We are nearly a year on from our first Covid-19 lockdown (March 23rd 2020), I remember the date clearly as it was just before my birthday, it’s looking likely that my 2021 birthday will be in lockdown too, so that’s nice! Like most people who run their own business it’s been a tricky year. At the start of the pandemic it seemed obligatory to make bread from scratch and dig up the lawn to plant vegetables. The bread was moderately successful, the vegetables less so. We were blessed with good weather and no clue how long this would go on for. Holidays were cancelled, in fact life was cancelled. With a large percentage of my work being for culture (cinemas, theatre, annual events etc) things pretty much came to a standstill. I felt like a rabbit in headlights. Being one of the 3 million excluded in the UK from financial help, I fluctuated from mild panic to all consuming fear of what my future would look like. Having said that I was fortunate enough that one of my long standing clients continued to pay me despite the fact they had to shut their doors during each lockdown. Nonetheless I have had a significant drop in income. Bits of work have come my way throughout the year and I’ve even considered complete career changes – gardener, counsellor, upholsterer, surface pattern designer, all of which require a modicum of studying. So here I am still graphic designing and hanging on in there waiting for the brighter days ahead, it’s what I know and what I love. Hoping for a better future for us all.
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