What goes on behind the scenes?

Ahhh, a lot! That’s the answer to the question what goes on behind the scenes, if you are wondering. This week has been all about making changes and updates to the website. We’ve all experienced it: that moment of realization when you look at your website and think, “This could use a little refresh.” It’s not just about making it look prettier—though that’s certainly part of the equation—but also about ensuring that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working behind the scenes to update my website, and though the changes may seem subtle or even invisible, they are essential.

First of all, you may have noticed that today’s blog post looks a bit different. There’s a “Read More …” at the bottom. That’s because we have changed the way we deliver the posts. The content is the same good stuff as usual (I try), but it will look different. Also, you may have a second post with this one – last week’s – and that’s due to the way they were scheduled. We should go back to one post per week next week.

What has also been happening, is that we have added – drum roll here …. please – a “Portfolio” page! Finally! It was long overdue. Once again, it will take a while to get it all populated, but I’ve made some progress and I hope you enjoy the works that are there now. I noticed, while inputting all the data and images for it, that I tend to take loads of photos of work-in-progress, but very few of finished work. Which meant going downstairs, finding each particular piece, bringing it upstairs to the studio to photograph. I hope I will remember to do it all at once.

I also made some updates to the “Store“. It has a new look and some new items that you might enjoy. Some of my favourites are still there, but I’ve added lots of Stencils – for example – that I use for monoprinting and with Paintstiks.

I added a new category “Slow Stitching” with a curated kit to get you started, some of my favourite threads (more to come shortly) and some lace and trim. I am having a really great time working on my own pieces and would love to share my love with you. To get you started, I have scheduled a live online class for October 12th, and I hope you’ll join me then. I will share my favourite stitches, and ways of working, plus we are going to talk about displaying our work and different ways of doing it. Join me? Click here to read all about it.

Aside from all that, I’m still making changes to my studio downstairs so I can go back to teaching classes, hopefully later on this year. I had a second quilt rack made which will give me more room to display and keep the pieces organized. It’s similar to the first one at 72″ high by almost 6″ wide. But … the issue now is where to put it? I really don’t have that many walls! So … reorganization time … again! I’ll keep you posted on how that is going.

Updating a website is like cleaning up your creative space. A fresh coat of digital paint and a reorganized structure can make all the difference. Visitors may not notice every new font or every rearranged link, but what they will experience is a website that’s easier to navigate and more enjoyable to browse. It’s important that the content looks as good as the work it represents! One of the changes you’ll see is that on the main page there’s a hamburger button (the square with the horizontal lines) on the right, that you can click to see other pages and information. Hopefully it’ll make it easier to find what you are looking for. You’ll also notice a pop-up to subscribe, which, if you haven’t already subscribed, I hope you’ll consider it.

Other than that, work continues on my sketchbook as I’m keeping up with the exercises for the Composition videos I’ve been working on for Create2Flourish. I am really enjoying these myself – there’s so much to talk about with composition. I will share a few if you are interested in future posts. Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you.

As part of refreshing my website, I’ve also taken the opportunity to offer some of my works at a special price. These pieces have been part of my creative journey, and now I’d love for them to find new homes where they can continue to inspire and bring joy. If you’ve had your eye on something or are looking for the perfect piece to add to your space, now might be the ideal time. Each artwork holds a story, and it would mean the world to me if one of them resonated with you enough to make it a part of your life.

I’m off to take some more photos to upload to the gallery, so visit often as the portfolio develops. Thanks once again for reading. I will be back next week with some more news from my studio. Until then, keep creating,

Ana