My wilderness years are over. Retail no more. Frugal Cool is now my job again. Creative reuse my continuing mission. I’m working with creative people whose art lifts me. The passion for sustainability is alive and thriving and it fits me so well.

I thought about giving up online selling. I fell out of love with Etsy, for one thing. And it’s getting so hard to find interesting midcentury stock. I like specific graphics and shape. So does everyone else. Prices are so high, and the legwork required often doesn’t yield many real gems any more.

But … I do love my shop. And I do have some really nice things still to sell.

So, I’ve departed Etsy and opened a standalone new store. Early days (it has crossed my mind that it may be a mistake). So far though, I’ve had so much fun! Creating the graphics and using my original logo and fonts especially. They’re still strong and I still love them.

I’m currently offer creative business workshops at MADE in East Lothian on creative small business marketing, and we talk about branding. I use a branding tick list. I tried it for my Frugal Cool brand, twelve years on. I’d change nothing. I guess I must have nailed it. That’s a good lesson to share.

If you like my store, you might like to follow me on Instagram @frugalcool1957 where new stock will be posted first.