From Sadness to Success

My story April 2007

I am delighted to introduce you to Ali’s House of String© - a fledgling home grown venture, specialising in unique and individual handcrafted beaded jewellery Country Style home ware, and fairly traded giftware.

I make only one of each item of jewellery, so each piece is unique and individual. A wide variety of materials are used, including glass, ceramics, resin, clay, wood, seed, shell, felt and silver.

My success since starting Ali's House of String in September 2006 was to the credit of local markets and craft event organisers, giving me the opportunity to showcase my exciting new products.

With their help, Ali’s House of String has been received successfully, resulting in my attendance at 100+ craft and community events in the first 6 months of trading.

So, what is Ali’s House of String all about?

I have been a creative person since childhood, and into crafts and all things ethnic - a great lover of cheesecloth and flip-flops (and not only in the 70’s!) and when I recently told a friend what I am doing with my life now, she said “You always were a crafty so and so!”

Mental Crash

After working in office jobs for over 20 years, in June 2006 I had what I affectionately refer to as my ‘Mental Crash’. I felt like a I was a cartoon dog running at full pelt, hitting the wall and sliding down it into a dead stop. This was a deep depression which left me unable to work for 3 months and, now looking back, gave me the much needed opportunity to spend time changing the way I live my life.

A long period of self assessment and examination revealed my low self worth, and with this knowledge I was able to work through a process of getting to know who I was, how I ‘tick’, to deal with my fears and to getting well again by growing-up my child within.

A good support group was very important for me, and I will always be grateful to them for their unrelenting patience. With additional help from my family, friends, one-to-one counselling and my GP, I came out the other side, and the rest as they say is history.

Like so many people who have experienced my illness, in the darkest part of my depression I found it impossible to ‘turn my racing head off’ long enough to find peace. Until one day, after clearing out some old necklaces to take to the charity shop, my partner Dave suggested “the beads were so lovely it was a shame to throw them out, and couldn’t I turn them into something I would wear?”, I found to my relief, that beading became my therapy. I could lose hours sitting in my garden stringing old beads and this gave me the mind-rest I needed.

Back then when everything felt dark, my beading work was not about the product, but part of the process of my recovery. Finding ways of overcoming emotional difficulties and the daily stress associated with ill health was the key to getting better.

I am delighted, and so very grateful, to say that this therapy (which started with a couple of old ice-cream tubs full of ‘beads and bits’), along with a vast amount of work and self awareness, has grown from an enjoyable and experimental process (and still growing), to being my way of life today.

Now when I am making an item it is not only rewarding and energising, but I am self aware, comfortable in my own skin, and peaceful. Most days I live my life with my eyes wide open, embracing change and enjoying everything around me. By doing this I can bring energy and fresh ideas to my creations.

I gained satisfaction from making things, which contributed to my return to good mental health – and that’s why I kept doing it!

Going Solo

Trusting my instincts and listening to my inner self gave me one of the greatest gifts to come from the process of getting well, that is the knowledge that I have choices. I have found the more I use my instincts to make choices, the better the choices are, rather than my previously used method of 'analysing and quantifying'.

Thanks to my employer in October 2006 I was able to return to work in on a part time basis. With continued support, I took my hobby to another level, and started exhibiting and selling my collection at local markets and craft fairs. Going on, to be accepted by South Kesteven District Council on Stamford market as a casual trader at the end of December 2006.

The six months of developing my fledgling business, and continuing to work part time, was hard going. I spent all day either in an office, or selling on the markets, then making products and doing admin in the evenings and at weekends.

It was all absolutely worth it, as I trusted my intuition again and took the decision to ‘give up the day job’ at the end of March 2007, and have taken Ali’s House of String into a full time self employed business.

I am enormously enthusiastic and passionate about my work, and grateful for everything I am given to enjoy. Now when something doesn’t go the way I ‘would have’ expected it to, I take notice, accept and enjoy what I have been given.

I am told that the unconscious positive signals I put out shine through, and when you buy a piece of my work you are buying a piece of me, and my passion for it. The compliments I receive from my customers give me renewed enthusiasm to keep making another ‘something special’.

Back in 2005 I told a friend I was ‘sick of the rat race’, and she told me I was far too young at 36 to be feeling this way. I continued to search for the ‘right job’ and then went on to ‘crash’ – but look what came out of it. … Never say Never!

People say to me that it must be lovely to be your own boss, do what you want, when you want, not having to follow others’ orders and I get to sit in my garden making my creations in the summer. To which I would say most definitely “Yes, it is!”. I do however seem to work more hours now than I ever have before, but I am so very happy, and for me that says it all.

When I was a child my sister used to take me to Stamford Market on Fridays in the summer holidays, then we would go to a friends for tea and cake. I have such fond memories of the community atmosphere, hustle and bustle, and happy times spent in the market. It was a real treat for me and I used to look forward to our Fridays together. So, I feel privileged that I have been given the opportunity to be a trader on my favourite market, and be part of that community atmosphere I so loved as a child. We would also visit a little shop on the corner of St Mary’s Street in Stamford called Barnabas (now called "You") – I used to call it the nick-knack shop. I used to think, “When I grow up I’d like to own a place like this”…

When I went through my period of self assessment I realised I have choices in life and that I am so lucky for this gift. With these choices, a deep knowing of self worth, enthusiasm, trust and a passion for happiness I have realised my dream. I now have the ‘little nick-knack shop on the corner’ that I always dreamed of, in the form of a wonderful stall on my favourite market, and a happy contented life.

As well as selling my collection of products Stamford Markets, at craft fairs, school events, ladies indulgence evenings I am so very proud to have launched my website. I am also in the process of approaching local businesses to invite them to sell an exclusive range of my collection.
The first time I heard someone say “…Oh good, look, I told you the 'House of String' would be here…” was goose-bump-fabulous, a bit surreal, like I was looking in on someone else’s stall, and that is when I realised I was living my dream.

I believe in what I do, and will keep doing it as long as I feel this way. I know my work has a place in the market because so many people are buying it. I always used to joke that I was never ‘in fashion’ at the same time as others and I realise now that I like that. Being individual reflects in my work, as no two items are the same, so you will never see someone walking towards you wearing an identical piece. There is always something different to enjoy on my stall.

I read somewhere that running your own business can be a demanding and exhausting occupation. But given the right conditions and necessary equipment, can grow into a thriving, successful venture that will give a lifetime of satisfaction. I can only agree with this and hope I will continue to grow successfully.

And finally, a special thank you to those who believed in me: My very supportive partner Dave, my sister Sue, and SKDC Market Manager Paul Gibbins who gave me my first Market Stall.

I hope you enjoy what you find here.

Alison Hawley-Smith
Trading as Ali’s House of String©
14 April 2007