Today is World Mental Health Day and i wanted to use my inaugural blog post to talk about
how my own mental health has been impacted this year and how it has got me to the point of starting Pixie Dust Emporium.
What a year 2020 has been and we are still only ¾ of the way through it – who would have thought that when we raised our hope filled prosecco glasses as Big Ben chimed in the new year that we would be here now? Our worlds have been irrevocably changed, for some of us they have changed for the worse and for others for the better. For me lockdown brought a mixed bag of emotions, for the first time in I can’t remember how long I wasn’t running around like a headless chicken after the boys and their many extra-curricular activities. I finally got the chance to just sit and be me. During this time,
I properly discovered the Instagram sensations that are Mrs Hinch and Stacey Solomon.
I have suffered anxiety for several years and the weekly trip to the supermarket exacerbated this but cleaning and organising gave me an outlet to help ease my symptoms. The hashtags #staceysolomonmademedoit & #hinchyourselfhappy became almost a mantra on an Instagram profile I created so as to not bore people on my personal account. I have never been a fan of cleaning any of my friends or family will happily verify but suddenly every morning I was the first one up (enjoying the peace and solitude before the chaos of trying to #homeschool 3 boys) and cleaning and disinfecting the house quickly became an integral part of my morning routine, it helped to calm and focus my racing mind. Not only that but i made some amazing insta friends who just got me and what i was going through. As I watched Mrs Hinch and Stacey’s stories and saw how they organised their homes and how it helped them I wanted a slice of that peace and organisation. I searched my new favourite store B&M (how did I only just discover the heaven that is this store) for storage ideas and scrolled through eBay for some labels.
As each cupboard and room got the lockdown treatment I was spending more and more money on labels and when I realised that the labels I had bought on eBay weren’t actually suitable for everything I wanted (certain vinyl’s are not suited to containers that are handled frequently or used in wet environments like the bathroom) I started looking into how I could make them myself. I am by nature an over thinker, a planner and a list maker and one of the things I was overthinking was the return to school for the boys, would it ever happen? How would they be safe if Covid was still out there and so on. I like so many people had struggled to source hand sanitiser and masks when all this was kicking off in February / March and as I was the only one really leaving the house we managed but as supplies started improving I knew that I would want the boys to have their own personal supplies. I decided that although my youngest was heading into year 7 if they ever returned to school I wanted them to have their own water bottle as well as sanitiser and for that I would need labels, so I started looking into what equipment I would need. My fabulous husband decided to sell some of his collectibles to help me buy my first Cricut and my mum gave me birthday money early to top it up as those machines certainly aren’t cheap lol. I keep a running total of how much this 'hobby' has cost so far and i will never share that with the hubby - he doesn't really need to know does he??🤣
A couple of posts on facebook later people were asking me to make them for their children – apparently I wasnt the only one feeling anxious about how our kids would stay safe once they returned, a partnership with a friend who sold body shop at home to create a bundle to help her sell more nice scented sanitiser quickly had me needing more supplies and then the ideas started coming.
As I have already said in the about me section I have always loved to create and over the past 30 years I have tried so many, knitting, crochet, cross stitch, card making to name a few even as a child Santa always knew I would love lots of stationary to doodle with and show me some glitter and I’m a happy girl. I was already selling toiletries via an amazing local company #Krizmacosmetics and had been adding my personalised bottles and storage ideas onto that group but I had an urge to turn this into something more real and lasting. Having spent several years as a stay at home mum due to my eldest two having additional needs then me suffering a spinal injury the idea of creating a business that would eventually provide a full time income while allowing me to work around my boys and my own needs seem perfect.
Sat in a massive queue waiting for the two youngest to finish school I had the hubby pinned in so no choice but to discuss it – ideas were thrown about but the first thing I wanted to do was pick a name that fitted the business I was dreaming of creating. As a young child my mum had nicknamed me Tinkerbell as I was cute and loveable but also a complete handful always up to mischief.
Anything to do with Tinkerbell is owned and trademarked by Disney so that was out the window, but I have always loved the quote ‘faith trust and a little Pixie-Dust. So Pixie Dust was in there and nothing else the hubby suggested sounded right but it still wasn’t quite right. Lots of add on names were thrown around the car while we waited then the hubby reminded me of a film we once watched with the boys – Mr Magoriums Wonder Emporium – a strange place filled with living toys and magic and with that our name was complete as that is exactly what I want my business to be filled with wonder and magic that you can install in your homes and lives.
I am truly excited to open the doors to my imagination and hope you all love what I create, I am however always excited to help realise others dreams and ideas so please feel free to use the contact button to discuss what you are looking for and I will always endeavour to help you.
With Faith Trust and a little Pixie Dust
Stacey xx
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