Hi there

Apologies for going a bit AWOL for a couple of weeks. It’s never just one thing, is it.

After a lovely break with the family, it was time to climb back into the Clarity saddle and crack on. But even when the company is shut, the turkey’s in the oven and we’re singing carols at the rugby club, my brain never really clocks off. It whirrs and cogitates and quietly gathers ideas. I jot things down so they don’t get lost, then January rolls around, the ideas list comes out… and boom! We have lift-off.

As for ideas, I’ve come to realise that an idea is only ever an idea until we give it shape and purpose – until we bring it to life. Until then, it’s just a spark, hovering there, full of potential. Until we act on an idea, work on it, explore it, nurture it, and breathe life into it, it remains an idea – and nothing else. The real work is in making an idea real.

But ideas also need time. Space. A bit of quiet. So I’ve been working from home, sketching designs and illustrating new stamps. I like my own company. Is it just me, or is January taking its time? December seemed to gallop, but January is a much slower canter.

Early January always carries a weight for me. It’s the anniversary of our dad’s death, and three years on, it still caught me out. I went to the back of the cave, so to speak, and sought my own company. Not out of sadness exactly – more a need for stillness, for listening inward, for letting things settle.

So the silence wasn’t neglect. It was necessary.

Sometimes stepping back is part of moving forward. A pause before the next sentence. A breath before the next idea takes shape.

And now… I’m back. 💛

Love and Clarity

Barb x x x

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