8 years of “Nic”

today marks my 8th birthday. obviously, not my personal birthday. but my professional birthday. 8 years ago, after being suddenly laid off, i began to work for myself. and it hasn’t ended up as one would think.

i wasn’t the same studio then as i am now. first i was “nic events”, specializing in wedding invitations and event design. after a while, i removed the “event design” from my services, and concentrated on invitations. this lasted a few years, and was moving in a great direction, until i had my daughter in 2009. when i came back from my self-given maternity leave, i came back to no custom work for a year. NONE. the bottom had fallen out of the economy, and out of my business.

while the break was good for taking care of a newborn, it wasn’t good for my career. so i decided to revamp my business, only taking on illustrated invitations. hell, i was an illustrator, why shouldn’t i always use my own hand? i declared my business as “the nic studio” in 2010, and everything came back. new clients, BETTER clients, interested in only my style of work. and that’s when i started to think about expanding my stationery business to move into cards and other items. all illustrated, all the time! i launched my first line of cards in 2011, my first prints in 2012, and illustrated and designed a book for random house.

throughout my business’ lifespan, i’ve had a number of ups and downs, 2 children that need my care and utmost attention, and life challenges that have managed to put the nic studio on hold, propel me forward, and even make me want to run. i can’t say my business is where i want it to be, but i am always grateful for where it has allowed me to be. it has allowed me to be home for all sick days and first moments, to be by my dad’s side in the hospital for a month, by my mom’s side for chemo infusions, by my grandmother’s side on her last days. it has allowed me to be with family on trips for all major life events, without concerns about vacation or sick days. it has given me the ability to celebrate with, care for, and mourn with all the important people in my life. while this is certainly not a recipe for making a million dollars, it is a recipe for living a fuller life and being with those i love.

so thank you, little business, for giving me a great birthday gift. the present of being present.