The Craft Cabin

Time to Craft

Time to Craft

by Cabin Crew | Mar 11, 2020 | How To’s | 0 comments

Less Craft, More Admin: Never Enough Time To Get Our Craft On!

Our little slice of crafty heaven has recently started selling online. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we opened the doors for the first time in Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan. And here we are opening our doors to the world!

It has made me look back over the last four and a half years on how things have developed. There are definitely things I thought I would be doing that I’m not. And then there’s a pile of things I never thought of doing but I am now. Time, customers and money develop your business I suppose.

One of the biggest differences is the lack of crafty time I and all the staff get. Even though our shop is tiny, we jam a huge amount of stock in so their lots of cleaning, restocking and merchandising to do. Then there’s our workshops and birthday parties. Keeping our workroom running takes lots of work and detergent!

We love our social media too, so we spend a fair chunk of time taking pics, making videos and creating freebie how to’s. And then there’s the admin. Oh boy, I could drown in paperwork. Pricing, ordering, planning, scheduling, payments and all the other boring work of running a business.

This all leads to less crafty time. Before I opened the shop, I presumed I would be making something every day. And certainly, that staff would be cranking out crafts at the speed of light too. To my disappointment, I do virtually no crafting for enjoyment, only for the shop – to demonstrate a product or for a class project.

However, I find solace in the fact that nearly all our customers also find time is the biggest enemy of crafting. And more importantly, lack of time. Snatching minutes after the kids go to bed, crafting in the work canteen or sitting in a waiting room making away. Every minute is precious in a crafters world.

For me, I’ve started to look at my crafting differently. I enjoy messy crafts that take up lots of room and involve lots of materials. But it’s just too hard to make it work in my schedule. So recently I’ve come back to crafts that I can pick up and work in small chunks of time.

I’ve come back to Zentangling for instance. A pen and a piece of paper are all you need really. A few weeks ago I painted a papier-mache angel, and last week in bed I did a little Zentangling to decorate it. It’s not the most amazing thing I’ve ever created but it felt good being creative. And I find creativity stimulates creativity.

Maybe I should start Zentangling onto my invoices to incorporate some crafting into my daily paperwork!?

How do you make time for crafting in your week?

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