Creating a spring vintage planter & talking about moving away from instagram.

How I’m making connections this year.

Hello my flower loving friends, how are you? I was hankering after some spring blooms this week and managed to pick up some beautiful iris bulbs. I love planting up vintage containers with seasonal flowers and this pink soup bowl came from a wonderful lady at the last brocante I did. It’s chipped and I love it more for it, it’s those perfect imperfections that tell a story and make you wonder about the people that have owned it over the years. I adore the delicate faded pink flowers and the decorative handles, it lends itself perfectly to both planting up and flower arranging. You could use teacups, old tins or crates. Anything quirky so long as you can make it water tight. I use a few stones at the bottom for drainage then go in with compost, I should really use a bulb compost as its lighter and free draining but I don’t have any so I’ve used multi purpose, they’ll be fine, I’ll just make sure to water them sparingly. I’ve used three plants here and then topped the whole thing with moss so it looks nice. The pot nearest on the left with the black smudge on it is one of my pit-fired ceramics that I did when we had a big garden bonfire last year. I want to do more pit-fired work this year. At the moment I’m making these huge wobbly teacups in stoneware that I can’t wait to share with you. I’m also working out my dates now for coffee and flower mornings and other workshops in the garden. And lastly, I’m taking lots of photos, you know how I adore my photography.

As I look through these images I love the plants and composition but I think I look tired or quite wintery I suppose. Lack of light, even though I’m chomping down vitamin D like it’s Green and Blacks chocolate. However- I think it’s important to show up and put ourselves in front of the camera if we want to build relationships. As a small business, putting myself out there forms a bond of trust as my customers know exactly who they are dealing with. Connection is what I’m really striving for this year. Most of us have hang-ups about our own appearances but we must remember we are all unique and that is a beautiful thing- to be different, to not be all the same. Where was I? Oh yes, building connections. I want to do this in a way that feels really good.

A few months ago I wrote that I was giving Instagram more of a backseat in my business and it has been a relief. I still use it, mostly the stories feature but the energy I give to it is less. The time back has given me space for thought and putting together more meaningful articles on here. Since the start of the year I’ve noticed a lot of my friends and small businesses are moving away from Instagram too. The reason being that it’s just too hard to make valuable connections with people on there anymore. I think it’s just oversaturated. It can be exhausting creating beautiful images to know they are not being seen even if you are dancing to the beat of the algorithms drum, I hear you, it’s frustrating. I think it’s down to how much power you give it over you, it can be a soul sucking dementor if we’re not careful. I like any content I create to make me feel good as well as the people I’m creating it for. If it leaves me exhausted then what is the point? But what if you just don’t want to show up there anymore. What if it’s making you feel unhappy. If you’re a business owner or a creative wanting to turn your hobby into a business then the chances are you will need some sort of online presence but maybe that could just be a website for now, one with a blog attached to it. Even if you’re not running a creative business but want a creative outlet- somewhere to share your images, words, thoughts and ideas- you could create a blog- and no they are not dead. It’s just journaling online and lets face it, journaling is trendy again (although I’ve always kept one, back then we called them diaries).

Anyway so I started to give IG a backseat at the end of last year and I’m looking to phase it out eventually and that is because I have fallen in love with another, hey, it’s my mercurial nature, my new love is my Substack publication. Once a week (sometimes more) I sit in my favourite coffee shop and write all my thoughts, ideas and inspirations down, share all my images and get to connect on a deeper level. And not just with you but I’ve made friends in the coffee shop I visit so it’s a win win! I feel the move to substack gives me more freedom and actually nurtures my soul. My Substack friend

David Barton

said the same thing about his publication the other week and it’s so true, writing is good for the soul and feeds my creativity. I think it also has something to do with the feeling that there is more space on here, more space to breathe. I also love the fact that my subscribers get a notification in their inbox whenever I post, unlike on Instagram where they may never see it. But it’s still up to them if they open it immediately or not. I sometimes save up the publications I’m subscribed to and read them over coffee when I’m needing a moment of calm. I love its features- I can share long videos or even a podcast if I want to. And I love how I’m in control of it and not the other way around. At first my subscribers came through my link on my website (they still do), then from links in my IG stories (still do) and now a lot of people find me via other publications and Substack itself. It’s not a quick fix like Instagram and that’s another reason I love it. I think I’m at the 270ish subscribers mark and with a 62% open rate I’m quite happy. My goal is to get to 1000 subscribers, then I will really only keep instagram for the odd post. At the moment I still use IG for the stories and seeing what my friends are doing in their stories, this feels more interactive to me than the scrolling up. However, most of my friends are making the leap to substack so eventually there won’t be anything to keep me there anymore. I’m just taking back control and showing up how and where it feels good.

All the while we have this technology there will always be some social platform preceding the next. It’s finding the right one for you and knowing that change is a constant so there will be a time when you have to move things on again. Get comfortable with that and life becomes easier. I’ve put a link at the bottom so you can explore creating your own publication if you want to.

I’m also looking forward to making more in-person connections in my garden this year and I’ll be opening the garden for informal flower and coffee mornings. I’ve just had a seed delivery so I will be starting my sweet peas off this weekend and I bought some white geranium plug plants the other day (bloody love baby plants) so I want to pot those on. I’m trying not to wish time away but I will be glad when spring rolls round and we can leave the woolly jumpers behind, feel the sun on our faces and the warm soil under our hands- bliss!

I hope this post has given you something to ponder over whilst you’re having a coffee or maybe sowing your seeds, I also hope you’ve enjoyed the images and they’ve given you ideas. If you find it inspiring then please feel free to pass it on to like-minded friends.

I will be posting my workshop dates over the next couple of weeks so keep an eye out for those. Hope this week is kind to you. If you need a little treat, a happy little ritual to bring to these cold days- my friend

Gosia Horczak

who runs Herb Merchants Kitchen, blends the most beautiful and delicious tea you ever did see! My favourite is the Rose but I love them all. You can find her substack by clicking on her name above - she writes beautiful recipes there too for if you need gluten free inspiration. Or you can visit her shop here.

Emma x