Artist interviews – designer/MAKERS – Life at Amanartis Studios.
NOW WHAT?
Feels that sums up so many emotions over the past 11 months. It will pass, it’s over there… ah but it’s not.
So now what?
I’ve tried to walk through this period as I have done over the years, knowing that challenges are what experience is made of. So you brace and make of it, the best you can.
About two weeks before I was about to get the key to the chapel we went into Lockdown.
What do you do when you’ve build up to something for years, have a plan, a model, you’re flexible but you imagine how thing are going to run. You’ve thought this through for months and then suddenly only after 3 months, you literally have to rethink it all over again. WTF!?
All the energy into the grand reveal seems a loss, the excitement diminished and you feel a little lost again. The plans you have are all still there and all sound great but they were going to ride off of the back of the big reveal.
So I find myself like so many businesses having to think very quickly about how to adapt. I’ve had this saying to myself for years – don’t be woolworths! Or HMV for those slightly younger readers. Woolworths weren’t ready to change, there was always going to be pic ‘n’ mix – that wasn’t going to keep them alive*.
You've thought this through for years and then suddenly...
Change. It’s a must. Sometimes very uncomfortable, painful and exhausting but there’s no disputing, when you face it head on, look out for the opportunities and work with it, in my experience, after a rough patch, it all soon smooths out, often with things looking a lot better.
With our new norm looking more and more unfamiliar it made me think it’s time to focus on what Amanartis is about in these times because it isn’t just about the ‘place’, it’s not the only place where the magic happens.
Required to re clarify what Amanartis is about, I focused on three core actions:
Motivate – Share – Serve.
That’s what it’s all about – to be honest that’s what it’s always been about. Inspiring people to keep going. Seeking and creating opportunities that serve.
When you find your voice, clarity and purpose, actions become easy, objectives clear and the journey goes on.
I’m still an Artist, I hope you are.
*what do I know about Woolworths’ business model, all I remember as a kid was feeling sad to see them go and thinking “why didn’t you get online? why did you wait to see? ” .
CHANGE...
My mum often reminds me of a story of a time when we visited Woolworths not long after coming to this country, how one day she turned to find me about to help myself to a sweet from the jaw dropping pic ‘n’ mix (from Ghana or not, I know this was every child). Busted I said to her in my native language Twi, “Hwe nka me wia toffe ” which means “watch, I was about to swipe a sweet!”… she reminds me of the crazed excitement in my eyes which always always makes my mum laugh so much which I love.
However fondly thought of, it’s better to be experienced than to be remembered.
This season has been strangely a blessing for me in so many ways. Having time to slow down, reflect and pace myself was something I didn’t realise I needed until now.
Clearer skies ahead
I’m excited for the future – how could I not be, I’m grateful to have one. If nothing else this time has reminded me and hopefully all of us to be grateful – just, simply, grateful.
