My Passion: Peanut Designs in 2021!
When 2021 hit I had high hopes and great plans for what I wanted to do with and through Peanut Designs…and beyond. I had never really committed a lot of time to promotion, defining the purpose of what peanut design is and who it is for, or launching products, services and ideas that have been dormant in my mind for years.
2021 was the year….but then Lockdown 3.0 began and I was transformed again into #homeschooling mum and all the plans I had made seemed to be fading in front of me. BUT I didn’t let that stop me from getting a few things off the ground.
The biggest key to the success of Peanut Designs at the start of 2021 has been connection. Connections from previous jobs, connections with friends & family, and new connections with people (some I knew and some I had never met before) who provided help, insight and vision into what I wanted to achieve.
One of these particular connections invoked a video conversation that shook me to the core. This person asked me basic questions and I delved deep into my employment and work life history and discovered things about myself that I had never really put the time in to discover – and let me tell you, some of them were not great and it made me reevaluate EVERYTHING.
Rediscovering my passion.
The biggest takeaways I got from that conversation was that it was time to rediscover my passion and to redefine my worth. My employment history had not been great and had severely effected my self belief and my self worth, but when someone speaks it out loud it then becomes real, you have to reevaluate it, deal with it and then move on. So that’s what I did.
I discovered that I still love design, I love being creative and I want to make a living out of what I love to do. Putting that into writing gave me a boost of confidence I hadn’t previously had in my work but also in by abilities.
I discovered that I needed to value my work, value my skills and ADD VALUE to what I was doing. I short changed myself because I devalued myself. Well not anymore.
I also decided that I wanted to spread the positivity and self belief and self worth to others through merchandise products.
Repurposing my business.
There has been three big changes I have made in order to bring positivity, good vibes and self worth into my business and beyond:
- Streamlining Peanut Design Services
- Launching a Peanut Merchandise range
- Producing a digital magazine called CREATED
No.1 – Being the jack of all trades but the master of none is often the job description the corporate world asks of a designer, but I don’t want to live in that world or be pulled into that sphere. I know what I love, I know where my passion lies and I want to be the best I can in those fields. So I set about streamlining the purpose and the services of Peanut Designs to specific, powerful, useful and ultimately FUN outputs.
No.2 – I launched Peanut Merch on February 22nd 2021. T-shirts, Sweaters and Hoodies (and the odd mug & postcard) with a purpose to promote self worth, positive thought and provoke kindness. If there’s one thing the world can always do with more of its kindness, not only towards each other but also towards ourselves. Peanut Merch is for all who want to speak a bit of positivity into themselves and into their world.
No.3 – CREATED Magazine is a digital only magazine launched on the 31st May 2021. CREATED will publish 2 magazines a year. Its content will be vast but every single page will be filled with positivity, kindness, inspiration and with a purpose to bring light into those who read it. It is a collaborative work; as well as articles from myself, I am adding content from people in my world and hopefully from new connections with inspiration, advice, fun, creativity and more.
We can soar.
Although the year didn’t hit the fast paced run I had in mind, after talking with several people who helped me redefine, repurpose and reimagine what Peanut Designs is and what it can look like in the future, I now believe that it is in a great place to bring clarity to you organisation or business. It can bring life and light into peoples worlds and to those around them and it can be a tool of inspiration, creative thought, collaboration and produce excellence in the midst of a chaotic media, design and creative world.
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“With passion we move forward, with purpose we make ground, with positive thought we bring people together and with creativity we sore.” ~ Laura Murray