How Do You Take Criticism?

I'm pretty good at taking criticism. I believe it must be thanks to my 20+ years of dancing ballet in front of floor to ceiling mirrors with dance teachers nit picking on my body and every move; so I've built up a pretty thick skin and great confidence in myself. I've also learnt to see criticism or any sort of feedback as positive. I noticed in ballet that the dance teachers only corrected you if they cared about you getting better. (It's true! They didn't bother wasting their time on students who don't try or don't have the right attitude.) It's difficult hearing someone comment on your skinny wimpy "puppy dog arms" or your slightly not so flat stomach ("Kristina, you look like you just ate Thanksgiving Dinner.") but I learnt to take criticism in a positive way rather than letting it eat away at my confidence or cause fits of crazy dieting etc. I thought constructively, "How can I do this better...?" and then do it. (Sounds silly but it's easier than you may think.) Professionally it's hard to take criticism, because it's so personal. The lines were drawn by my hands, the colors and motivs were chosen by me, and my business is run just my me. But I'm aware that everyone doesn't have the same taste; which is fine by me and I don't let it get me down.

In the internet world, negative comments seem to come from a different darker place (they don't care about making you better like my dance teachers did) and this is really unfortunate. Thankfully since my brand is still rather small I don't receive many hateful comments and have been lucky to only get really positive, happy, and appreciative comments/feedback/emails/blog features which I am so thankful for. I actually can't believe all the kind words I receive each month from customers and admirers of my girly illustrations. I have pages and pages of amazingly positive comments to read if I'm ever in a bad mood and they instantly make me happy about my work again.

A few ways I deal with criticism:

• Straight up nasty mean comments with no point such as "Your works sucks!" etc should be ignored completely especially when anonymous. How lame is that?! People who take the time to leave unconstructive negative comments have their own problems. Let's let them sort that out for themselves.

• Constructive criticism such as "You should use black inked lines instead of gray lines. Your work is unclear." may actually help you figure out what your clients like and may even be fun to hear or help you develop your style. This may have been a stylistic choice so feel free back up your choice or to comment a thank you for their input.

Week 20

This week I strangely haven't had any custom projects to work on (or rather I was really quick and finished them all on Monday already) so I've had extra time to start preparing for the big move next week. What have I been doing? This...

• I've been purging my closet of all old, worn out, unloved clothes and accessories. (Oh my Gosh, I have way too much clothes!)
• Been throwing away (recycling) old magazines and papers I don't need as well as lots of junky sketches and drawings that are taking up too much space.
• Purging my medicine cabinet of dead/ugly/unloved makeup and skincare products. (This one was actually fun, and I've even stocked up on a few new much needed things.)
• Only just packed 1 box, but we're crazy and plan on packing everything and moving in the same day. (We worry, we don't have that much stuff.)
• Been writing lists and planning all the items we'll be needing to purchase for the apartment and my new workspace. (Been calculating how much everything will cost too, ahhhh!) Even gone to a few stores to check out a few items to have them in mind while planning the new space.
• Plus I've been twiddling my thumbs hoping that time will go by quicker and it will be next week already. So excited!!!

Have a great weekend!

The Great Gatsby

The second illustration in a new collaborative What's in my Makeup Bag series with the great great great beauty blog The Beauty Gypsy is now live. Woo hoo! And this one is featuring the iconic Daisy Buchanan of The Great Gastby... and I love it!

You must must must go to the blog and read how to get the Daisy look right away... here!

I'm pretty excited to see the film as well. Haven't been to the movies in forever, and I think this film will be a good pick. Glamour and Glitter!

Printshop

How did you go about finding great printshops?

This one is actually rather simple. To find a printshop to create my prints in my area I just googled it. I choose the printshop that was near to me, easy to order from, and the cheapest. I've only ever just tried this one printshop and I'm really really pleased, so I don't think I'll switch shop any time soon. They are cheap, they don't require a minimum order, the quality is great, their turn around time is rather quick and it's only a few stops from my apartment. Perfect!

When it came to finding a printshop when I started dreaming about producing silk scarves was a little more complicated. It was absolutely impossible to just google this. I tried though of course, and was in contact with a few companies in other European countries and China. The communication was either really difficult or the amount of scarves I would have to order was just too much.

So I gave in and asked some one. What!? That's crazy, no way I would actually dare ask someone for their contact... but I did, and the nice illustrator girly who also makes scarves actually gave me the contact information for her custom silk printing shop in England. The prices were nice and there weren't any minimum orders, the quality was also really really nice. (As you would know if you're one of my silk scarf's lucky owners.)

I have a few other products to produce in mind and for those I have either asked other illustrators producing those items for their contacts or sometimes the products state where they are made on the packaging.

So my simple advice is just to search your local area for a printshop that suits your needs or just ask someone. I think people are much more open to share than what you'd might think.