Planning the Year Ahead: Get it on Paper

The world feels pretty fucked right?

With everything currently on hold, what better than to take advantage of this break from normality. Let's continue with our year planning! Yes it's taken me a while but I'm finally getting back in gear, whoopwhoop!

In past posts I took you through the process of reviewing 2019 via everything I learned in the Makers Yearbook. These posts are not a substitute for the full benefits of the book and official Makers Momentum Club membership - which I highly recommend - but they demonstrate the concepts using Loose Lips and myself as a case study. In the most recent of this series I talked about preppin' for 2020; significantly picking the focus of my upcoming plans.

But first it's time to ask some hard questions, with the answers being supplied by conlusions drawn over the 2019 review.

  • What do I want more of?
  • What do I want less of?
  • What am I prepared to relinquish in order to achieve my goals.
  • Are there any boundaries I need to establish in order to maintain my sanity?
  • How do I envisage myself operating my creative business in the coming year?
  • What is my vision for my personal life in 2020?

For me it boils down to wanting more structure in my life, less chaos induced stress (and stress eating!) and being prepared to let go of my impatience; take things slowly and absorb shit other than TV till the small hours.

To do so I know I need to establish proper boundaries between my work space and work time. It requires a schedule; whether it's based on the hours I invest or the goals I tick off.

I know it will not happen over night but during the course of the year I want to develop a routine that allows me to make consistent progress towards my goals. I will do so without sacrificing my health (mental and physical). I will cultivate my ideal work environment in a designated space and endeavour to keep it tidy and functional.

With regards to my vision for my personal life; this isn't about my key goal of building my confidence but rather just what I want my lifestyle to entail. While Covid19 has stuck it's oar in and rendered my notes on seeing friends, going on holiday and hitting the gym woefully and hilariously unattainable there is still shit I can and am doing. I can call people, I can chase the dog around the house and dance about. I can drag my partner away from his work and make sure we eat together. I can take the time to hone my skincare regime (I'm obsessed of late) and suddenly my plans to dress up even if I'm not going anywhere don't seem so silly now I see many others indulging in the same in isolation...

It also gives me plenty of time to reflect on the DREAM™️. My goal for my business this year; to create a head to toe look from as close to scratch as possible. Like many creatives, I always have a bunch of shit I want to do at any given time. I love to have bundles of ideas and eventually, I will knock them all off my bucket list. The problem is not all are relevant to this goal. Rather than let creative whimsy carry me every which way, I need to be ruthless in deciding what projects to take forward over the coming year.

To do that, I need to see just how many I had bubbling away and there is only one way! Brainstorm absolutely everything and put it on paper. Congrats! The first step in figuring out the upcoming year. EASY RIGHT? My list was a combo of stuff I wanted to try and that I had started but had yet to finish/implement. It looked something like this...

  • First up was to relaunch Depop/Etsy.
  • Patch dress - requires embroidery/hand sewing.
  • Alter Pink Dress - Requires draping and sewing (machine probably).
  • Learn to make gloves - pattern cutting, sewing (machine?).
  • Make more bags - requires design, pattern cutting and sewing.
  • Yokai Collection - leather accessories - no 'sewing' required.
  • Bonnie set - 3 piece Burlesque set, choker/pasties bottoms.
  • Sailor Moon Collection - requires costume design/sewing/applique and embroidery. I've started by doing a waistcoat and jacket for Moon and Venus but I'd like to create complete looks for each of the following;
    * Moon
    * Jupiter
    * Mars
    * Mercury
    * Venus
  • Halloween special - 31 days of halloween - requires concept/character design/sewing/painting/millenary/Planning/scheduling.
  • LPOTL inspired patches;
    * Ben/Marcus/Henry
    * Episode specific
  • Drag inspired patches;
    * Sasha (Started)
    * Aja (Started)
    * Trinity the Tuck
  • Get a client & become indispensible to them.
  • Style 3 shoots in 2020.
  • Be published at least 3 times (either as a stylist or designer).
  • Loan 3 pieces to stylists in 2020.
  • Get 3 comissions.
  • Collaborate with 3 creatives I love.
  • Special gift package for Trinity the Tuck (whom I connected with at one of her gigs last year).
  • Read more.
  • Write more.
  • Draw more.


So while the first task doesn't relate to my main goal it is important in terms of y'know, LIFE. These are my primary source of income and I have not been investing in them as I should. I need to approach these platforms with more creativity and diligence. Treat them the respect, dedication and invest in the branding. It will be more enjoyable for me and more visually appealling to customers.

Following that no brainer, I'd recorded a massive list of projects with a note of what skills they required. I know I want to create a head to toe look. As I mentioned in my last post I do not necessarily need to be able to sew to do this. However, I would like to improve my sewing skills throughout the course of the year.

I find leather sewing (by hand) way easier than regular sewing. I also find it a bit easier creating patterns for pieces that will be rendered in harness leather. Pattern cutting will be in invaluable skill in creating pieces from scratch so the goal of creating a leather accessory collection aligns totally with my end game.

I love making 'sew-on patches' but as they're painting and illustration focused, they don't really do much to aid in my plans. Unless I plan to create a look using applique patches somehow? HMMS...

I went through the entire list to assess how I felt it contributed to my overarcing dream for 2020. It is worth you doing the same. You can rank them numerically or divide them between 3 columns according to if they bring you Closer to your dream, Further from it or Hold you in place. Before we finalise what we're going to choose for our year goals, we'll need to test them against what they can do for our business.

And that folks, requires a whole new post. So get brainstorming and I'll see you next time.

Stay safe. Stay home. Stay sane? Relatively.

Much love,
Tiffany