Happy New Year!

I'll admit that I'm a bit in denial about it already being a new year. I think what makes it more unnerving is that now we're in the double digits of this millenium.

Before I go into some of my resolutions for 2010, I wanted to reflect on things that I was proud of accomplishing in 2009:

1. Fall 2009 presentation last February -- I can't believe it's only been about a year, it seems like so much longer. In addition to getting press in WWD, it was also exciting to work with models from agencies like Trump and get sponsorship from Barefoot Wine.

2. Building up freelance work in different areas --
- web design: In addition to getting more clients (through Craigslist and word of mouth), the scale of the projects have been gradually getting larger
- violin: I played a few weddings along with a proposal (with my friend Mich, which was kind of hilarious)

While unpredictable, it's been exciting to be getting a fairly steady stream of work, especially in the web stuff, often unsolicited.

3. Getting requests for custom work --
I've mentioned that I've been starting to get requests for custom clothing, which has been exciting. I've already made a couple of pieces for my old violin teacher (I have to finish another project for her). I'm also about to start working on a non-traditional wedding dress for a friend -- I am hoping to document the process, from sketch to completion.

4. Selling at boutiques -- I've been thrilled to work with boutiques including Albertine, Sucre, and Item here in New York, along with online boutique, Sunday Brunch.

5. Writing and performing my own song -- I've been playing violin with bands and singer/songwriters for about a decade now, but I've only begun learning the guitar and writing my own songs. My family used to tell me I had a horrible singing voice, so I'm a bit shy about singing in public, but I had a great time singing at the show we did in December, and I'm looking forward to singing (more songs) in February.

6. Learning to rock climb -- I've never been into sports, but I've really been enjoying learning how to rock climb!

EDIT:
7. Making a music video to publicize the Spring 2010 collection.

Now for resolutions. I've never been big on those, but I figured if I made some of my goals for the year public, it would help motivate me to achieve them.

1. Get in better shape -- sometimes I am amazed at the fact that I ran 6x a week when I was in high school. I can't even imagine doing that now. I don't have ambitious goals -- I'd like to try to get to the point where I am taking 30 min walks at least a few times a week, and doing more situps and pushups.

2. Write more songs and get better at the guitar -- I did some songwriting over the holidays. Music has been a fun creative outlet for me, so I don't want to push myself to the point that it's not fun any more, but I'd like to write and perform more of my own songs.

3. Open a boutique --
today I walked into D.L. Cerney, a boutique on E 7th St, next to McSorley's. Next to it is a workshop where they make the clothes, which are made from vintage fabrics in mid-20th century styles. It was my first time inside and I managed to catch one of the owners and we had a nice chat about his store, which looks like the kind of store I'd like to own. I don't know if this is something that can happen in 2010, but I'd like to figure out a way to open my own brick and mortar store eventually. He's had his store for 25 years and he said he was able to make it because he was tenacious and had his blinders on, focused on his goal.

4. Expand my custom business -- this may be tied to the goal of opening a boutique/workshop.

5. Get better at rock climbing -- I want to be less frightened when I am outdoors, and work on my technique so I am able to do more of the tricky climbs (involving overhangs).

6. Wake up earlier -- I've always been more of a night owl, but I'm convinced that waking up earlier is key to being more successful. Often when I read about successful people, they wake up early and get a slew of things done before most other people are out of bed.

I read a blog entry by a dude who trained himself to wake up at 5:30 every morning by simulating a wakeup routine for a few weeks. I haven't bothered to try it, but I have been trying to go to sleep earlier, and doing things like setting up morning meetings with friends for coffee or taking a walk or doing yoga. The bad thing about setting your own schedule is that sometimes it's really hard to get yourself out of bed, even if you have a bajillion things to do.

7. Build up my wholesale business -- I want to take a more structured approach to selling the line, although I haven't decided whether this would mean getting into a showroom or doing a tradeshow or both.

I think that's it for now. Feel free to comment if you have any suggestions, particularly about the waking up bit.