Learn something new everyday

Well we are very lucky to be in beautiful Bali. I've been looking forward to coming to do a course in wood carving since we booked it. Not something I've tried before but the area is famous for it so you've got to really!

I always forget how enjoyable it is to learn something new. I had so much fun despite the sore back and aching hips from sitting on the floor so long day after day. The start of something brings back a special passion that you don't get once you are more accomplished. It's like being a child in a sweet shop, the excitement of trying something you've never done before. 

Now that I'm finished I have such a feeling of accomplishment. I'm very proud of what I've made but you'll have to wait a little while to see it - I've decided to give it as a present to someone. 

Like always, learning something new gives me a bit more focus. I know that must sound odd but when its new and challenging I want to practice and so I reassess (cut down on telly time), juggle and finish the housework a bit quicker to make space for it. It gets me motivated to use my time more wisely to be able to do something I enjoy. 

I took great pleasure in talking with Kadek, our teacher, finding all about life in a village in Bali and sharing stories with the Australians along side us. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy but over time I got to learn some techniques, work out the right tools and suddenly the impossible became possible. That was a nice little reminder to myself just what I can achieve. 

I feel like I've worked out some new craft muscles I haven't tried before and my body, mind and spirit feel invigorated. It's never good to get stuck in the same old routine and as Kadek said, 'we see this as meditation'. 

And as the old expression goes ' you never know what you can do until you try.' !

Mindfulness in the Mayhem

Well it was a tough one last week. My laptop went into melt down on Monday evening. I promptly followed it Tuesday evening having spent the whole day trying to fix it instead of going to Dublin as planned. That got rearranged to Thursday but come 7am I was about to set off and noticed I had a flat tyre. I finally got going about 9.45 by which time I'm usually well past Longford. Just to add to the mayhem I still have no Internet in the shop despite sitting on the mast (it's in the back yard!).

Not major problems to some but with my in-laws coming tomorrow I wanted to have a stab at pretending I was a domestic goddess and things were under control. Thats now not going to happen and so my stress levels have been abnormally high!

Then Saturday came and for the first time all week I relaxed. I had a giggle trying to teach the kids club to knit, had a cup of tea with Brendan delivering his beautiful work and sat while someone did a decoupage session in the open studio. 

But it was in that half hour before the kids arrived that I sat knitting that turned my week around. I was watching my fingers and listening to the clink of the needles. Not thinking about the broken laptop or stressing about the in-laws coming just knitting.

It wasn't until the end of the day when I was moving the shop round ( yes again) and I read Be's poster from Mindful Productivity that I realised. It's just about being in the moment. I read somewhere that people who are sad live in the past, people who are anxious live in the future and people who are peaceful live in the moment. Whatever it is....knitting, sewing, decoupage, crafting is escapism. The brain stops thinking about all the other stuff and you live in the moment. And it's incredibly relaxing and very peaceful.

So if you are after a bit of relaxation or stress relief I can highly recommend it! 

Showcase

Two weeks ago I was up in the fair city and was at the RDS for Showcase. I had done lots of prep before looking at the suppliers on-line because with over 400 stands there I wasn't going to get round them all in a day. As it turned out I had a bit of car trouble and was there longer than I expected and was secretly quite pleased to get some extra time at the show.

I went last year before the business opened and I had the same feeling. It's a kind of awe and curiosity. It's amazing that so many products are made in Ireland, so many irish companies and jobs. It's also encouraging to think that all these companies here started off like me, taking what seemed like a giant step to starting your own business. And I suppose all this wonderful 'stuff' is one of the reasons that I started the shop. To 'showcase' what people can make and offer something other than made in China. 

It's no secret round town that I come from a family of shopkeepers. I used to have a cupboard under the stairs in my old house full of shoes and would joke with my dad that it's his fault, it's in my blood. My granddad made shoes and I am intrigued by anyone who makes things. I guess in my own way I went into the family trade and spent more years that I'd like to admit working in Boots. I started in the safe, calm environment of the Head Office on my parents doorstep but it wasn't too long before I traded that for the long hours, hard work and stress of a Store Manager - and I loved it. 

However, after a while the restraints of a big company telling you what to do stifled my creative flare and you start to feel rebellious. My outlet became the night classes in sewing, pottery and French among other things. Soon I was doing my own thing, making stuff on my small pink sewing machine. 

My move to Belmullet gave me a bit more time to be creative and to fulfil the long standing dream of having my own business. The added bonus of this job is the people I meet. There are so many lovely people who inspire me. And so many who humble me and make me feel like I'm their most valued customer and are genuinely interested in helping my business succeed. 

And of course the amazing products that I find and I found some great gems at Showcase made in Ireland by these wonderful people. I love it when my customers come into the shop and are delighted at what they find. The orders that I made at Showcase are going to start arriving this week and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you. I see lots of things I love but I always decide by trying to put myself in my customers shoes and think would she like it and it's always nice to know when I get it right.  So I hope you'll all let me know what you think.

New Window Theme….

It's still a work in progress but the new theme of the window is 'Oh when the saints….' 

It was inspired by a quote I came across recently from one of the most amazing people to ever walk this earth. 

“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” Nelson Mandela (RIP) 

There are three saints days that are marked in Ireland one the coming weeks and with them there are lots of craft ideas. The first one is the St Brigid on the 1st of Feb. No doubt there are many schools that will make a cross but for my part I wanted to try something a little different. A cross stitch St Brigid's cross on a hessian square. It's a lovely craft idea for children of all ages and great to keep up the sewing. I like the idea of the St Brigid's cross, it is said to protect the house from fire and evil. I read somewhere that it was possibly derived from the pagan sun wheel and of course St Brigid's feast day falls on the Celtic Imblog (Imbolc) festival. So I thought I'd do a little bit of research.  

The Imblog festival was a festival of girls. The girls of the village would make a 'Bride doll' out of straw symbolising the Goddess Brigit from the last sheaf of the previous year's grain. It was carried from house to house and so brought the blessing to every home.

St Brigid of Cill Dara (Kildare) is believed to have incorporated elements from the worship of the goddess Brigit and so St Brigid's day is a welcome to the spring. I don't know about you but with this weather it doesn't feel like spring is around the corner. I was travelling from Leitrim today and the flooded fields look like they won't be receding any time soon. Anyway I found this in the internet….

'We sing a song to Brigid. Brigid brings the Spring.  Awakens all the fields and flowers, and calls the birds to sing.'

The next is of course St Valentine. Not much is known about this roman saint except for the fact that he died on the 14th of Feb. And of course the third is St Patrick but more to come on that.

Resolve on my Resolution

Well we are mid way through January and the New Year's resolution isn't going so well. It 's the same one that I've made for the last few years and as I have to keep making it then it obviously isn't working. What's the saying…. if you do what you always did you get what you always got!' Well not this year. 

What is this eternal resolution I hear you ask? Simply - to get organised. And anyone that knows me understands why I need to make this resolution. I live my life in a kind of organised chaos and I hoped the hubby might knock it out of me but it seems I've just engulfed him into my chaotic world. 

I do things on a 'just in time' basis and if it doesn't go to plan it can quickly spiral into a  a 'not enough time' basis. So the morning my husband when off the only unlost set of car keys leaving me stranded with two cars on the drive and no key to use either of them, hunting around for the dog bowl in my dressing gown as I had no clothes to throw on because they were all in either the washing pile or the ironing pile I decided 2014 really had to be the year to crack this resolution.

That was mid December and I had grant plans. The shop was closed for a few days and I was going to tackle the ironing pile, catch up on paper work, and generally transform overnight into some mega organised housekeeper and business woman. 

And 16 days into the new year the progress report would make poor reading. However if at first you don't succeed….I am going to keep plugging away at it. I am going to try a few different things and get a bit creative with it. My pal pinterest is a good place to start. I WILL end 2014 more organised than I started!

Irish Word of the Day - Free Irish Vocabulary Lessons Online

Irish Word of the Day - Free Irish Vocabulary Lessons Online

This is Us….

Starting out we are having a ball and so much is happening. I'm sitting down to watch the strictly come dancing results like I usually do on Sunday evenings and now that the clocks have gone back the fire is on and the curtains closed. For our first blog I thought I'd do a bit of an introduction. 

Rosaleen and Tom Bond that's us. We landed in Belmullet in early 2012. We got married here in 2012 and had no plans to move on a more permanent basis however, a few twists of fate and we were moving to Belmullet the week of our 1st anniversary. The connection to the area is Rosaleen's wonderful dad who sadly died in 2010 leaving a huge gap in all his 6 girls' lives. She comes from a family of shopkeepers and a walk along the main street in Belmullet you will see her cousins shop 'McAndrews' often referred to as Billy's, her late uncle. Opposite is the site of the shoe shop that her grandfather and his father had and still is the 'family' home. 

Rosaleen has a huge amount of experience in business and shopkeeping herself. She nurtured her crafty side in her 'free time' always did a class at night school learning a new skill including sewing, pottery, photography and writing. These classes also included French, Italian and Arabic and hopefully these will help in the new pursuit of learning Irish. 

Lúnasa is a vision of Rosaleen's that is still work in progress. She has always wanted her own little shop and her love of crafts was the natural choice. So what is that vision….well it's quite simple to promoting and provide access to handmade crafts. When first moving it was hard to find locally made crafts and she found a new interest in the more traditional crafts.  She is in the shop most days working on a new project or looking at the vast array of fabulous Irish products.  And often you will hear the bark of the young Farah who is always delighted with a bit of a rub from anyone. 

The pieces that you find in Lúnasa are hugely from Mayo and Ireland with a few things that I love mixed in. Every few months we head back to England and come back with a van full of goodies. We are passionate about great service and try to make people feel great when they visit our store. 

One important part of the vision is about giving people access to crafts and so the 'Open Studio' was created. Here anyone can come and try taster sessions of a number of different crafts any time that suits them. 

We also have a packed calendar of courses and try where possible to get local people to deliver the workshops in Lunasa. We are open to any crafts and have plans to offer many things including blacksmithing. 

Tom is a Essex boy who was lulled to Mayo by the golfing and fishing. He started as the muscles of the business, painting, laying floors and knocking out old counters and it's by no means finished. However, since opening he is getting more and more crafty and has a particular flare for pottery. He does all this when he is off work and also manages to fit in time to study a degree in Chemistry.  

The Friends also deserve a mention. They have been a huge help in giving moral support setting up the business over numerous coffees. We have now progressed to wine but they can be relied upon to hold the fort when called upon…..they tell me they like the break away from the kids. 

I guess a nice finish to the introduction would be the parents. My wee mammy now 80 can be seen knitting in the shop when she comes to stay and Tom's mam and dad are a huge support looking after the shop to give us a break. When they arrive in their camper there is a sigh of relief as the cooking, cleaning and ironing  fairies always come with them. And despite Pete's initial reluctance he and Farah now have a special Bond!