As a creative, my days are a mix of yarn, sketchbooks, screen time, and design overload. It’s a rewarding blend — but not always an easy one to juggle. Between crocheting, designing digital items, and managing my online shop and content, I’ve learned the importance of finding a balance between the tactile joy of handmade crafts and the ever-present digital demands of starting a creative business.

Crafting: My Calm and My Core

My hands feel most at home when I’m fiddling with something — especially when it’s something whimsical like a pug Cthulhu. Crafting gives me a sense of calm that no screen ever could. It’s a chance to slow down, work intuitively, and focus on the process rather than productivity. That time away from the screen is essential for me — it’s where most of my ideas actually start.

The Digital Side: Planning, Sharing, Selling

Then there’s the digital side: coding web themes, sketching animals or fanart characters. And, of course there’s also replying to messages, uploading to Etsy, updating my blog, managing my YouTube tutorials — I don’t really like this part much. I don’t like putting myself out there, or being social, and I’ve had to find ways around this to let me actually start growing a small business whilst still hiding in my corner.

How I Find My Balance

Here are a few things that help me stay grounded:

• Time-blocking: I schedule around the natural light of day for crafting and video recordings, leaving digital aspects to times where light isn’t a factor. I also work around my dog’s nap times so they disrupt me less.
• Batching content: I’ll often film multiple crochet clips or prep several blog posts at once, then edit over a few days. This keeps the creative momentum going.
• Pet breaks: Living in a dog-friendly home, I’ve got built-in reminders to step away — whether it’s cuddle time, walkies, or clearing fur off my crochet! It helps me a lot to manage my anxiety when I have a wobbly moment I step back and cuddle my dogs.
• Creating for fun: I accept that I should make things that help me with my mental health, things that are fun to do and not necessarily suited for everyone. I also have to constantly tell myself that it is okay to make mistakes, to take breaks, and not to feel upset because I don’t have those likes, purchases, or followers yet.

Letting Both Worlds Inspire Each Other

Honestly, the digital and craft worlds can complement each other beautifully. My digital pet portraits are inspired by real-life pets. My coding is inspired by artistic elements and colour schemed from paintings. My crochet creations inspire art — and vice versa. The key is making space for both and letting each fuel the other.

Another key factor to do something and mix things up so that it doesn’t become boring or frustrating if something doesn’t go right. When I’m not in an arty mood I have coding, digital work, and crochet to go to and vice versa.

Whether you’re a fellow maker or just curious about the process, thanks for stopping by. If you’re navigating the craft/digital balance too, I’d love to hear how you do it — let’s chat in the comments or connect over on Instagram.