“Can I still call myself an interior designer? ……….

It’s been a little while since I’ve written a Substack or blog post.

Unfortunately, there’s not a huge amount to report on the interiors front at the moment. Things have been pretty quiet, so I’m trying to stay positive, keep my skills up and continue creating in the meantime.

At a recent networking event, I actually said, “Can I still call myself an interior designer if I don’t have any clients????”

Chloe’s response was, “Of course you can. You’re an amazing designer!”

Sometimes I think you just need someone else to remind you of that.

One of my recent small business highlights was meeting an awesome bunch of small business owners and creatives at a meet and greet for a new group called Armidale Creatives & Founders, created by Chloe Spillane.

It was a terrific opportunity to meet new people, chat about our different creative endeavours and just be around other people who understand what it’s like to run a creative business. Hopefully, it will also be a way for us to support one another, share what we do with others and feel a little more positive about our creativity and our businesses.

Because it continues to be pretty tough for small business.

Some days I feel like I’m stuck on an iceberg and nobody can hear me yelling, “Hey! I’m an interior designer and I’m pretty good at it!”

I’ve honestly got no clue if anyone even reads my Substack or the blog on my website. If you do, please comment or send me a message. It would actually be really nice to know you’re out there!

And then there’s ghosting.

Why has ghosting people become such a thing? Have we lost some of our common courtesy?

I completely understand that things are tough financially for a lot of people. Plans change, budgets change and sometimes you decide not to go ahead with something. That’s absolutely fine. But please don’t ghost people. A quick message to say you’re not going ahead is so much better than silence. When you’re running a small business, being ghosted can really make you feel a bit crap.

Anywhoo… enough of the Negative Nelly stuff.

I’ve been thinking lately about rebranding my business. I’m not sure whether it would actually help bring in more business or whether I simply feel like I need a change.

Maybe it’s a bit of both?

It has made me think about how you continue to feel good about your business when things are quiet. How do you stop imposter syndrome from taking over and simply gobbling you up?

Because despite all of that, I still absolutely love to create.

Creativity is a huge part of who I am. I love creating mood boards and bringing different elements together. I’m naturally good with colour — well, I think I am! — and I think a lot of that comes from my original background in fashion.

Really, I’ve been designing since I was about 12.

That’s when my mum taught me how to sew. Before that, she would sew my design ideas for me.

It would have been her 88th birthday last week, so I’ve been thinking about her a little more than usual. And it was my 53rd birthday yesterday, the 23rd.

I actually made curtains for a few rooms in our house when I was probably 16, so this pull towards interiors and design has obviously been around for a very long time.

And apparently, so has my obsession with cushions.

Having ten different cushions on my bed has not been uncommon. 😂

So perhaps I’ve answered my own question.

A quiet patch in business doesn’t suddenly mean I’m not an interior designer.

I was designing, sewing, playing with colour, rearranging rooms and piling far too many cushions on my bed long before Happy Home Interiors existed.

I love creating. I love interiors. And I love helping people create homes that feel like them.

So, for now, I think I’ll keep yelling from my little iceberg:

“Hey! I’m an interior designer and I’m pretty good at it!”

 Much Love

Kiri