CHA-CHA-CHA-CHANGES

So after I announced my new laLa Grace etsy shop yesterday a few people who have followed my blog and work for awhile asked why I made such a drastic change. For those who don't know I previously launched a much larger stationery business that focused on custom design similar to Minted.com except all the designs were created by me.

Here's the story in brief about why I decided to make these changes.

When I started my previous company, Today & Always Paperie I had a partner who really wanted to focus on premade customized designs. Then a few months prior to launching the website she got pregnant and decided that she no longer wanted to launch a new business.

I probably should have reassessed things right then and there but I had already put 2 years of work into that business and it seemed silly to just throw it all away.  So for months I tried to make it work and tried to convince myself that I was doing the right thing and that it would all work out; but the more I tried the more wrong it felt.

Then in the fall of last year I reconnected with my love of drawing; and the more I rekindled my love affair with drawing and illustration, the more my joy increased and I found a renewed authenticity in my work.

Then in November my husband and I started to discuss making some business changes because now that we were married the legal and tax part of my businesses had changed. After one of those discussions I realized that even though Today & Always Paperie was still fairly new, if I was going to make a change there would be no time like the present.

Sure I thought, "Is this crazy to make such a big change so soon?"
And of course, my ego chimed in and said, "What will people think?"

But for as long as I can remember I have lived my life with one main motto, "Be True to You" so I knew in my heart that I had to do it. Luckily my husband is just about the most supportive man in the entire world so of course he was on board. He also happens to love my drawings so he was happy that this would be a much larger focus in the new business model than it was in the previous one.

Well, that's the story, if I have anything to share from this experience it is to always listen to your heart, even if it means making a costly mistake or looking like a fool in some people's eyes.


So where does the name laLa Grace come from?

It's simple, my married name is Shayla LaFreniere, which is why the second L is capital; and the Grace is thanks to God and all that he has graced and continues to grace me with.