I'm so very fortunate to have such lovely clients who make working feel like such an enjoyable experience, so I do feel blessed daily to be able to do what I love as a job.

I have worked on lots of logos and branding projects over the last year and seeing each of them come to life and be used in the 'real world' is still such an exciting process that I'm super proud to be part of.

So I wanted to show off my favourite 3 branding designs of 2017 and give these lovely folk a little bit more publicity too.

First off is The Meadow - I'd previously worked with Em & Nick on other projects thanks to my lovely hubby putting me in touch with them, but this time we were working on a new cafe brand for their exciting new venture in Pembrokeshire. I adore working with these guys as they are so passionate and full of ideas and are not scared to chase their dreams and make them into a reality.

To find out more about The Meadow, pop over here: ​https://www.themeadow.co/

Next up, is the wonderful Heritage Restaurant. I was asked to work on this project after my friend and fabulous illustrator Christine gave them my details. I've worked primarily with the lovely Antonia, and the team have worked so hard on their dream restaurant and it is almost complete. This has been such a great project and I am super excited to see everything up and running very soon! 

To see more (including the website I designed) visit: http://www.eatatheritage.co.uk/

Finally, I would like to show you the branding I created for a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Coach, Sharne. I was put in touch with Sharne through a group I'm part of run by the amazing Ruth. I spent a lot of time working closely with Sharne to design her branding and I got to know her well and am now a member of her fantastic online community too. She is an inspiration so I was glad to help her with the branding of her business.

To join Sharne's Facebook group. click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/youmebe

So there you are - the best 3 design projects of 2017 - I've worked with lots of amazing small business owners and each project has been gratefully received. I'm also grateful to my friends and family who seem to spread the word of my work - I guess I owe you all a cake sometime! I'll be adding some more of my recent work to my portfolio soon but if you'd like to work with me on your branding or logo design for your small business or start up venture then please do get in touch - it's my most favourite job to do!

It's a whole new year and before I get back to it here at Dottypink, I like to reflect on the past year - it helps me to improve things, weed out things that no longer work or excite me, and plan new ideas and processes for this year ahead.

So what did 2017 entail for me and my business? Besides working with some fantastic clients again, creating and designing branding and logos, and helping small businesses to create and achieve their design hopes and dreams....

...I came back to work from my 2nd maternity leave. And it was super hard. I worked more and more evenings to enable me to look after my kids during the days, but this then exhausted me alongside the night wakings, and I battled another bout of anxiety and panic attacks too which really didn't help things. It was a hard slog and there were times when I just about clung on to get myself to the end of the year. The support and patience of my lovely clients was so amazing and I'm so grateful for them, and I'm pleased to say that I am so much better now, much more refreshed and armed with a lot more strategies to improve things for myself which will in turn improve my business offerings.

I've decided this year to be more open and honest which is why I hope to blog more, about real life business stuff and behind the scenes, as all too often, especially in self employment, you can forget that there's a real person behind the business, busting their butt, juggling life and trying to hold it all together. I'm pretty hard on myself so I hate the thought of dropping the ball, and when I look online at all the pretty instagram accounts and pinterest boards I can really put pressure on myself to run into the ground trying to put on the perfect show. But in truth, we are all just trying to do our best, whatever that may be, and that's ok, and the world needs us to be who we are and to be kind to ourselves and each other.

I came across some fantastic quotes on the very lovely From Lucy With Love Instagram account all about life and how we should be us no matter how messy and complicated we are sometimes! I love looking at her posts as they are so inspiring and real.