Rebuilding a Creative Business, Gently This Time
From Cushion Chaos to Calm, Colorful Control
If you’ve read my earlier posts, you know I once ran a business designing art cushions. It was bold. It was beautiful. It was… a lot.
It started with love: people asking to print my paintings on pillows, and me saying yes with a full heart. But very quickly, it turned into daily logistics, orders, production issues, and customer questions about thread color. I went from artist to customer service, packaging, quality control, shipping coordinator, all in one breath. And somewhere in all that I stopped creating.
That experience didn’t scare me away from business, because deep down, I’m a businesswoman by nature. I love planning, building, and seeing things grow. But I knew this time, I had to do it differently
The Spoonflower Shift
Then I discovered Spoonflower, and everything changed.
It gave me what I craved: a way to share my art without drowning in logistics. They handled printing, shipping, and production. I handled creating. It was a dream.
But… I’ll be honest. I’m also a bit of a control freak (recovering, mostly). Letting go was hard. Even now, the freak peeks in from time to time asking, “Did they print it right? Should I double-check the mockups again?” I smile, take a breath, and remind her: We’re doing things differently now.
Creative Business, Reimagined
So I started again. I built my surface design brand slowly and intentionally.
This time, I created a plan I could actually follow:
• Creating days: for painting, designing, and getting messy
• Pitching days: for reaching out to brands and showing up professionally
• Follow-up days: for gentle nudges and email check-ins
• Reflection days: for reviewing what’s working, what’s not, and where I want to go
This rhythm gave me clarity instead of chaos. It became a structure that supported me, not suffocated me.
Gentle Growth Feels Just Right
I don’t need to grow fast.
I need to grow with joy.
Now, I have a creative business that works with my energy, not against it. I have space to breathe, time to paint, and systems that don’t steal my spark. I still dream big, but I’ve learned that big things can grow from gentle foundations.
If you’re building your own creative path, here’s my reminder:
You can go slow. You can stay soft. You can be in charge without burning out.
Step into the soft life
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(c) 2025 Huda R. Farhan. All rights reserved
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