic might be “quitting one’s job”, “trying to make it as a freelancer” and “getting your partner to take promo shots in your kitchen”. Oh well, here we are.
After near on four years on a salary, something needed to change — some people are built for bureaucracy and I... am not. Contracting though, picking up projects, working with a wee crew of associates, making my own fun, following my nose, chasing hard to push ideas as far as they’ll go — yes, please. The money? A bit of a disaster and I’m hugely privileged to have enough security to ride the rough waves.
Little Red Pen was born when Rabbit was a baby and I needed to build a work life from scratch back in my home town. That was almost ten years ago and like my wardrobe, eating habits, filing system and global politics, a refresh is in order.
Sam and Emily from Clarkson Design did an amazing job on a new website. The brief I gave them was short on specifics (“something simple and elegant”, I think I said) and when I had my first look it was nothing like I expected and yet exactly what I wanted. I gave them a file of photos and they picked my secret favourite one of grasses as a hero image. The font they chose is Cormorant, which just happens to be one of my most-loved birds. They were patient and creative. They listened, then they made it real.
The refresh came with other lessons too. When I looked closely at my original site, I was able to take out about 70% of the words — a reminder I shouldn’t need as an editor but always do. The photo session reminded me of everything I hate about photos and my face, and of the virtues of perseverance. The shot we ended up with has me in stern editor mode and I kind of like that. I’ve had to relearn how to manage my time when the fire needs to be lit and there’s a pile of washing on the sofa. Netflix is a new challenge. I’m thinking a lot about my values and how I reflect them in my work. I’m thinking a lot about who I work with and for, the compromises I’m happy to make and the non-negotiables. I’m learning how to own my sense of purpose and the consequences it brings. I’ve had to learn to trust my gut again, and my voice.
And of course it’s a team thing. So, thank you to the ones who kept me in one piece in the workplace and those I’m lucky enough to call colleagues now. Working with like-minded people is one of life’s great joys, and I’ve struck the jackpot.
