Happy New Year!

Happy New Year friends!

Looking back, 2008 was a pretty good year filled with lots of fun and interesting experiences. Some things from a S.O.S perspective that happened were:

- Opening my Etsy shop in January. I *love* Etsy and being a part of that community/site is awesome. Obviously the official Sick On Sin store is my focus, however Etsy is really great at reaching people who may not ever come to my site. If you’ve never checked it out before I am demanding you do. There is a wealth of handmade/indie awesomeness to be had. And not only are you getting cool stuff, but you are supporting small businesses.

- Did the Fan Expo show for the first time (I was in the Horror section) and it turned out to not only be super fun but also my best show ever up until then (the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair I did a couple weeks later ended up being even better from a sales perspective). The Fan Expo was great because it helped me reach a new (yet target) audience. Everyone that came to the booth was so nice and down to earth which always makes for an enjoyable show. Throw in stormtroopers and Aaron Douglas and it is a shower of win!

- In the Fall I launched an updated version of the store. While the design remained the same, I changed to a different store software which meant rebuilding it all (and re-entering every product). I had the extreme pleasure of having Aeolidia do the switch (and totally recommend them). There are still a few things on the To Do list – such as product shots (they’re coming, I swear!) and I’m still getting use to how the software works, but I’m happy to have the new version up and running!

While S.O.S (and freelance work) did take up the bulk of my time, I did manage to squish in some personal fun in 2008:

- In May I went to New York city for the first time and had a great time. I’ve never gone some where that had some many veg restaurants so that was a treat (mmm I had some amazing food – including the best brownie I’ve ever had in my life!). And I’ve never done so much walking in 5 days – especially during a heat wave. Before going I had no desire to visit there and actually thought I would hate it…but now I can’t wait to go back!

- In November I went to New York state again – but this time to Ithaca for 5 days. While there we went to the Celebration of Turkeys at the Farm Sanctuary. I have wanted to visit there for a long time and it was a lovely experience (yay piggies!). The rest of the time was spent relaxing (not a whole lot to do there – hence the reason for going) and eating…for a tiny, quiet town, Ithaca had tons of vegan options (including the best nachos and seitan deli sandwich ever!).

- 2008 was also the year I discovered comic books. Haha. I have never had any interest in them before…and found the format unappealing. I think it was seeing the trailer for Watchmen the first time that intrigued me. And that ended up being the first one I read. I then discovered the Fables series which I am in love with. I am still not a huge comic book nerd by any means…but my bookshelf is quickly becoming full of them.

Trying to think if anything crappy happened last year. The only thing that comes to mind is the Great Hard Drive Crash. Ug. If you’ve ever had your hard drive crash, I’m sure you can sympathize. Mine died in November and the last back up I had done was in July. So yep, everything between then – gone. Photos…emails…files… Horrible. So yes – go back up if you haven’t recently.

Thinking of 2009 and what adventures this year will bring, I am really positive and excited. Despite the issues with the economy, I feel a renewed energy in terms of the store and have lots of ideas for products, designs, etc. I’m also looking forward to lots of things like decluttering my house (lol), traveling (I’m hoping to go to San Fran at least), and getting a better balance between work and play (work less but more efficiently / time more time to do things that make me giggle).

So happy new year to you all! I hope 2008 left you with fond memories and 2009 brings you lots of love, laughter, learnings, and cupcakes.