January has different meanings to different people. For some, it is a time to get out the exercise gear and move off the results of all those holiday parties. Others think it is a time to re-evaluate their lives, make resolutions with real resolve, and plan the year. Still others hunker down into semi-hibernation to wait out the dark season.

Well, at my little Summer Bay Studio (does the name tell you anything about how I feel about January?) it has been madly busy broken by periods of breathless stillness. That’s because January is show month. This year I took a bold step and flew off to the biggest gift show in North America in Atlanta, Georgia for six foot-aching days (thank goodness for my new Rockport shoes) of meetings, brainstorming and shopping. I met with the heads of several international gift companies to show them my artwork and product design ideas. It was fun, exhilarating and very productive. I’ll keep you posted on the results as plans come into fruition.

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New on-line store coming soon!

I am in the process of moving my current eBay store to my own website where you can shop for all of my products without going through eBay! Stay tuned, we will be up and running in a few weeks!

In the meantime, you can still visit my

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By the time you read this I’ll be at the gift shows in Toronto. Just when my snowdrops are poking up through the soil of the front flowerbeds, I’m flying into real winter, this time to shop for my store. I’ll get to visit with some family I only see each January, too.

In all this busyness, I stopped one day for a moment of reflection. I know that I’m doing what I love to do. Even though sometimes the hours are long and the sleep little, the responsibilities grave and money tight, I’d still rather be doing this than anything else. In all the years that I spent in jobs that I suffered through, I was yearning for this kind of life. And now, I’m living it.

Let me encourage you to listen to the yearnings of your own heart. They are there for a reason. Whether you know it or not, you are called. Called to offer your real self, your real talents and abilities to the world. Start making moves in the direction of your dreams. I guarantee that you will find fulfillment that you’ve never known before. It is so worth it.

Wendy