Believing in Your Work - 2018 Planner Update

Getting the prices back almost made me scrap this entire thing because I didn't think anyone would pay so much for a basic, black and white planner with no decorations. And this is after looking around at other independent planner printing small businesses. I'm an in-between price. But who am I to say mine's better than the rest? But I looked over everything again and went, no, this needs to be out in the world.

I truly believe this planner can help with not just getting organised, but also with productivity and personal growth. It's centred around you, and while structured, is flexible enough to be customisable to you. Even the cover is completely blank so you decide what you want to do with it.

To convince myself (and you), I made a list of things I think is great about this planner.

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Believing

1. Design

It isn't decorative in any way, and that was a conscious design decision. Strip away the distractions and the fancy, and you're left with raw, driven and focused determination to grow, and learn, and get things done.

2. Paper

The inside is 120gsm paper - not flimsy, but comfortably thin. It is made of a mix of FSC paper (which I call virgin paper, since it's the first thing the tree was made into), and 100% recycled paper (paper on it's 2nd lease of life at least).

It is smooth and easy to write on. And we tested it. Ballpoint pen, ink pen from Muji, and a fine tip permanent marker didn't bleed through the page.

At the end of its life, the entire book, including the cover can be recycled because there is no lamination on it. Just remove the binder.

3. Binding

I was initially planning on using a sewn binding, but that would have been too expensive. So the next best option is wire binding. It means you can open your book completely flat, and flip pages 360 degrees.

4. Size

At A5 size, it is small and portable. But there is plenty of space to write, draw, note, whatever, in it. Lines are 6.35mm high so even huge ass handwriting like mine fit in comfortably.

5. Content

It's all genuinely very useful stuff. No fluff, and you use it in any way you feel is good for you. The planner will work for you, instead of you working for the planner.

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Cost

I'm going to be super honest, against my dad saying that's silly and naive of me, and tell you everything.

Cost of printing: 204.75 NIS
Postage: 30NIS*

Total, according to Google at time of publishing: £50.43
If you think about it, that's less than £1/week to have something that can help you with focusing and getting shit done. That's quite a steal.

*The post office estimated 30 NIS, but their website says less than that. So if it is less, the remaining money will go to packaging and Teens4Oceans. Otherwise, packaging's coming out of my pocket. It'll be my gift to you (:

But realistically, this is still really expensive, and I don't want anyone to miss out on it just because of the price. So, there'll be a digital download available too!

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Giving

Earlier, I said a portion of it will be going to a cause, and hooray, we've decided! It will be going to Teens4Oceans, as they educate kids about the ocean and how we, as individuals, can make a difference in our communities to help save the earth. They are awesome people doing awesome things, and let's help them do more (:

And in case you're wondering, I found them after watching Chasing Coral twice in the same day, and angry-crying both times.

For each item you purchase that's above cost price, 60% of that profit goes to them to help them reach more people. The remaining 40% goes into greenifying TW's processes. Specifically, a solar powered battery, and citric acid. But more on than another time!

2018 Planner

I AM SO EXCITED!! This is a no frills, no thrills, get productive kind of planner. Taking inspiration from 2017's planner (above) that's really well used, I've made some changes and they look so promising (at least to me).

So here's what's going into the 2018 planner. Mouse over the image (and scroll) to get the descriptions up.

I didn't like the idea of putting down resolutions for the year because let's face it, most of us forget what they are by March. Instead, this is for you to put down 5 things you want to work on / achieve this year. There is no time constraint to it, or pressure to do. It's just there as a reminder.

For example, one of my 5 things for 2017 was to be a good steward of my body, and of this planet. This is a never ending pursuit so listing it as a resolution for the year would have just got me down and out, but instead, it serves as a reminder to take care of myself, and to take care of this planet. And both of which, I am happy to report, I have done to a certain degree!

For your small business / personal branding, and goals. I learnt about the brand tree from Tiffany Han, and she's amazing, so check her out. And while you're at it, I highly recommend Hey Brandcrush by Tiffany and Erin. They are amazing people.

For tracking anything and everything. The grids are 6.35mm so there's plenty of space to write, even if you're just using the lines. From social media stats, to saving for your future home, this is the place!

This is for you to celebrate the big and small things that happened over the course of the year. It becomes more real when it's recorded. Also, when you're feeling bummed out, this page is a good one to go to (:

This is my favourite addition to the planner. Every 2 months, there is a spread of SPACE. And basically it's for you to doodle, write, meditate, track, anything at all. You do what you want with that space, and let it work for you. Like sketchbooks, these are open and free and non-judgemental spaces for anything and everything. But really I just think it's nice to have some breathing room in all that hustle.

These are undated so you can start at any month, and you can choose where you prefer having your dates, and how decorated you want them to be. I found the additional column on the left to be really helpful when planning and jotting down general notes for the week, or extra details for a specific event.

These have no days and dates on them because should you have nothing for the week, you don't waste a spread. And if you need 2 spreads for the week, you can do that too. Mark out the week of the month on the top left page, and the month on the top right page so you know when you're using it.

If you prefer having dates and days, there is space for you to do that too! 8 evenly marked out sections allows for each day of the week, and a general weekly overview.

I personally use it to creates lists of everything. Things to do for school, TW stuff, materials to buy, groceries to get at the market, meal plans (if I ever feel ambitious enough to do it), and other stuff.

This is so necessary because we all have way too many accounts with different passwords and email addresses. This has proved very, very, very useful for me. And I can't remember my bank details too, so if anyone needs to transfer money to me, they can do it immediately because I have the details with me!

We all have notes to write, right?

And it's also great for jotting down things that are happening the next year that you have no space in the planner for at that moment.

There are 2 planners available for preorder this year. They will be printed in Israel, and shipped from here by the first week of December so you get them in time for the new year. Because of this, preorder ends Monday 27 November 2017. If you're buying it for someone, it can be gift wrapped at no additional charge!

We're working with the printers to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. Both are A5 size.

MINI VERSION
1x 5 Things, Calendar
1x 2018 Achievements
6x SPACE
12x Monthly View
2x Log In
3x Notes

FULL VERSION
1x 5 Things, Calendar
1x Brand Tree, Business Goals
1x Data Tracker
1x 2018 Achievements
6x SPACE
12x Monthly View
54x Weekly View
2x Log In
3x Notes

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Pricing
You get to pick how much you pay for these planners. There will be 3 prices per planner for you to choose from.

Basic - Cost price. I don't earn anything from this, but you still get to use this amazing tool!
Plus - Covers cost, and a bit that goes into good causes.
Plus plus - All of the above, but more to go to good causes!

I realise this is super vague now, but I'm waiting to hear back from a charity about where the money would go before deciding if that's the one to give to, so I'll keep you informed! Stay updated with this by clicking on the Preorder Now! button. Don't worry, you're not actually preordering when you do this now.

Pleating Fabric!!

The last 2 weeks have been a very very intense period of settling into my new home. This is home for the next 3 months! I’m just about done settling the modules I’ll be taking here in Bezalel, and I’m excited. There are too many interesting modules, and I’m probably taking too many, but I really just want to learn everything. Too bad I’m not superwoman.

There was a book sale in school this week, and I came across this book that had a page about pleating fabric in Logon l’indéplissable, the atelier that pleated the designs of the first collection Raf Simmons did with Dior.

Ever since watching Dior and I (which is on Netflix btw), I’ve always wanted to try it. But there were details I couldn’t find anywhere on the web. And there it was, in that one page, in that one particular book. I didn’t buy the book in the end - I didn’t budget for books here (and neither did my flight baggage allowance) - but here’s a quick note about what I read.

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2 sheets of kraft paperboard sandwich a piece of fabric (the fabric you want to pleat). These ‘sandwiches’ are either rolled around a metal cylinder, or pressed, depending on the design. Then, a protective layer of kraft paper is wrapped around it, and placed in a steamer.

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Here’s the juicy bit - temperatures and times.

For tulle and chiffon -
85 degrees C; 20 minutes

For woollens -
95 degrees C; 50 minutes

For polyester -
105 degrees C; 50 minutes

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When done and taken out of the steamer, the outer protective kraft paperboard is carefully removed. The rest is left to dry for about 24 hours, before being opened and inspected.

Here’s a video of the process over at Logon l’indéplissable, so you have a better idea of what’s going on.

Now, to just figure out how to fold the paper!

Glue and Colour in Silicone

When we shared our top 5 tips to work with silicone, we actually had 7 instead of 5 points. But it was too much to talk about in a post, so today, we’re going to share the 2 things kids care about most when making things - glue and colour.

Colour

There are probably other ways to colour silicone, but this was how Emma and I did ours. We mix paint to silicone in a 1:3 ratio. They will get pastel-ly but they all get coloured, while still keeping its silicone properties. The more paint you add, the stickier and less bouncy it gets. And it will get to a point where it’s too tacky and gunky to be removed from the baking paper.

We used our fingers to mix when making the samples, but I tried using a palette knife after that, and it worked out so much better. It was less messy, and there is a lot less wasted material because the palette knife will scrape up everything.

Glue

Silicone sticks to silicone, but not so much with any other plastics or metal. It’s not like they’ll slide off, but it generally won’t hold together as well. But because silicone sticks to silicone, you could sandwich materials that don’t stick in between layers of silicone stuck together by even more silicone!

This is how these earrings were made.

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A few words from Emma:

My name is Emma Morris and I am a jewellery design student based in Glasgow. My love for making things started me along my path to becoming a jewellery designer. In my spare time, I like to bring my ideas to life to share with people. I inject colour and fun into my work, and am constantly coming up with new designs!

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FINAL COLLECTION - A Material Collaboration with Emma Morris: Silicone

Emma and I recently completed a material collaboration on silicone that you can read about here: an introduction. We also talked about our top 5 tips to effectively work with silicone. Here are the results of our little adventure.

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A few words from Emma:

My name is Emma Morris and I am a jewellery design student based in Glasgow. My love for making things started me along my path to becoming a jewellery designer. In my spare time, I like to bring my ideas to life to share with people. I inject colour and fun into my work, and am constantly coming up with new designs!

Shop Etsy

Top 5 Tips to Effectively work with Silicone

Coming off the recent collaboration with Emma, we decided to share out top 5 tips for working with silicone. After reading this, you can probably go out and start making your own silicone jewellery for under $5!

1. Cleaning
Clean out nozzles / utensils after the silicone is dry. You avoid a lot of mess by doing this!

2. Gloves
We’re split about this one. Emma says to use them. I think it’s safer to use them, but I was less messy and clumsy without them. And less mess meant I got less of it on my hands than when I actually wore the gloves. But stay safe and keep them on.

3. Use what you have!
Baking paper is a great base to work on. Silicone doesn’t stick to it, and it’s translucent so you can print out templates and place them under the baking paper to use as guidelines. Shower silicone also works just as well as other kinds of silicone. To shape the silicone, we used piping tools that we got on sale. They’re just the usual stuff you’d use to pipe icing and cream on cakes.

4. Work in a well-ventilated area
The fumes can, and will get to you. If you stay in a room that doesn’t allow much wind to get in, work in the kitchen, with the vents switched on. You know, the thing that makes a lot of noise absorbing the smoke that’s produced when you cook.

5. Protect them from dust
Silicone and dust seem to really like each other so keep them in a box once they’re done, even if you’re planning to work on them in a few hours. If you’re in an area with a lot of wind, cover the drying pieces with a propped up piece of paper, or some light fabric. If you do see some dust on the cured silicone, just take some cello tape and use it like a lint roller (:

Here's some inspiration, if you're in need of any!

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A few words from Emma:

My name is Emma Morris and I am a jewellery design student based in Glasgow. My love for making things started me along my path to becoming a jewellery designer. In my spare time, I like to bring my ideas to life to share with people. I inject colour and fun into my work, and am constantly coming up with new designs!

Shop Etsy

3 Things To Do To Get Focused

The thing that’s been on my mind most this past month is this:

THE MORE FOCUSED YOU ARE,
THE MORE PRODUCTIVE YOU WILL BE.

It made me think of the magnifying glass scene in Toy Story, where Sid held a magnifying glass to Woody’s head and burned a spot into him. I now realise it is a slightly gory picture, but the point is that when you hold up a magnifying glass to something, you see it clearer because it’s in focus. And when you apply action (applying heat) to that spot, you light a fire! Think of the fire as passion, renewed zest, and energy and great outcomes.

Are you excited yet? Because this is making me very determined to get focused. Here’s 3 things I do to get focused.

1. Have a goal

There’s no need to read on if there’s no goal you’re aiming to achieve! Be ambitious, believing that you can do what you set out to do. But also be realistic. There’s no way you’re going to make £1,000 in sales within the month if you have 70 followers and £100 worth of stock at the moment.

TW’s goal:
Take a step back from making, and improve on what already exists by focusing on content creation.

2. Set a Time Frame

I did a mid year review at the end of June for the first time, and it’s really helped to make me see what’s worked and what hasn’t, and what I need to do. Around the same time, I got an email from Melissa Griffin about a 90-day goal. 90 days may sound like a long time, but if you think about it, after a full day at work / school, there really isn’t much energy or time left to work on a side hustle.

Setting a time frame within which you want to achieve a goal gives you an end point to work towards. It allows you to mark out key dates, and decide to bring forward or push back your end point. An end date also provides an incentive to work towards it because you know at the end of it, you’re either going to get a break, or be super successful with that goal, or both!

TW’s time frame:
I thought the 90-day goal was a super great idea, especially since I’m a full time student. So Try Wonder is trying that out!

3. Mark out boundaries and landmarks

Having boundaries helps you stay on the right path, and reaching landmarks let know you’re on the right track. Sometimes we think we’re on the right path, but with no landmarks, we may be veering off course without knowing. Landmarks help you know for sure. It also gives you a reason to celebrate when you reach them.

TW’s boundaries:
No designing and producing new collections for sale (minus the collaboration I’m almost done with - join the mailing list to preview it!)

TW’s landmarks:
6 blog posts (this is post 4 of 6!)
1 email newsletter per month (of varying content)
Post more images of finished products on IG

Is there something that’s tugging at your stomach/heart about what you need to get focused on? Take some time to consider the potential of how 90 days of focused living could change your life. All the best!

A Material Collaboration with Emma Morris: Silicone

Emma and I are desk buddies in the workshop. She makes amazing things, and we thrive off each other’s ideas and feedback and work. Just before summer break started, we decided to do a mini collaboration.

We would come together and make some samples, and then go off to make a collection of 10 wearable pieces using the material. In this case, we chose silicone. God knows what we were thinking when we agreed on silicone but it’s been a really interesting experience to say the least.

We can make more than 10 items, but we have to narrow it down to 10 for the purpose of being concise. We won’t discuss which samples we’re working off, or what ideas we’re brewing or if there’s another material we’re adding to it. The deadline for this is mid-August 2017. But we’ll probably only share our results the next month.

For now, to give you an idea of what we’re working off, here are the samples we made.

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A few words from Emma:

My name is Emma Morris and I am a jewellery design student based in Glasgow. My love for making things started me along my path to becoming a jewellery designer. In my spare time, I like to bring my ideas to life to share with people. I inject colour and fun into my work, and am constantly coming up with new designs!

Shop Etsy

YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS: Gems, Research and Pinterest

As you might have known from 2 posts ago, Try Wonder recently fulfilled our first custom order! While it was a rollercoaster of a journey (which you can read more about here), I learnt a lot, and today, I’m sharing some of the things that caught my eye while doing research for the piece.

In school, we’re taught to do a lot of research, to look at what other people have done, are doing, and many, many other things. Everything adds to your visual dictionary, which believe it or not, is probably already a very large collection in your head. I used to think why can’t pieces just pop into my head and I just make it? Why do I need to prove that it came from my head by having reference images and an entire book of drawings? And omg, did that annoy the shit out of me.

But now, I’ve come to see the benefits of having something so rigid within such an open and creative process. It’s helped me push my designs further, to encourage my brain to think in different ways. And the best part, if anyone says I didn’t come up with something, I can say I did, and have pictures to prove it. I mean, of course nothing is really truly original because everything has probably been done, but you get what I’m going at, right?

Now, I make it a point to at least do a little bit of Pinterest scrolling (follow my massive number of boards!), or Google-ing before jumping into any drawings. And while the custom piece was nothing super duper fancy, I still have some cool stuff I found that might interest you!
 

Fold your own geometric shapes

There are a variety of shapes you can make so just look for one you like, download and print, and you're good to start folding!

Gem gummy recipe

Make and then eat these gorgeous gems! Super great for a party or just to feel fancy ;)

Embroidered Gem Brooches

These gem brooches are hand embroidered by Wildflower Co. Aren't they just such beauties?

For more cool pins, ideas, and inspiration, check out my Pinterest boards. I personally think it's a pretty awesome account, and I'm super proud of it, but I guess that's subjective!