I Made A Calendar: Part 2

So, it turns out I really like making calendars. Just as unremarkable was running out of page turns, I was commissioned to make a 2017 offering by the lovely people at Creative Black Country. Maintaining the colourful risograph qualities of my design the previous year, this special edition calendar celebrates their projects and all the wonderful people they work with, and served as a richly illustrated, lovingly crafted gift for people across the region and beyond. Working closely with the CBC team and print bros Rope Press, here's what we made together.

It's Business Time

Hey everyone! Here we are in February, the awkward second album of 2017. Whilst starting the year fairly tentatively, not straying too far from the recovery position following last year's intensity, I've been working fairly steadily on what has become my natural focus for this year; to get better at business. What this means to me is:

• playing a more active role in shaping where my creativity takes me
• using the making of products as a way to explore my ideas, tell stories and spread joy
• getting smarter about the data and digits that make up my creative business (whether I like it or not)

Figuring that getting to grips with the business side of your creativity may be a goal for some of you this year too, I thought I'd share the things I'm finding useful to start that journey. Whilst some of them are things you can pay for, for each example there are also resources available completely free, so make sure you have a rummage around in the links without feeling you need to invest in a new bookshelf lined with literature. With that in mind, here are 5 things I'm using right now to increase my knowledge, motivation and progress in the world of business: