12 months in to a life I didn't know was possible

On leaving a career behind and discovering a new version of the world.

Hannah Ashe

Jul 07, 2024

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A cliché perhaps, but I can’t believe it is July.

July marks a year since I left my old job. In fact, it’s precisely one year today (7^th July) since my last day in that role. I found this photo from my Instagram story on that day:

Look how happy I look! And that was before I had any idea of the journey I was about to embark upon.

Recently I have had some feelings of ‘what am I doing?’ especially when I start to think about how much less money I’m earning at the moment compared to a year ago. In my more negative moods and moments I’ve wondered whether I’ve achieved anything this year and whether this shift has been worth it.

So, I decided to take a moment to write down a list of what I might consider to be achievements. Some of them have earned me some cash and most of them haven’t, but that isn’t the measure of achievement or success for me.

Today I want to reflect upon the creative achievements and discoveries made during these past 12 months. In many respects I feel like I was living under a rock for the past ten years; plodding along doing the same job and not really allowing myself to think about what else was out there.

Then the lightning bolt ⚡️ hit.

This journey of discovery is ongoing and I hope it will continue for the rest of my life. I saw this note a few days ago posted by the lovely

Mika

and commented that I would name this chapter of my life ‘discovery’.

I’ve always had an inquisitive streak, taken notice of the people and places around me and felt a desire to experiment and explore. It’s just that as I hurtled towards mid-life, I got comfortable and forgot to look around me.

When I pressed publish for the first time here almost a year ago, I was terrified. Of what, I’m not sure because there were approximately 2 people aware of the fact I’d written anything. I hadn’t told any of my family or friends that I was starting this blog and for a while it was my little secret.

Something I’ve realised in this past year is that I’m not always good at speaking honestly and directly to people in person, but I feel much, much more comfortable writing things down, if a little nervous. I’ve heard several other writers say the same thing. It makes sense, I suppose. It was like that with the first pieces I published. I simultaneously wanted people to read my work but also absolutely didn’t want anyone to read my work.

My confidence in this area has grown, thanks to you wonderfully supportive readers, and the publishing of words has become addictive.

Achievements 💫

Here is a list of some of the things I consider to be creative accomplishments and discoveries over the past year. Here goes:

Building relationships with interior design clients

I’ve worked with 10 different interior design clients over the past 12 months, helping them to transform their homes into spaces that make them smile. I’ve received some wonderful feedback along the way and I am learning that one of my top assets is my ability to listen to clients and help them to understand what they really want. You can read some client testimonials here.

Nurturing the Create Ensemble community

I launched Create Ensemble in January and since then have hosted 7 online sessions with paid subscribers in which we came together online and wrote, drew, sewed, crocheted… in short we made things together! Create Ensemble will be returning in August and there is more info on that later in this post.

Launching a podcast

To date I have recorded, edited and published 16 episodes of Creative Career Change. Never, in a million years did I imagine I would make a podcast, but back in early September I had an itch that needed to be scratched and it really would not go away until I made the damn thing.

It’s been a joy and a challenge and a huge, brilliant learning curve. Listening back to the early episodes, I like to think I’ve got better at it, but I know there’s still so much to discover in this part of my creative life. Connecting with other women has been a true joy and it has been part of the discovery of understanding that I thrive on making deep connections with people. Not small talk, but really finding out what makes people tick. I’m still recording episodes so there are plenty more to come!

Making earrings

I started to experiment with polymer clay a few months back and it led to me making earrings. I love the tactility of working with clay, creating colours and shapes and then bringing the pieces to life in the form of jewellery. Here are some earrings I made a few weeks ago in order to create a pair as a gift for my sister’s birthday.

I experimented with selling initially, but learned that I get more enjoyment from making for myself and gifting to others. At least that’s how I feel right now. That feeling may change, and I’m open to it!

Writing on Substack 🎈

You could say that this has been the gateway to much of the creativity and discovery that has taken place. If I hadn’t started writing here, I would never have connected with others and had the idea to make a podcast.

It’s not quite 12 months since my first post on Substack (3rd August is my Substack birthday) and I will write in more detail on this topic then. For now I will say that I have written 95 posts, currently have 963 free subscribers and 32 paid. How has that happened?

I try not to fixate on numeric values but I do wonder if I can make it to the 1000 subscriber mark by 3rd August to mark my Substack birthday? Maybe it’s possible!

To the paid subscribers, I want to say a special thank you. Your continued support has helped to build my confidence in what I’m doing and has given me a little financial backing, which certainly helps.

Financially this year has been hard because I gave up the security of a good salary. That was, of course, my choice and the sacrifice I chose to make. I wouldn’t change what I’ve done for anything but please know that those Stripe payments of £4.21 here and there add up and make a difference. THANK YOU!

Learning to freestyle

Everything above is largely being figured out and made up as I go along. But instead of feeling like that is somehow wrong, I’ve come to realise that this is all anyone is ever doing in their life: making the best decisions they can at any one time. That’s just called living.

So, what’s next? ⏩

The most overpowering creative feeling I have right now is that I need to write.

Of course I will continue to clog up your inboxes here (ok, not too much), aiming to write newsletters weekly. Podcast episodes will continue and evolve. I’m excited to see how this current series develops and which guests I have the pleasure of interviewing.

The book!

The overwhelming need to write has now morphed into working on a book. It’s still early days and I have plans to focus on it considerably more over the summer. I don’t want to say too much at the moment except that the book is a part-memoir on the concept of home and what it means to me.

In just over a week’s time I will be heading to the south of France for a month with my husband for our Work-li-day. It’s the longest period of time I’ve been away from home - probably forever - and I’m very interested to see how this feels. Partly for book research and partly for myself, I’m going to be keeping a daily diary of this trip.

Paid subscribers will receive extracts from this diary during the time that I’m away. If you’d like to upgrade your subscription so that you can receive and read them, please click below.

A paid subscription will also gain you entry to Create Ensemble sessions. They are set to resume in August when I’m back from my travels. It’s an online session for an hour where we work on a creative project in the presence of each other. What you choose to create is up to you but we often write, draw, sew or crochet in this time. It’s a beautiful group and I’ve loved the connections made with those who have attended sessions so far. I look forward to building this connection and community further over the next year.

Expansive creative adventures

Inspired by

Caroline Ferguson

, who I interviewed some months back for a podcast episode and who wrote this post a few days ago, I want to prioritise creative adventure over the next 12 months. I had my first foray into this when I attended a creative day retreat last November and I am booked onto an 8-week pottery course starting in September which I’m so excited for. I’m putting aside a little pot of money so that when I see the next adventure appear in front of me, I’ll have some funds to do it.

I’ve got half an eye on

Tanya Lynch

’s Digital Detox retreat in October though I’m not sure about the logistics of it just yet. I’d love to hear about any creative adventure recommendations you might have (under £500…)