Station cat
52 Project | Week 2: Unicorn-Appropriate Headwear
Some of you will have seen this already. I love my unicorn hat, and saw no reason why I shouldn’t wear it to the day job on the day of my appraisal. I didn’t wear it *in* the appraisal. But I make several people smile, do double takes or laugh out loud every time I do wear it, and for that reason it deserves a place in my 52 photos that represent 2015.
That hat is extremely Lotta.
The contenders are, as always, in my Flickr stream in chronological order.
London in November
I took my Mum to London a couple of times late last year for hospital appointments. We decided both times to make a day of it as the appointments were over by 11.30am. She suggested a walk by Tower Bridge. It’s not somewhere I go often, and I was struck by the architecture both old and new.
A glimpse of the poppies at the Tower – only a glimpse as the crowds were beyond belief.
2015’s 52 Project (and Week 1)
Once, long ago (well, in 2008) I did a 365 photography project. I loved the challenge of taking photos every day, but my life is now far too full to be able to commit to that. And I have quite enough half-finished projects and barely-started ideas to knowingly add to the pile!
So instead I’m starting a 52 project for 2015. One photo a week, all year.
I’m sharing the best contenders each week over on my Unfurling Flickr page and will post the one I choose each Monday over here.
For the very first week of January I struggled, because it was full of amazing at home and with friends. And lovely Anna’s 40th birthday! So in the end I went for an arty one and one of the birthday girl, because it was far too hard to choose from the ones of my friends all together.
The last day of 2014 looked like this
I hope yours was as perfect. And I wish you everything you dream of in 2015…
If you go down to the woods today…
…you might just catch sight of a curvy faery taking flight.
The first (quick) edit from an impromptu series of self portraits I shot back in August in a quiet moment at my auntie & uncle’s house. The family thought I was stark staring mad but I was chuffed with the results – artfully fuzzy (because it’s nearly impossible to catch a faery being still) and definitely with fae potential. I’m hoping to get some more finished in the lull between Christmas and New Year – and when the weather warms up, I have some more shoots planned.
I’m generally in the mood for wings and the fae and alter egos at the moment, as my current major project is creating stacks of material for Unfurling Your Wings. Come and join me – it’s going to be ridiculously fun when it’s finished!
With love and unicorns,
Wordsmith or witch?
My jewellery has always symbolised what’s important to me – a birthstone, my Aes Sedai ring (the books the ring is inspired by changed my life), friendship rings, and most recently one reminding me of my intentions to photograph more of life. I create my talisman jewellery so that other people can do the same – keep their beliefs or dreams or hopes close by, always.
For day to day wear, I have various charms representing parts of my life or intentions which I wear separately or together on a silver chain – inspired by my Mum, who wears her cross, her evil eye protection, a camel and some other significant charms all together on a gold chain. I love that her beliefs and superstitions sit so easily next to each other like that.
As 2014 draws to a close, I’d like to add to my charms. A pentacle, for my spiritual side and for the witches in Discworld; a hare, for my connection with nature and also for Tiffany Aching (another Discworld reference) and the courage I hope I too have; and cats, to symbolise my two fluffy con artists who have so quickly become so central to my world.
But almost every online shop which sells charms goes on at length about pentacles being a Wiccan symbol, and the Wiccan rede or tradition. Which is fine, but also quite annoying, as I’m not Wiccan. I don’t particularly identify as a witch in the traditional sense, either – only that an amalgam of the pagan/hedge witch/nature/druid traditions is what most calls to me from all the religious and spiritual paths out there.
And then that got me thinking – I have always, always been fascinated with magic, witchcraft, spells, the fae, the Other. I am unusually intuitive and more than usually aware of how others are feeling and the potential or actual impact of words and actions – mine and those of others. I feel other people’s pain in a way that is draining – my heart quite literally hurts for a friend who’s suffering emotionally or physically. I’m instinctively aware of the moon’s phases and their effects on me (if not perfectly versed in all their names), and I have a collection of crystals and tarot cards which I use fairly regularly. (I sell them, too – I wouldn’t do that unless I believed in them.) All of that makes me Carla, not Wiccan, or any other particular religion.
But words – now words have incredible power. I love, and I firmly believe, in words working magic. As spells, manifesting, crystallising intention or just putting yourself out there – whatever you call it, you will have noticed at some point in your life the power of declaring what you truly believe, voicing your dreams, giving life to that which you most crave through words, whether spoken or written. (It’s said that millionaires write their goals down every day, and billionaires twice a day.) And symbols like the pentacle or the hare (or a typewriter, a flower, whatever works for you) are just as powerful – they create words and associations in your mind. Which is the first step to making your dreams real.
And though I’ve never particularly thought of myself as a witch, I do use words and symbols and rituals, every day, to create my magical life. A life which I’m told inspires others (a concept I find humbling and exhilarating in equal measure). A life which is an evolving creation in itself – a journey, not a destination. A life made out of words.
So am I a wordsmith, or a witch? Or a little bit of both?
Traditionally, witches have a terrible reputation. The definition usually involves evil spells and an ugly old crone. In my life, as with all women, I’ll be maiden, mother and crone – in age if not in actuality. Beauty is subjective – but while I don’t for a moment believe I’m ugly, neither am I about to claim the alternative title of enchantress – the dictionary definition of “captivatingly attractive” is not something that could be consistently said about any human being I’ve ever met, and especially not me first thing in the morning. Plus I don’t put spells on people.
Instead, I believe in magic like most people believe in the sun rising each day. I refuse to let being an adult dull my imagination and sense of wonder. I listen to people and I share stories and I create words and symbols and images – in the hope that these things will encourage other people to live out their own dreams.
I am not a Wiccan. I am not an enchantress.
But I am magic, I am creative and I love words. And so I suppose I might just be a witch… by my own definition.
With love and unicorns,
P.S. Want to find your own alter ego, witchy or otherwise? Hop over to Unfurling Your Wings and get your name on the list – the list for early access closes soon!
A treasury of unicorns
With unicorns being my signature these days (and yes, my spirit animal is almost definitely a unicorn or a blackbird. Probably a unicorn), I figured it was high time I made a themed treasury on Etsy from my new shop.
Which was lovely – and really dangerous, I want to buy All The Things.
Without further ado, here are some of the gorgeous unicornified things in the world today (and don’t forget their underwater cousins)…
‘Unicornity’ by unfurlingyourwings
Unicorn goodness 🙂
Powered By Handmadeology
Speedy Christmas Wreath*
The lovely people at Country Baskets sent me a box of craft ingredients and a challenge – make a Christmas decoration using at least four of them. I’m up against other bloggers and they will judge the competition this week. Eeek!
My box contained florist’s wire, satin ribbon, a frosted (faux) mistletoe spray, a wonderful garland of fluffy white pom poms, silver (faux) poinsettia with wired stems, silver bells on a chain, a pack of cream coloured wire balls and a pack of heart shaped baubles.
I had a wonderful time unpacking them and the cats had a wonderful time exploring the box and the packaging. (Thank you for the unexpected bonus gift of a cat-sized box, Country Baskets!)
But what to make?
Due to the EU VAT fiasco that is still raging, I haven’t had a lot of time for crafting, and I wasn’t sure what would best fit the challenge in the tiny pockets of time I had available. Then I remembered that a few years back I used some similar wire, plus tinsel and baubles to make an evergreen wreath. Those pom poms were crying out to be hung on my front door, so I set to work.
It is nearly impossible to craft when you have inquisitive cats who are firmly convinced they’re helping…
But eventually I had a finished wreath – and I’m chuffed with the mistletoe in the middle, as real mistletoe is poisonous to cats so I won’t have it in the house. Here it is:
And here it is adorning my front door, just in time for Christmas brunches and drinks!
*Courtesy of Country Baskets – I wasn’t paid for this post but I did receive a free box of products to use in my decoration.
Clear as mud – HMRC’s new VATMOSS guidance
I am beginning to think that HMRC couldn’t actually spell “clear” or “helpful”.
This afternoon, after much waiting, anxiety and in some cases actual tears, HMRC released their much-vaunted “new guidance” for micro businesses affected by the VAT MOSS rules.
This post from Enterprise Nation explains it. And makes it sound like they have fixed all our woes.
They haven’t.
These ‘fixes’ are simply bad rewrites of what we already knew, what had already filtered through.
But this is not good enough.
The jaded cynic in me believes, now, against my unicorns-and-daydreams hopeful and sunny side, that they have spotted people opting out of the traditional 9-5 drudgery in droves, and this is their way of stopping it.
The rational and sensible human in me can simply see that they just DON’T HAVE A CLUE. (a dear friend suggested to me some time ago that what I was in need of is a cluebat. To hit people with when they don’t have a clue. Oh, what I’d give for one now).
HMRC, may I present A Brief Guide To The Internet in 2014 (and no, it’s not liable for VAT because you’re in the UK and so am I. Plus I’m a generous soul and I’m giving you this lesson for free. I won’t even add a sales pitch at the end):
You may not have come across it before, in the cushy caves in which you appear to reside and work from, however “the internet” is this magical thing, commonplace in the modern world, which enables people to communicate digitally. No telephones, no mail, no pigeon. It’s almost instant, and it is universal. Worldwide. No barriers.
Via the wonder of “the internet”, we can do such things as contact each other by email, read other people’s writings and watch videos of cats. However, crucially, it also enables business to take place at previously impossible scales (both ends of the scales).
What makes this possible, in the UK at least, are two things: automation and the UK VAT threshold.
Automation means that once created, a product can be sold over and over again, without any intervention from the business owner (except for updates). As I have stated before in my letter to Vince Cable, the vast majority of what is sold is either too low priced, or too labour-intensive to create, to be worthwhile if we also have to be personally involved in every single purchase.
Instant payment + instant download = happy customer = business growth = shoring up the economy. Win win all round.
So a mum of 3 can write, scan and sell knitting patterns, enabling her to spend time with her children and save money on childcare while providing a small income for luxuries. She can use the rare time when her children are asleep to work on new patterns rather than the tedious and old fashioned admin of sending out purchases by hand.
A young single woman can supplement her day job without having to work in a pub or restaurant after a 9 hour day. This means she can put a little by for her house deposit and emergencies. She also has caring responsibilities, and automation and “the internet” mean she can fulfil those without having to take a pay cut from her day job, or spend her precious and limited free time sending out USB sticks containing training videos videos she is unable to deliver online without being liable for VAT and the data collection that goes with it. (are you beginning to see how ridiculous this is yet?).
A man who can’t get a normal job due to chronic health issues is able to stay off benefits, because he can create pre-made logos for small businesses which they can buy and implement without any input from him. This means that when he is in hospital for regular appointments, his tiny business doesn’t suffer from customers being unable to receive their purchases until he is home again. Like the other two examples, he cannot spend his limited time on admin, he needs to spend the time he is well enough to work on generating income, not on extensive admin.
All three of these businesses turn over less than £5,000 a year, and have registered with HMRC despite thr government’s apparent lack of understanding of what they do, because they WANT to do things right and trade within the law.
The VAT threshold is in place to ensure that businesses can start, innovate and grow, without drowning in admin and rules and red tape and bureaucracy before they even get off the ground. That we can keep our UK threshold is great – but that we have to submit a nil return and MOSS returns even if we only sell one thing to the EU is utterly, utterly senseless – and we cannot physically collect the data that you require from us.
One of my own businesses is a physical stationery subscription box company (i.e. actual parcels in the actual post) and we have had several customers whose addresses are not attached to their PayPal account. Let me remind you that this is for something which is PHYSICALLY SHIPPED to them. One or two of them were extremely hard to contact to get the address for a product they had already paid for, because their PayPal-registered email addresses were also void.
We cannot comply with your demands – and anyone with a modicum of understanding of what we do should grasp that. If you didn’t know before, you certainly should now, after the excellent posts, campaigners and meetings you have had.
That magical thing we call “the internet” has facilitated income and a sense of purpose for hundreds of thousands of people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to earn their living. They don’t want to be on benefits, they don’t want to be just another statistic.
The VAT place of supply rules have given me no choice but to pull the web design course I have spent months creating – I don’t dare accidentally sell to the EU and I can’t guarantee I would have the correct information, stored on an EU server, in any case.
The “clarification” you issued today clarifies only two things – that you don’t care about tiny businesses, and that despite being responsible for taxing us, you have absolutely no concept of the true state of online enterprise in the UK – at the smallest scale.
Our representatives and yours have been at the same meetings – and it is overwhelmingly evident that you haven’t listened to anything they’ve said.
I wait in hope for the exemption and threshold we have asked for and a further and better response from Vince Cable.
photo credit: GrungeTextures via photopin cc
(Disclaimer: this post is my opinion, borne of frustration and disappointment in the powers that be to protect something I’ve worked so hard for. The scenarios are an amalgamation of scenarios of real life businesses I have seen unfolding in past weeks, details changed to protect their identities.)
The #VATMOSS mess: my response to Vince Cable
The VAT MOSS petition started by Issy Zinaburg has gathered force. In the last few weeks, hundreds of small business owners have come together and thanks to the efforts of a group of those people, we have had meetings at the highest level and our voices have started to be heard.
There is still a way to go, but we were feeling positive.
Then yesterday Vince Cable (Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills) to whom the petition was addressed, and whose representatives had been at these meetings, had heard and understood our position, responded publicly to the petition.
You can read that response here.
Here is the email I sent yesterday – I am making it public because I am seethingly furious that with 10 working days left before Christmas, we still have no clear guidance from HMRC. Those of us that do know about it are floundering, wondering what the hell we should do – do we close? Do we risk contravening the law by refusing to sell to the EU? Do we take a step back in time, progress and technology and revert to selling only physical products, putting our ebooks on CDs and our courses on USB sticks? (Even this last won’t be safe, as they want to roll out the changes to all products and services “soon” – potentially by 2016).
The email is long, but I believe entirely necessary. Before we started to speak up, they didn’t know we existed. So we must continue to let them know they are suffocating us – and suffocating enterprise and innovation in this country. Many of my less stubborn friends won’t bother to start a business with all this red tape in place – one of the beautiful things about the internet and automated technology was the way it enabled people to try things out.
I am very much hoping that we see a more sympathetic and better researched response from Vince and his team before the week is out.
Paws on my shoulder, whiskers in my ear
And what nicer way could there be to wake up?
Luna and Clover have been with me just over a year – I picked them up from Brenda’s amazing rescue at 4pm on 27 November last year.
And I can’t remember what life was like before, nor imagine life without, my wonderful, ridiculous silly kittens.
Here they were on the day they came home:
And here they are, merrily taking over my life in the most wonderful way possible:
Illustrated by the wonderful Eli Trier:
Claiming their cat palace (and all the space in my conservatory):
And immortalised in Christmas decorations by the immensely talented Chloe at Slightly Triangle:
<3
Wonderful, silly kittens. You can find more of their antics on their blog, Silly Kittens.
They came from Alresford Cat, Kitten & Feral Rescue, which Brenda runs from her home and finds new forever homes for more than 300 abandoned cats and kittens a year. Should you wish to donate, please use the button below and I will ensure funds get to her when I next take cat food over 🙂
I'm Carla, a quirky thirtysomething with a penchant for unicorns and glitter. I believe in magic and make-believe, and the gorgeous rebellion of making your life absolutely your own. And I'm a proud multipod!
I am a photographer and catalyst for small business owners, and a real life mermaid. I photograph people as they truly are, help women see and step into their brightest and best selves, add a sprinkling of magic to the mundane, and am a happy ambassador for stationery and slow living.
Proud to be both girly and geeky, when I’m not writing, photographing or daydreaming, you can find me dancing burlesque, riding my bicycle Bluebell, growing herbs and collecting typewriters.