2025

Jeez Louise....

Wow, what. a. year!

The year that will be forever known as the year of ‘unpredictability’. Was it my worst year, no! But it’s pretty up there with some pretty shitty ones. A lot happened in this year that I did not account for or predicted would happen.

I entered 2025 with a frame of mind that this would be a ‘easy and quiet one’. I wanted this year, to be a year of calm and what I got was a proper Cornish storm.

The year started off calm (for 4 weeks…) and then wham bam, February came along and I was finding out I was losing my job. All due to my role not being required anymore to reduction of head count and ‘efficiencies’. I felt many, many emotions. But the biggest one, was that I felt incredibly hurt, as it was a business I had worked with for under 11 years and gave a lot to. I spent a big part of my life with that business.

Panic stations kicked in for a bit but then I figured out, I’ve dealt with a lot of shit for the last few years, that I knew I could handle this and come out the other end. I got my baseball bat ready to prepare hitting away anything else coming my way.

Luckily me and my husband put our heads together. Discussed many (many!) outcomes and plans. We even discussed my husband leaving his successful business (that he loves) for us to move. I obviously couldn’t let that happen as losing a job doesn’t just affect the individual, it affects the whole family. Which is something I feel people forget, when going through the process unless your the one under the firing squad. It’s not as easy as upping and moving when you have a life and family. There are so many cogs in motion and you know whatever path you choose, will have ricochet affects.

Whilst I was still at Seasalt, I was determined not to sink, and I chose to take control of what I could about the situation, so I started rebuilding my portfolio as it was 10 years out of date (note to anyone in a job….keep your portfolio updated!). I jumped on to LinkedIn and reached out to old connections and friends.

I spoke to many HR recruiters in the first few weeks from the ‘competition’ and although they said there were roles I could apply for and they were excited to have me in the mix, they all involved me moving or travelling long distance a couple of times a week and I knew there must be another way. I didn’t want to be a mum not fully involved with my son. One thing I’ve learnt these past years is family is no.1 and sacrificing that, gets you no where…. business dont take that into account when the time gets tough.

By the time I left Seasalt, I had my website set up and ready to hit ‘publish’. (I am a dog with a bone, give me a task and I will complete it.)

Looking back, I am amazed I had all that energy in such a stressful time, but it was the drive to take back some control in a situation where I had none. That plan was written in the sand and I couldn’t change it regardless, so I knew I had to take control of the situation where I could.

I knew by the time I left I was going to give freelance a ‘whirl’. Let me tell you, it’s not the easiest path to tread. I stepped in a little hesitantly and naively. I tip my hat to anyone who is a freelance designer. The graft… the many hats that come with the job. It’s not an easy path to walk on, but I’m so glad I took that direction.

One thing I knew was I needed to take some time out and process. I leant so heavily on friends & family, but also connected with the other causalities of the redundancy. Those ladies gave me hope, soul and a lot of free talking therapy. It was good to see how they were coping with the situation and realise it’s hard and horrible and it wasn’t so lonely as I thought. I will always be grateful for that group for its friendship and support.

I was determined for some good to come out of this situation, and I decided to have the summer holidays off with my son. 1. I didn’t have to navigate the child care stress (what a relief!) 2. the weather was amazing this summer, and it was very needed for my soul and healed some wounds - I’m a sunshine girl at heart! 3. I was able to breathe and take some time to process the last few years, as I realised I hadn’t scratched the surface with this.

I have had a pretty rough couple of years and it was the first time that I truly stopped and took a breather and my body and mind needed it. I was starting to realise that losing my job had some blessings. We looked at our budget and scrimped back massively. We learnt to live on a smaller amount of income. Luckily we live in a beautiful spot so we are able to have ‘free days out’. It broke my heart to say no to my son a few times on some of the smaller things as I knew we had to budget the hell out of our income, as we didn’t know what was around the corner.

But boy did I need that time. I could physically feel the stress leaving my body. I started to realise my last job wasn’t everything I made it out to be. Don’t get me wrong there were parts and people I loved but there were some bits that were pretty awful and I needed that break to see. Things that were said and done still shock me at how I ‘took it as normal’ whilst I was in that situation. I had many good times at that business but I realised there were many parts that made me unhappy due to others actions.

But Stick with me, this isn’t going to turn into a rant 🤣.

I owe a lot to that business, the friendships I made, the lessons I learnt but I feel I out grew it. The business was not feeding my soul anymore and it took, that business removing me from its arms for me to see and feel that. My values were not aligning anymore, it was not feeding my soul, the stress was outweighing the fun parts that I enjoyed, and do you know what, that’s ok. It wasn’t right for me anymore. When I drove away on my last day, I felt my shoulders relax. My body at the time knew it was right for me…it just took a little while for my brain to catch up

Leaving that place led me in a new direction…. I come from a line of ‘grafters’ and people working for themselves. I vowed to never let my livelihood be in someone else’s hands. I wanted to work for myself. Take all my talent, skills and knowledge elsewhere. I feel driven again, and had energy after taking some time out.

I made myself a plan, put some goals in place and I have to admit to myself, I’ve hit them.

Good old hindsight huh, but the year is ending in a situation I never thought would happen. I’ve worked for 7 different clients… 4 I’m continuing into the new year along with a new brand that I’m super excited to get started on.

I’m entering 2026 a little calmer, less on edge and to be honest a little excited. I don’t know what is going to happen over the next year, but one thing I’ve learnt is I know no matter what, me and my family will be ok. We have each other, we are tenacious, and we tend to get through whatever seems to get thrown at us.

I hope 2025 has been kind to you all, and I hope 2026 is even kinder. Let’s see what this year will hold….