Hmmmm....

Just when you think you have it all figured out....

I know I pretty much threw up over all y'all with that last post, but apparently I had some things that needed getting off my chest.  I think at the time I was going through the process of letting go of what I thought Pretty Jane was meant to be--but I had no real idea what Pretty Jane was becoming.  It might've come off as grumpy and bitter and for that, I'm super sorry.

Here's the funny part, though: this past weekend, I took part in the Inman Park Festival, one of the biggest annual street markets here in Atlanta.  I was there under the Pretty Jane name, but had designed my booth to really promote Whipstitch, since the last few months that's where my energy has been going and it was where I saw myself moving professionally.  I took about four dozen Pretty Jane pieces with me--the same styles I've taken before, but a pared down selection.  The Lily reversible jumper, the Abigail pinafore, the Jacob western-style boys' shirt.  Some of those hand-dyed knits I showed you a few weeks ago.  And guess what?

I sold them.  I sold those puppies like crazy.  I think I expected to go and have folks really interested in the fabric and the classes (which they were) and largely ignore the clothing, almost as though my designs were a prop to promote everything else.  But that's not what happened at all.

I've been telling my husband for months that the reason I do all three--design, teach, sell fabric--is because they feed one another and build off one another.  I guess part of me kept thinking I was exaggerating that a bit, and that I'd come to a point where it was no longer true.  I got my feelings all hurt by someone else's bad behavior and was feeling pretty down about my abilities and vision as a designer.  This past weekend really changed that for me, and made me more aware of the true interconnectedness of all the things I do--which was such a joyous, joyous discovery.  I hated the thought that any one of my teeny triumverate would have to give way to allow the others to grow.

Pretty Jane will live on--I'm reconfiguring the website to move my few remaining pieces over to the Pretty Jane Etsy shop (the shop I set up ages ago and never listed in), and hope to see the same level of excitement and acceptance there that I did in my little booth this past weekend.  If you were one of the lovely people who came by and smiled and said nice words and bought a jumper or a shirt, thank you!  You can't know how good your compliments and enthusiasm were for my soul.

Soon: photos of the booth, featuring all the yummy designs from this spring, and images of up-and-coming Etsy deliciousness, debuting over the next few weeks!