I have been reorganizing a lot lately. I needed to make room for a desk in my studio and finish sorting boxes that were still unsorted from the move. So the task was successful. I now have many of my books in my bedroom and some of them in my husband's home office. While going through the many books I own I eliminated some, they made their way into some of the local Little Free Libraries( I love these, and there are quite a few in the area). As you can see from the following picture I still have a few books. My studio is also nicely organized at the present with all notions sorted by type and then colour.
As I went through my books, I decided some were worth rereading and others I just didn't want to give up. I also have many fashion reference books which I use off and on. Some of them quite frequently, often it is for a particular design I may have in my mind and I want to refresh myself on a technique or fabric compatibility. I now have books picked out for the next few months to be read, because of course I found some books that had been boughten and not read yet. About once a year I check my books for this, you know the ones that got misplaced in a pile somewhere.
One of the books I pick up and reread parts of now and then is "how to start a home-based Fashion Design Business" by Angela Wolf. This is partially due to the advice Angela has at the end of the book that it is a good idea to reevaluate your business every 6 months.
I have a tendency to be neglectful of doing proper paperwork at times, which is the main reason it is very good for me to reference Angela's book. It helps remind me to fill out my worksheets when working on a new design, or when I am doing some custom work for a client. Many clients don't care about a detailed invoice explaining every cost involved but I find they work well for my records in the end when giving a new client a quote.
This time I picked it up because I am presently setting up a US business bank account, registering my businees in Seattle and working on a new eCommerce site. Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork. Thought it was a good way to help make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Going back to the basics is something we should all do occassionally. Right now I am dealing with the differences of business in Canada and the US, there has been a bit of a learning curve. This whole move has helped remind me how complacent you can get and how easy it is to pick up bad habits.
