Hello everyone!
I've been thinking of posting a blog here every so often, just sharing updates on my business, things I've learned as a business owner, as well as some thoughts and feelings.
Because I know that some of you either have or are trying to create your own business, and are struggling with it.
I struggled with it for a very long time. I had one business before Phantomasy that I closed because it just wasn't what I wanted to do, and it wasn't working.
Today I just wanted to share something that has been on my mind for a little while. Something that I never would have thought about before my business became what it is today.
In the beginning, it was just me.
I made and handled everything Phantomasy, with no help. It was easy for me to manage at first, because it was just me and a few handful of customers.
What I make here at Phantomasy is my art, it's my creation and expression. I have so much fun making new products, taking pictures of them, and sharing them with the world and then hearing from you!
Eventually, things started to grow to a point where I couldn't manage it on my own anymore. The demand became too high for one person to handle. There was a point where I stopped creating new items because the workload was too much. I stopped having fun and it became quite stressful.
When that happened, I had to let go of the idea of it just being my art and expression.
It was now something much bigger than me.
I had a really hard time letting that go. Phantomasy was no longer just me. It was something else all on it's own now.
It wasn't just me sewing masks, or detailing products, or handling the machines.
I had to teach other people how to do it too, so I could meet the demand and provide all these people with glasses-friendly masks. And honestly I feel like I still haven't met the demand. We're still a bit behind, but are working on catching up!
It feels funny when I say it out loud. When people ask me what I do, I always feel quite awkward because I mostly get met with "Huh." when I say "I make glasses-friendly costume masks." Their follow up question is often "You make money doing that?"
People don't realize the demand and how much it affects people.
Something that sounds so simple, can have quite the impact.
As someone who grew up wearing glasses, I always felt like I didn't look cool enough when I wore costumes. Because I had to wear glasses with it and it didn't look right. I couldn't fully immerse myself into this fantasy world, because my glasses were kind of killing the vibe.
For some people, costumes are their escape. They allow them to play and forget about the world. Not all of us can wear contact lenses or have corrective surgery. So having a costume mask that has room for glasses can be quite life-changing. I know because I've felt it personally, but I've also heard from SO MANY of you. Hearing how my masks have positively impacted your lives has been a true honour.
So, needless to say, what I make is extremely important to me... and learning to let go of control and trust those around me with something so paramount was quite hard.
It was like handing over my beating heart to someone and asking them not to drop it.
I still wear a lot of hats at Phantomasy. I help with machines, sewing, detailing and packing orders. But now I have help, and I couldn't have asked for a better team.
I'm still delegating tasks, like I recently hired a friend to come handle packing. Having her create shipping labels and pack orders for me has lifted a huge weight off my chest.
I'm also still learning how to "be a boss." I've never been good at asking people to do things, or assigning jobs or tasks. My confidence is quite low in that area, but I feel like I'm improving! It helps to be surrounded by supporting people who also allow you to "be a boss."
They've all helped and supported me greatly, and in turn, I do my absolute best to help and support them however I can...
I knew that me wanting to be involved in absolutely everything would eventually kill me and Phantomasy, because I wouldn't have the time, energy or spirit to make new products. Which is the whole point of Phantomasy! Finding that balance has been difficult, but I think I'm getting closer.
I'm still teaching those around me to handle new tasks that I don't necessarily need to be part of, and we are making a lot of progress in many ways.
It will still always be me handling commissions. In fact I would love to get to a point where that was mainly what I did every week. There's still a bit of catching up to do, but that is the goal.
All this to say, Phantomasy has grown up and become something more than just me.
Learning to let go and treat it differently has been a journey that I'm still working on.
I couldn't be more thankful to those that I'm surrounded by, my friends/employees, customers and followers.
I'm still catching up, and might be for a little while (so please be patient with me if I take a while to respond to your email! haha)
And I'm really looking forward to what's in store.
Please let me know if you would like me to share more things like this!
Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
The Veilsmith
AKA, Tris