You might have noticed my content is moving a little more towards architecture, drawing, and, in general, entrepreneurship. Life is and should be, after all, about natural growth and constant evolution.

First off, let’s just say balance doesn’t exist the way we imagine it to. Work and family aren’t equal. The scales tip in either direction at different times of the day, week, month, or year. So that notion of fair, or equal is nonexistent.

Balancing business and motherhood with Sonia Nicolson

As a Mum

You are in the trenches of it all. All the noise, all the mess, all the milestones, all the joy, all of it almost all the time.

Then they go to school and you miss it ALL.

As an Architect

You live and breathe architecture. You know when someone’s an architect, you can spot them a mile away. They’re the odd one, wearing black, probably with funky glasses, and touching (or knocking on) all surfaces of a built structure.

I have a sketchbook in the nappy bag and I have nappies in my Kate Spade laptop bag.

But the two worlds don’t (don’t) easily blend.

You’ve heard it before.

The identity of a woman changes when she becomes a Mum

It’s hard to explain - this might resonate with you or you might disagree. This didn’t happen to me until my kids went to nursery. So I kinda felt left out of this feeling until then. Until I realized these little monkeys had been my 24/7 for 2+ years each and I didn’t know how to go back to ‘normal life’ now they were off with their wee gangs at Leikskoli.

…Did I want to?

Oh my. That’s a scary thought.

Designing out the next chapter

So I’m doing what I do best. I am designing. But I’m designing my life, my 9-3:30…until I can pick them up again, and yes, early because I am that helicopter Mum who missed them so much.

Architecture
Design
Drawing
Family
Iceland, etc. etc

These are all important pillars to me and so as I dive back into the studio, and my online courses, I’m opening up and sharing more about design, mindset, and all that is balancing business and motherhood in this next chapter of life.

Stay tuned.

Creative Confidence Coaching

if you are a mum getting back into work, what are your worries, fears, goals, hopes & dreams…

5 Tips To Create YOUR Perfect Studio / Office

Welcome to my studio, aka home-office but I'm guessing that's what many people are rocking. Today I'm taking you through my studio setup and offering up my 5 top tips to help you in creating yours. Art, design, and crafting can [and does] take over our homes, and whilst this can be amazing, it can also drive others insane. My Dad used to threaten to 'clean' with a black plastic bag.

But that doesn't stop us.

In my apartment, of course, I have a studio. It’s in the corner of our living room and separated by an open bookshelf for privacy. I have amazing daylight from our south-facing windows out to the balcony and a wall with my certificates and some artwork on it.

My desk has everything I need on it, or by it, and it can get pretty cluttered...it's organized chaos.

Pick a location with lots of natural light
but also power sockets for artificial light. I sit near the window so I get natural light, and a view of the neighbours but I am not too distracted by what is going on outside.
Surround yourself with inspiration
This will be different for everyone but for me, it’s pictures of family and friends, inspirational quotes, images and art, stationery, and so on. I have some of my work framed to remind me of my recent works and I use objects I use regularly as display pieces too.
Set the atmosphere
I do this with music. I have a Sonos speaker and I use the Apple Music app or the Calm app. I love a bit of background noise to distract my mind and all those random thoughts, or an audiobook on audible - I'm currently listening to The Happiness Project. I also love scented candles and often have one or two burning as I work.
Stay organized
we all love stationery and washi tapes and paper and so on but clutter will only distract and put you off. Make your desk welcoming and easy to work at. Use cups, glasses, empty candleholders, or whatever you can to help store all those pens and pencils you have.
Workspace and surface
keep this relatively empty so you always have a space to start a new project and remember to protect the surface you're working on. I use a large cutting mat to protect the tabletop and often put down a large sheet of white paper as a background for photos. The more you have lying around, the more your mind will wander to it. Even if that pile of to-do papers aren’t a priority, the fact they are sitting on your desk means your mind is thinking about them, even when you think it’s not.