Hello love,
If you’re new here, or just want a refresher of what’s where, I created this page for you.
I’m Carla – a writer, photographer and dreamer who believes in magic and the gorgeous rebellion of making your life absolutely your own.
Having transformed my own life by ditching convention and embracing creativity, I now help and inspire others to discover their inner sparkle.
I’m also a proud polymath / Renaissance soul / doer of ALL THE THINGS, and am forever discovering new things to dip into.
This blog is loosely a lifestyle blog, with its central themes being creativity, living your life on your own terms, and happier work.
As with all my blogs over the last decade, I view this as my home on the web. Come in, curl up on the sofa with a complicit cat, have a mug of your favourite drink and relax!
xoxo,
The blog
Some of my favourite posts, to get you started:
The other things I do
When I said I do ALL THE THINGS? I really do… here are some of my favourites:
Run Away Days / Mermaiding UK
Who hasn’t wanted to be a mermaid at some stage in their life?
I take it as a badge of honour that no one batted an eyelid when I took up mermaid swimming, and when I announced I was opening a mermaid school for adults.
Opened in early 2016, there are spa days, crafting activities, private pool parties, tails & fins for sale, and in the works are tailswimming taster sessions, evening classes, mermaid makeovers and hire-a-mermaid opportunities 🙂
Indulge your daydreams and come and play… runawaydays.co.uk
Carla Watkins Photography
(and the Business Soloists club)
Confidence catalyst and photography with soul for your amazing creative business.
In my time as a web designer, I found that one of the things solopreneurs struggle with most is decent, original imagery. For their website, for their marketing materials, for online profiles & guest posts – but as my wonderful clients have mostly escaped from hideous corporate jobs, the last thing they want to book is anything that resembles a corporate headshot session.
I also found myself increasingly helping people to get started in business and/or leave their jobs for something more fulfilling – when this number reached double figures I decided to add this advice to my photography sessions and the Business Soloist Sessions were born.
The free to join Business Soloists club is a space for people building their own unconventional career path and lifestyle, and the handbook is coming soon 🙂 carlawatkins.com
Unfurling Your Wings
Unfurling is where women change how they see themselves and how they show up in the world – forever, through portrait and boudoir photography sessions and the signature Unfurling six-week course.
Based on my own experiences of creating and using a series of alter egos to change my perspective and my world, I’ve streamlined the process so that you can do it too. I’m also the resident boudoir photographer for the Burlesque Jems.
If you’re in need of a confidence boost, if you’ve ever wondered who you might have been if things worked out differently, or wanted to show a different side of yourself to the world… or just wondered “is this it?” and longed for more colour and sparkle in your life – come and meet your alter ego.
You’ll be amazed at what she can do for you. unfurlingyourwings.com
Ink Drops
Delightful stationery, dropped through your door. The idea for Ink Drops was born when Annastasia (a vegan) and me (allergic to everything) were talking about beauty boxes and our love of the written word, back in 2012.
By November, we’d set up our subscription service, our happy joint blog and our online stationery shop and started to connect with stationery addicts all over the world.
Two and a half years later, we’ve decided it was a much better investment than an MBA and are expanding in all sorts of directions. I love, love, love this little company and I can’t believe I get to buy beautiful stationery and call it work…! inkdrops.co.uk
Paper Dolls Burlesque
Ahh, burlesque. One of those things I always loved (costumes! corsets! frills! feathers! lights!) but always assumed I’d never actually get to do. Because, you know, taking your clothes off on stage and stuff.
Fast forward a few years and some brilliant classes (from the fabulous Burlesque Jems) six of us formed the Paper Dolls, performed and ran a tent at the Fling Festival, and have put together numerous performances for events like Terry Pratchett’s Hogswatch, as well as occasionally surprising brides and birthday girls. The website needs updating but that’s ok… right?! paperdollsburlesque.co.uk