The year that changed me & one inspiring lady!

Hi everyone this is a special little one off post, I've been so busy (CRAZY busy) over the last six months or so, I've now found time to reflect & slow down (well only a little...). Since flying solo in 2008 my life has been one exciting roller coaster, there have been been many sacrifices, highs & lows & mistakes... but I've loved every minute. I've always been ambitious & a bit of a workaholic! I'm fortunate to be doing what I love & this is something that I will never take for granted.

So in the last year my business really has gone above & beyond my expectations, not only only has my studio grown, my licensing is really booming & I have begun to write! Yes write! (with thanks to Beth's wonderful editing!) You may remember me blogging about the AMAZING 'Do What You Love' retreat last year. The retreat & one very inspiring lady called Beth Nicholls has really made an impact on my life & changed it for the better!

I've always been a little spontaneous, a risk taker & little crazy (some might say) but meeting Beth really has opened up a whole new world for me both professionally & personally. For those of you who follow the blog will know I collaborated with Beth to set up and launch a brand new e-course called 'The Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design'. The course has gone from strength to strength & so many wonderful new doors have opened for me. I've always aimed high, gone for things, followed my dreams & trusted my instincts but just working with Beth has really rubbed off on me. She's kind of turned my world upside down... in a very good way! I now have more courage to raise the bar with my business and plan BIG! EXCITING! She has also given me the travel bug! I want to explore & see the world a little more, who knows I may get to meet all of my wonderful e-course students one day?

Beth found me by simply buying a piece of my art in a local gallery, I've always believed in fate & that things happen for a reason... I know to trust myself, my instincts & learn from others. It's important to surround yourself with like minded people who believe in your dreams & bring out the best in you.

I'm also lucky enough to have the most lovely supportive friends & family along with an amazing supportive professional network. I'm forever grateful, I really wouldn't be here if it wasn't for their encouragement!

Sorry for the deep post, a lot has happened in a year... My studio has also just celebrated it's fourth year in business! I love the unknown & not knowing what is going to happen next.

Beth runs her own inspiring e-course & you can listen to a wonderful interview with Beth & Monica Lee online here. I hope this post has inspired you to take a risk, you never know where it will take you!

The lovely Beth Nicholls of Do What You Love

(image credit Tiffany Kirchner Dixon)

Inspiring image taken from Pinterest

The lovely retreat! It was exactly a year ago, can you believe it?

Image credit (above & below) Navyblur

A few images from my solo charity sky dive, it was only just over a year ago!

 An inspiring image recently taken in Barcelona!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who follows & supports my work too, I wouldn't be here without you!

Work Placement Opportunity

Do What you Love is opening it's doors for a four-week work placement beginning Monday October 24. 

"Do What You Love is a young, dynamic company at an exciting stage of growth.  This is a rare opportunity to contribute to a number of pioneering projects and see behind-the-scenes of a creative start-up.

Do What You Love offers tools and inspiration to help others do what they love for life.  This includes luxury creative retreats and online education, including flagship e-course Do What You Love which has been described as ‘life-changing’, ‘awe-inspiring’ and ‘transformational’.  I am currently collaborating on a number of groundbreaking projects with British and American artists, including The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design featuring Rachael Taylor, and Hello Soul Hello Business with mixed media artist Kelly Rae Roberts.

You will be encouraged to take the initiative and be creative in the way you work.  New ideas are always welcome at Do What You Love!

Do What You Love is looking for someone who is friendly, motivated, creative, design-savvy  and keen to learn about running and growing a creative business.  Ideally you will have the following skills and experience:

• A solid grasp of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
• A good understanding of WordPress (or experience of blogging which would allow you to pick this up quickly)
• A background or strong interest in art and/or design
• A solid grasp of social media (Facebook, Twitter etc)

If you are interested please contact me for more details at: beth [at] dowhatyouloveforlife [dot] com.  Completed applications are due by Friday October 7 latest.  Please feel free to pass this on to anyone else you think might be interested!

NB: Although some work can be carried out remotely, much of it will be at the Do What You Love office in Leeds, UK".

#surfacepatternecourse

Happy Thursday everyone:)

Today is a special blog post about a very exciting new e-course project I've been working on in collaboration with the truly inspiring entrepreneur Beth Nicholls. Beth runs a fantastic e-course of her own that has been described as "life changing" she was also chosen as one of the UK’s 16 most exciting young female entrepreneurs, and awarded a place on Marie Claire magazine’s groundbreaking Inspire & Mentor programme.  This exciting collaboration came about at a perfect time and really has been a pleasure to work on.

For those of you who follow the blog will know I've been involved in numerous teaching projects over the past couple of years and I was also invited to speak at the ground breaking Do What You Love art & creative enterprise retreat. I truly have fell in love with, teaching, sharing (& hopefully) inspiring others. I feel very blessed to be a part of the fascinating world of surface pattern design & hope to inspire others on their own creative journeys.

The past few months have been extremely busy and hard work but the energy & drive shared between myself & Beth has been great. I'm really excited about the launch of our new collaboration. It has been a huge honor to work alongside Beth as she really is a mover and shaker in the creative world!

 

 ‘The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design' is the definitive guide to becoming a surface pattern designer – and you are going to LOVE it!

If you have ever dreamt of seeing your designs on stationery, fabric, homewares or other products, sharing your art through pattern, and monetising your designs this groundbreaking new e-course is for you!  

Split into three modules it will take you step-by-step from sketch to pattern to product, sharing technical how-to-guides and industry secrets along the way.  

We will guide you along this exciting path from developing your signature style to putting a collection together, and from protecting your work to monetising your designs.

With a rich combination of design inspiration, practical advice, demonstrations, creative exercises, resources and interviews with leading industry practitioners, this is the go-to guide for anyone wanting to develop their design skills.  

For more information about the e-course you can visit our online page: http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/pattern/

Do what you love! E-course

Hello Everyone! I'm sure you have all enjoyed reading about Rachael's fab experience at the DoWhatYouLove retreat!  It sounds like a dream break, and something we should all do at least at some point in our lives. I'm definitely hoping to make it to the next one, not only because of all the great things I've heard about it but because I recently completed the DoWhatYouLove e-course!

That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about today.  For all of you that wish they had gone to the retreat and are wishing you could have an experience to better your life, yourself and indulge in dreaming a little bit more without having to take time off work, this is the perfect solution.

The DoWhatYouLove e-course is a virtual classroom that has a duration of 6 weeks.  During these weeks you will get different fun and interesting assignments and tasks on a daily basis.  You will do it at your own pace and post the results online for your fellow classmates to admire and comment on. It is a fun, energizing experience which will take you on a little journey towards doing what you love. I loved every single moment of it.  My classroom was made up of people from all over the world whom I had never met but somehow were all looking for a way of leading a happy life by doing what we loved in a successful way, like me! I honestly felt like I learned a lot about how to get to the things I want out of my life.  It is an eye opening experience in the sense that it helps you realise how happy you can be when you do what you love and how amazing it would be to do that for a living.

I would really love to recommend that you sign up for the upcoming e-course summer2011, starting on June 6th!
It is a fabulous experience, like a little companion for 6 weeks, a new hobby you'd want to get home to and a spark of excitement for future plans.

If you would like to find out more about it, click here.  Exciting!  Hope you all have a brilliant weekend!
Love Moni!

Do What You Love!

Happy Monday everyone:)

Sorry it's took me a while to get back into the swing of things as I've been overloaded with work since I got back from the amazing dowhatyouloveforlife retreat

So I finally started to upload some of the photos I took at the retreat & it's brought back so many happy memories. I met so many fantastic & inspirational people there & I'm so happy that I got to be a part of it. There was a great buzz at the retreat & a lovely atmosphere too; it was relaxing but at the same time very busy as we got to hear so many inspirational stories & also take part in some fantastic workshops & creative enterprise sessions.

I was honored to be asked to speak at the event also. I was very nervous before my presentation but I loved it & everyone was very kind & lovely! So thank you xx

I have so much to share about the wonderful retreat, so I'm going to write a fair few blog posts about all the events & artists & individuals I met there.

Here are a few words to sum it up:

AMAZING, LOVELY, CALMING, FRIENDLY, WARM, STUNNING, RELAXING, BEAUTIFUL, INSPIRATIONAL, CREATIVE & WOW!!!!! :)

So I'd highly recommend booking next years http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/retreat/

 

 *Top images just taken on my Iphone, the lovely photography (last 6 images) is supplied by the super talented photographers navyblur

DWYL Retreat!

Happy Friday everyone:)


Moni will be looking after the blog next week as I'm off on the the 'Do What You Love' retreat, I can't wait! There is a wonderful bunch of super talented people going from all around the world! So it's all very exciting & I can't wait to meet them. I'm looking forward to slowing down too as everything has been so fast paced lately.

Wish me luck for my talk (creative enterprise session) that I'm running on the Saturday! I hope everyone enjoys it. I promise to blog about the retreat when I'm back.

Have a fab week everyone x

*For more information about the retreat you can view our original blog post here

Do what you love!

Happy Friday:)

Today I'd like to introduce to a fab, amazing creative retreat that's coming up this May! (11-15 2011) It's called 'Do what you love' & has been organized by the super talented & inspirational Beth Nicholls.

Beth herself has had a pretty amazing career & exciting life "Chosen as one of the UK's 16 most exciting young female entrepreneurs" so I was very honoured when she invited me to the event as a guest speaker! So I'm super excited & hope to see some of you all there! I feel very blessed :)

For further information about the retreat or booking a place simply visit the wonderful website 

"Imagine a magical place in an area of outstanding natural beauty, deep in the ancient English countryside.  A place where you can escape from everyday life, reconnect with the real you, and nurture your creative spirit.

Imagine a time when you are free to indulge your creativity. When you can step out of your creative comfort zone and take risks, supported by a warm community of like-minded souls.  And all this under the guidance of an outstanding teacher.

Imagine a space where you can explore the ideas you have been quietly sheltering for so long.  Where they will be motivated by inspiring entrepreneurs and where, nurtured by your new community, your self-belief will soar.  Where you can grow your creative business ideas, or simply plant the seed of belief that you really can find a way to do what you love, for life.

All this exists.

You can find it at the Do What You Love retreat (May 11-15, 2011).
It will be an intimate gathering of creative souls, sharing a special journey of change.
Everything will be taken care of.  You just have to take care of yourself".

What you waiting for? get booking!

*photo credit: natural retreats