It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like blogging anywhere, despite having so many and varied outlets for my written thoughts. Something which was once essential to my wellbeing and happiness (my “oversharing online” as more than one person has put it in the past) and something which for some years I did daily, gradually became an impossible task, and then the longer I left it, the worse the block became. I almost wrote “shamefully” to describe how long it’s been, and then realised that this is my business and my life, and there is no shame in putting something down for a while, or feeling l ..read more

This September I’m doing my annual systems aduit – looking at systems, tools and processes across my whole business – because it’s amazing how many different things we end up using to make our businesses work, and how infrequently we review them. (and it has a pleasing back-to-school kind of feel, which is why I do it in September!) Whether this is your first time auditing your systems or you’ve been doing this for years, I guarantee you’ll find something surprising – I do this every year and am always amazed at what’s crept in! Here’s how I work through my annual systems audit – if you’d lik ..read more

When someone first suggested I try networking for my business, I thought they were mad. I’d had some experience of it when I worked in the City – 6am breakfast meetings populated by very sensible, suit-wearing men who had absolutely no idea what to do with even the watered down version of me. I hate mornings, I hate forced formality, I hate being frowned at for swearing as punctuation, and I especially hate not having the freedom to recommend who I want to rather than the people I actually rate, and combined with the bemusement of my previous experiences, it felt like it wasn’t going to be sup ..read more

Typewriters, my blue and cream Bakelite rotary phone and my enduring love of old tech – a wonderful spread in the Guardian today with some fellow old-tech-loving weirdos! Read the full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/23/my-friends-call-me-the-blackberry-queen-meet-the-people-clinging-on-to-old-tech-from-faxes-to-vcrs And a kitten “helping” with the photos: The post Press: Typewriters & old tech, The Guardian appeared first on Carla Watkins - Visual Magic Maker ..read more

Essex never fails to amaze me with its support of the amazing variety of businesses based here. Admittedly, I started my first business shortly after moving here 14 years back, but it has always felt like a creative, supportive and entrepreneurial part of the UK – maybe that’s why I love it so much! My studio is in Ardleigh, which is part of Tendring, and Tendring District Council ran the Tendring Business Fortnight for the first time in October this year. With events spread over the whole two weeks, for businesses big and small, it was a brilliant way to see the diversity of entrepreneurs and ..read more

Each year, I choose three words to take through the year with me. They vary depending on the year I’ve just had, the mood I’m in and the way I’m feeling about the year ahead, but they are always useful. This year, as I made the decision to move all my new year rituals to Imbolc in February for the first time, I’ve had plenty of time to consider them through the quieter month of January rather than the glorious but exhausting chaos of December. I also started the year with a bereavement, losing my wonderful godmother very suddenly in the second week of January, so it’s taken me longer than usu ..read more

We tell stories all the time – about our lives and the things that happen to us on a day to day basis. Stories are how humans make sense of the world, and are a huge part of how we communicate. It makes sense, then, that your business has stories too – because your business isn’t quite human but it definitely has soul and a mind of its own at times, right? Brand stories, then, are the stories you tell about your business in words and pictures. When you’re thinking about how to present or market your business, whether it’s building or tweaking your website, creating social posts or sending bro ..read more

After all the upheaval of the last 18 months, I’m so excited to tell you that Open Studios at Ardleigh Studios is on again! I’d absolutely love to see you – it’s the weekend of 6 & 7 November, so perfect timing for Christmas shopping, I’ll have some lovely things out for sale including art photography prints and a whole stand of TEMPRD chocolate… But mostly, it’s a wonderful opportunity to see behind the scenes and meet not just me, but the other 25 or so artists in the building. There’s lots of free parking and I promise to have the heater on ? The post Open Studios 2021 – we’re back! ap ..read more

When someone first suggested I try networking for my business, I thought they were mad. I’d had some experience of it when I worked in the City – 6am breakfast meetings populated by very sensible, suit-wearing men who had absolutely no idea what to do with even the watered down version of me. I hate mornings, I hate forced formality, I hate being frowned at for swearing as punctuation, and I especially hate not having the freedom to recommend who I want to rather than the people I actually rate, and combined with the bemusement of my previous experiences, it felt like it wasn’t going to be sup ..read more

I’ve had the word “balance” as one of my yearly words at least three times. It’s a word you see and hear bandied around a lot whenever you’re googling speedy self care at 4am after another late night working. (I know this isn’t just me, though reckon 4am is probably pushing it if you’re not a solo night owl like me!) Every business owner I know, at every stage, has struggled or still struggles with balance – finding a way to do enough, be enough, make enough, and still have enough time to actually live. While it soothes me to know it’s not just me that finds this a constant uphill climb, it m ..read more