Today we’re following Natalie Tischler of Ornamental Things through a typical day in her life. And what’s more, Natalie has been kind enough to provide a generous 15% discount for Indie Quarter readers, to be used at her online store, www.ornamentalthings.com . The promocode is indiequarter. A big thank you to Natalie!

If you would like to be featured in a ‘Day in the Life of’ article, please email me (Jenny) at info@indiequarter.com and I will send you details.

Getting Up
I start my day as early as I possibly can. On a good day that means 7 sharp! James, my husband, is also self employed so it takes a lot of discipline to drag ourselves out of bed! The first order of business is coffee and breakfast which we share while we watch the morning news. I love the pleasant ritual of coffee in the morning. I almost cried once when James suggested we give up coffee. He gets crazy ideas sometimes.

Starting Work
Some mornings I like to meet up with a girlfriend for coffee. I have several friends who are also indie designers and I take a lot of inspiration and encouragement from them. It is great to sit in a coffee house getting all buzzed on caffeine and sharing ideas about business. I always go home feeling super hyped about what I want to accomplish for the day!

Working Day
I usually have the intention of going to the gym first thing but in truth I procrastinate and end up wearing my sweatpants for the first half of the day while I check email. I enjoy getting email from customers. It is fun to keep in touch with them and hear about their lives. Next, I make a list for the day. I strongly believe in the list. I keep a running list in my email program so that I won’t forget any small task. Every morning I go through it and move the priority stuff to the top. The rest I leave for another day. I find it freeing to keep the running list because it takes away the pressure of trying to remember every small detail!

Lunch
I usually eat a quick lunch around noon. Other days I might meet up with a friend for lunch. Working from home can be very isolating so it is good to get out every once in a while. I also usually hit the gym mid-day for yoga or exercise.

Afternoon
My business is a one-woman show so I have the freedom to work without a schedule. My afternoon includes things like working on my website, accounting, producing duplicates of my designs, researching and preparing for shows, marketing, visiting with store owners, getting orders shipped out and coming up with new designs. On other days I might go a flea market or junk store to dig for vintage jewelry treasure. On two days of the week I take metal smith classes. I am working to produce a line of sterling silver jewelry in 2007. In between the business activities I catch up on housework, help my son, Forest, with his home school lessons or drop him off at the skate park, do the accounting for my husband’s company and running errands.

Coming up with a new design is always the highlight of my day. Ideas often come out of the blue. I can be in the middle of any task and suddenly think of a new way to put materials together. Sometimes I get inspiration from the strangest things, for instance the fruit scale at the supermarket or an interesting color contrast on a billboard.

The Studio
My studio is a converted garage in our house, the walls of which I painted orange. I chose the color for its aspects of invigoration, happiness, energy and creativity. I have a big window so the room is very bright. In my office I have a desk area, a workbench and a design/storage area. Soon I will have to rearrange to make room for metal smith equipment like a soldering station and a jeweler’s workbench. I enjoy listening to podcasts and music when I work.

Finishing Work
I usually start winding down around 6 pm when James gets home. I make dinner, hang out with my family, watch movies and snuggle with my dog, Zaphod, a chocolate lab. Some nights I will work in the evenings when an exciting new idea strikes me or if I have to do a show or have a lot of orders to send out. Often, I will take my sketchpad to bed with me and sketch out ideas for sterling silver pieces I want to make in the future.

Being in business for oneself definitely has its ups and downs. It takes a lot of patience, discipline and positive thinking. You have to be ready to try new things and put yourself out there. You can’t let yourself get down if you have a month of slow sales or if one of your designs doesn’t sell very well. I find it takes a lot of mental muscle!

However, being an indie designer also gives me the freedom to create my own life. It works well with my spontaneous and free spirited nature. It feels amazing to put something in the world that is beautiful. I feel super lucky to have the opportunity to do what I love.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 24th, 2006 at 9:36 am and is filed under A Day in the Life of. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.