Today marks one year since I launched this very blog, Hot Chips & Sorbet and what a year it has been! Filled with happiness, fun, growth, stress, new discoveries, setbacks and a couple of wins. It’s something I’m very proud of and still continue to have a passion for, especially for where I am today.

Along the way, the biggest realisation that I faced was that if I wanted to stay in Berlin, finding full-time employment wasn’t going to cut it. Due to numerous bureaucratic technicalities and a lack of high-level professional positions in the fashion industry here in Berlin, I needed to think laterally at what I might be able to do instead. I saw the opportunity to become a freelancer and do it for myself. So that’s exactly what I set out to do.

Feeling daunted and a little overwhelmed I sort out professional advice, (always a great idea when dealing with the German bureaucracy) to help decipher what my options actually were. Long story short, with my application made and completed, numerous appointments at the Ausländerbehörde (the foreigner’s office), a potential rejection, a temporary visa and a sometimes frazzled state of mind, finally, after a 6-month long process I got the approval and could finally begin working here in Germany.

Throughout this process, although stressful, it also allowed for the time to be very creative and that’s what Hot Chips & Sorbet gave me. A creative outlet which would see me grow as an artist, as a designer and now as a businesswoman. It has been one of the most creative years of my life! I’ve grown immensely as a person both creatively and emotionally. It has been an exciting new challenge and brought about change I never knew I would experience, for that I am grateful.

Hot Chips & Sorbet has evolved and grown from a fashion illustration journal into an accompanying fashion brand as well. I didn’t want my experience as a fashion designer to go to waste so I decided to create a brand out of it and tees were the lowest barrier to entry in my case. I saw the tees as another form of canvas that I could use for my illustrations. Of course, starting a new brand bought a whole other set of challenges and curveballs, but that’s for another blog post! Check it out here, if you haven’t already, www.hotchipsandsorbet.store

Alongside running Hot Chips & Sorbet, I began my new career change as a Freelance Designer and Illustrator. This was no easy challenge, networking and small talk became a regular thing, meet-ups, industry presentations and a lot of dead ends, I finally had my break when I came across co-creagency by goal girls, an experimental creative agency. I joined this powerhouse of freelance female creatives all working towards female empowerment. This experience has allowed me to create a network and a sense of “I’m not in it alone”. It certainly empowered me.

Once I kicked off working with these ladies, laws of attraction kicked in and I began finding projects from all areas of my life. The power of positive thinking is so very important, I’ve always believed in it and now have truly experienced it for myself, I will always strive to stay positive and make change where needed.

This has definitely been a year I won’t ever forget. Don’t worry it’s not been all work and no play, I’ve traveled to some amazing parts of Europe and met the most inspiring people. Having experienced so much in the last 12 months I can only imagine where the next 12 will take me.
It truly feels like I’ve only just begun.

Stay tuned and thank you for all your support.

Buon appetito x