Hibernation

Hibernation

Green Shoes Painting by Julia Laing
Hello everyone, what strange times we are living in - it's not like anything I've known in my lifetime. I know that I'm not alone in feeling anxious and uncertain about the future and the changes that are already happening so quickly all around us. 
Sadly, due to the Coronavirus situation, I've made the difficult decision to close the online shop, temporarily. It's been a very hard decision to make because being self-employed, I rely on sales of my work as my only income. I'm lucky that I'm not on my own and my partner is very supportive. I'm conscious that many others are in the same, if not a worse situation.
There are a couple of reasons for the closure: firstly, since our local village post office closed, the nearest one is a couple of miles away. I can't drive so normally I welcome the brisk walk there and back. It's a good reason to get out of the house for some much-need exercise but at the moment I'm following the official guidance of staying at home unless it's essential. Also, the shopping cart is hosted by Shopify - pausing it means that I will save half of the fees, and I desperately need to make savings on my out-goings just now. My plan is to review the situation on a weekly basis and reopen as soon as is possible. 
It's only the shopping cart that's inactive, the website will still be here and I plan to continue adding new work - I'll be able to send some smaller items, and can still accept payments by Paypal. At the moment, I'm brainstorming what I can sell that would be small enough to post in the post box at the end of the street, (so nothing bigger than a DVD case really), and looking into how to create digital downloads...of what, I'm not sure yet!
For the time being, if you see anything you're interested in please contact me using the tab at the side of the page, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I might still be able to get to the Post Office, but less frequently, and I can send you an invoice via Paypal. I'm also happy to reserve some of the items if you don't mind waiting for them.
Looking ahead I'd like to make more of my blog. As well as sharing my own work, I'm wondering how I can make it more useful, I think we are all going to be looking for creative ways to occupy our time so there might be a few creative tutorials on the way.
One last thing before I go, I want to say a huge thank you, everyone, who has taken an interest in my work, and all my customers for their support. It really does mean the world to me! I was incredibly touched to receive some wonderful feedback for the paintings I sold in the flash sale I held last weekend. If you can afford it, please keep on supporting artists and independent businesses, they'll need it now more than ever! 
That's it for now, thanks for reading! Please take good care of yourself and your loved ones and stay safe! x
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