Focusing and Refocusing
My husband and I are rarely able to take big vacations, so we've been looking forward to our Utah snowboard trip for quite a while. And it didn't disappoint!! From March 7th to the 13th we enjoyed snowboarding on epic powder at several ski resorts, exploring the local breweries in Salt Lake City, and traveling to Park City for a day. We stayed in an airbnb with about twenty of our friends and fam who traveled out for vacation, too, so it was a blast.
I made a tiny rule with myself to stay unplugged, but one morning I decided to check my Facebook business page. I should've waited. This was the moment where I first saw the photo shared with me that a company had stolen my Merpug design and made the ugliest copies ever for crane machines, (and I'll later find out this is happening worldwide and for the last few years). But at that moment it was such a blow to my heart, I couldn't even breathe and felt sick. I remember Billy walked into the room and asked if I was okay. Yeah, I'm fine. I have to be. What is a Nobody going to do against a huge company in another country? This has become a painfully common story- huge business stealing from artists who are working their butt off just to keep afloat. So I put it out of my mind for the rest of the trip.
I knew I had to face the reality of what was happening, especially when my more business-savvy friends sent me some really amazing, helpful information. Yesterday, I finally posted publicly about my situation. It's really difficult for me to open up about something I'm so emotionally attached to- especially with something so negative and, honestly, depressing. I ended up having a terrible headache, had trouble sleeping, and woke up completely nauseated. But the continued support that I was receiving through messages/emails made me realize I have got to shake it off and keep moving forward- DON'T GIVE UP. I opened all the windows in the house, turned on some music, and went back to work. I don't know how this will turn out, but this is all I can do for now. I have a bunch of orders to finish up sewing and a great Pop-up Shop next month to look forward to. And hey, if you want to adopt the REAL Merpug, he's available right here: https://www.shlii.com/products/cute-pug-plush-merpug
