
In the first months of self-employment I took part in the Go for it course run by Castlereagh Council, meeting some wonderfully brave and above all creative people. Thanks mainly to Facebook, I have stayed in touch with a few of these folk and they in turn have introduced me to other of our breed.
It was through an event run by Katrina Doran of Sugahfix.com whom I had met at Go for it that I met Grainne Maher of Grainne Maher Millinery and now The Fashion Vault in The Spires Centre, Belfast. When I popped in to say Hi to G a few weeks ago to purchase my lovely Pluck & Devour necklace and to wish her well I spied the innovative new Love Weddings shop ...

It gives people like me, who work from a home office (and if you're me, a wallpaper table in the back room), an opportunity to have a retail space I could never dream of.
From there Gavin ran across the road with one of my sketches and introduced me to Tina from TnT Tours - another new venture in the City and we are working on a range of 'Greetings from Northern Ireland' cards depicting over 50 landmarks from this wonderful country! I told you these people rock!
Yesterday I took part once again in the WONDERFUL Quirky Weddings Show at the Waterfront Hall which is always an exciting event (not just because I always treat myself to a big Hilton breakfast to keep me going all day) where we meet new couples but also new wedding business colleagues and this year was no exception ... more of that soon!
So 'hat's off' to and 'let's hear it' for all the small businesses in our wee country, Ireland, UK, Europe & The World who run on coffee, very little sleep, creativity, risk and above all passion. You make me feel very lucky and humbled to be one of your number.