Starting the Week Right

Print by the brilliant AndSmile Studio

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may be familiar with my Monday ritual which I try to keep to in order to begin each working week with a bit of structure. When working for yourself, whether it be freelancing for another company or owning your own business, it can be hard to remain as productive as you may otherwise be if working within a team structure with a systematic approach to producing work and getting sh*t done.

Over the last couple of years since deciding to start Holoholo I've read about others' ways of keeping the work-flow going, ranging from a man that suits up every morning as though he was going to the office (not something I have tried yet), to the usual tips of waking up early, not working where you sleep and taking a walk outside after lunch. The little ritual I have honed since working from home is to have a regular slot on the blog on a Monday to add a smile to my day - a virtual cup of coffee if you will. Unfortunately real coffee makes me sleepy so it's not so good as a motivator in this office.

The idea came from my intense love of Pinterest, on which I created a board called For Mondays which is where I pin to for my Monday posts. I pull a few of the images at the start of the week, put them into a short post about the week ahead (not forgetting to link back) and voila. It gets me in the routine of actually producing something - a teeny tiny achievement to start off the day - and provides a bit of much needed structure. And it requires me to go on Pinterest which is never a bad thing.

If you're interested in the blog's previous Monday posts you can have a browse through them by clicking here, or using the navigation in the side bar just to the right of this post. It would be great to hear of any things you regularly do to keep on top of your workflow - do let me know in the comments. Happy Monday!

New-dio

I thought it was about time I put up some shots of the new studio, since it's been up and running for a good week now. The weather has been so autumnal (read: miserable) it's been difficult to get enough light to get any good photographs, so when the sun came out this morning I jumped at the chance. Not that you can tell from these images, as the light just wasn't coming from the right direction... but here's a start! I think it may be time to invest in some brighter energy-saving lightbulbs.

The new desk (this Ikea beauty, one Finnvard trestle, one Alex drawer unit) is humongous, and accommodates two sewing machines, a macbook and an A3 cutting mat all at once! In love. Happy Thursday!

Kit

It has been a very long week at Holoholo HQ, and despite it being Friday, with two days left at the day job and tonnes to do either side, it's not going to be a very restful weekend. However! A little bit of Scandinavian escapism has broken up the day in the form of some office planning. I posted a while ago about a few desks we've had in mind from Ikea, but now we've decided which to go for, we've been able to plan a little more of what's going to be needed for the new office.

As well as that are the array of lamps, which we're yet to choose between. There will no doubt be a need for plenty of light, so it may be that we need a few of one or two of the designs. Hello energy saving bulbs!

I can't wait til we can finally get set up and get properly organised. Shouldn't be too long now!

Here's hoping your weekend is a little more zen than mine. Happy Friday!

Pesky Desks

It's an exciting time at Holoholo HQ as the long awaited studio revamp is finally in planning. This of course means choosing a new desk, and in the interest of ease and economy, we've been scanning the ever useful IKEA. Not only do they flat-pack a sturdy piece of Swedish furniture, the food hall is beyond fun. And who can leave without a hotdog and cinnamon roll?







Currently deciding between these four incarnations of the LINNMAN desktop - each with a different leg system. The top left design with a spot of storage is a front runner at present, a bit of extra space to stash Spike and Suzy whilst pattern cutting must be a good thing.

There's some more clearing to go on in the spare room that is to become home to the studio, but once that's done the trip to IKEA can commence! Not that I'm looking forward to it at all...

Happy Wednesday!

Desperately Seeking Space

I think it may be time to invest in a garment rail, considering the new temporary voiles that appear to be blocking most of that beautiful sunshine from entering my room.

Not that there's a great deal of floor space in my multipurpose bedroom/studio, but needs must!

I'm heading off South tomorrow morning to spend a couple of days with the girls from London, and am sincerely hoping the weather stays like this! I've never been to Dorset before so am looking forward to a change of scenery (hopefully it will bring some inspiration). Especially because I will be able to visit the sea! One of my favourite things to do. I imagine a large amount of ice cream and wine will be consumed...



Photograph of Seatown taken by the lovely Lotty Lewis.

I'll be back on Sunday and possibly with some nice photographs to share. Until then, happy weekend all!