As I write this, it has been a year since I moved my business from my house to a retail store front because there was no room for my business at home. Our house is only 950 sq. feet with one bath, and I have a husband, a 4 year old daughter who thinks she is queen of the universe, a 9 year old son who has A.D.H.D., a bunny, a dog and a bearded dragon. Now I think I have to move my business back to the house.

Although the store front also functions as a studio, the retail store seems to be sucking all my creative energy from me. It keeps me so busy I don't have enough time to work on my own designs or write articles for magazines. We also want to move from Florida to North Carolina and are trying to save money; if we were going to stay in Florida I would probably put an addition onto the house or buy a large storage shed to put in the back yard to use as a studio.

I want to concentrate on marketing my own line of beading patterns and kits, writing articles and teaching classes. I'm also probably going to start doing fine art/craft shows again. I got burned out doing this type of show (outdoors) a few years ago and stopped doing them, but now realize I enjoy making beaded jewelry much more than selling the supplies. I just got my first major teaching job - I have been accepted to teach a two-day workshop at Bead Expo 2001 which takes place in Miami in May. I am also sending in workshop proposals for the Bead & Button Show and Embellishment shows (two other national level bead shows). I started teaching classes around 4 years ago but only at local bead and quilt stores.

Since my main emphasis is on marketing my own designs, patterns and jewelry I decided to change my business name from Dolphin Crafts to Lynn Smythe Designs. I have done some bead trade shows (indoors) in the past but no one seemed to know who Dolphin Crafts was, but when I mentioned my name and showed them some of the books/magazines I've been in, the "lights went on." My problem is I am an artist not a salesperson. I love designing but hate selling. I kind of felt like I was becoming a stuck up bead diva by being known by my name but everyone says it's the right thing to do.

P.S. from Barbara: Recently, when a reader sought my advice about whether she should open a shop of her own, I suggested that, being extremely creative, she might find that shop management would take so much of her time that she would have little left for creativity. She later decided I was right and that her need to mix with people could better be done through teaching.

For the other side of this picture, see Susan's Young's report: Artist Realizes Her Dream: A Shop of Her Own