The artist that bought a cafe art gallery

Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?

Stepping into the cafe world of entrepreneurship, especially in a small country town that is relatively new to us, comes with its unique set of challenges. Imagine trying to juggle the daily demands of running a cafe, being a parent, and nurturing your artistic endeavors simultaneously. This has been my whirlwind reality for my last year. I’m not sure how I expected the year to pan out but it surely was far more exhausting and stressful than I ever predicted.

The first year has been a roller coaster ride of emotions, marked by the relentless demands of the cafe and the artistic sacrifices made to maintain the delicate equilibrium between family life and artistic pursuits. While my dream was to create a space where coffee and conversations flowed in a creative and unique environment, the harsh reality of managing a cafe hit harder than anticipated.

The cafe serves as both a hub for the community and an art gallery, but it demanded constant attention. From early morning coffee rushes to the evening cooking and baking preparations, I found myself swamped by the day-to-day operations, leaving very little room for personal artistic expression, especially my kids book project that has almost been on hold all year. The dream of a harmonious blend between cafe/gallery and thriving artist seemed distant, as the responsibilities of the cafe consumed most of my waking hours.

However, I found some weird kind of solace in justifying the intense cafe involvement as a means to support the local art scene. The walls adorned with local artwork, the aroma of coffee mingling with the spirit of creativity—these were meant to be the cornerstones of Evergreen Cafe. but being so busy with the day to day running of the cafe all of these aspects felt like they were all half done, half baked with lots of opportunities missed. Which brings me back to that saying you need to work on your business, not in your business. I’m meant to be a boss not an employee.

As the challenges of the first year gradually settled, and we began to find our groove. We began contemplating the next phase of this artistic and entrepreneurial journey… actually making money and moving to the positions of boss managers rather than employees.

The dream of seamlessly incorporating personal artwork into the cafe started to take shape in my head. Perhaps the coming year will see the walls adorned not only with the works of others but also with original artwork from my up and coming kids book – Uncommon Animals of the Alphabet. .

I feel lessons learned in the inaugural year has laid the foundation for a more balanced and thriving artistic future. If I can schedule my time carefully, manage my health, mental health, stress levels and finances. Also find how to merge my creative side into the cafe I feel that we will have something very special.

I love the cafe, the community and the creative opportunity. It’s just a matter of getting the mix right, that balance, so that everything works together and not against itself. My past year with very little artistic creativity has been very hard for me, but hopefully it’s setting good foundations for the future.

I just wanna be that kids book illustrator artist that own a cool cafe art gallery with a thriving artistic community. Who also lives off grid on a hobby farm… but that’s another story. Sometimes I feel I want to do too many things, but life is short so you gotta give your dreams a shot.