This past week has been a crazy/stressful/exciting beyond words blur for me; as last weekend I launched my compassionate clothing line at Vegfest Scotland, then very late on Wednesday night, I launched my online store!

I have been dreaming about/working on this clothing line for over two years now, so I couldn’t be happier that it is finally here. However, in the lead up to the show, to say I was nervous would be an enormous understatement.

Earlier this summer, after four years of working in a job I didn’t really enjoy and feeling as though I wasn’t working towards creating the kind of world I would like to live in, I decided to quit my job and finally use my life savings and my innate desire to help save as many animals as I possibly can, to pursue my dream of creating this clothing line.

With little to no knowledge of what it entailed to set up an online clothing business, I dove head first into building my business. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Now I won’t pretend that it has been all vegan cupcakes and nicecream because the reality is, this has been one of the most worrying/stressful things I have ever done. There have been times where I have questioned whether it’s worth it and if it would have been easier to have kept the financial security of my previous job. However, there is now no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision.

Since embarking on this adventure, I have learnt more than I could have ever imagined about: accounting, marketing, designing, web developing, photography, branding – the list goes on. Whilst it is undeniably challenging at times, seeing people out in the world wearing my designs spreading compassion and kindness, and being able to actively give back to animal charities I admire (for every sale made, £1 is donated to various animal charities) make it all worth it.

And no matter how stressed I get nowadays, it’s no longer the kind of ‘what am I doing with my life?’ stress I used to feel in my previous job. Instead it’s the kind of stress that motivates me to get the job done because I truly care about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. For me, my motivation is the animals. I know that no matter how bad things may seem for me in a difficult moment, it could never compare to the pain of a dairy cow as her baby is ripped away from her at birth and killed for veal so that humans can consume her milk, or to the sorrow of a dog who has been abandoned by its family because having a pet is no longer convenient for them.

 

One of my favourite quotes by Lily Tomlin is: ‘I used to think somebody should do something about that, then I realised, I am somebody’. I want to help create a world where we value cows and pigs lives just as much as those of our beloved dogs and cats. I want to help create a world  where people don’t abandon their dogs at a shelter because they’re too old/too fluffy/too (insert ridiculous excuse here). I want to help create a world where people are compassionate to all beings on this earth.

After years of watching from the sidelines, I am finally doing this and I can honestly say I have never been happier.

So my message to you reading this would be, pour your energy into something you’re passionate about and follow your dreams. I know it sounds cliche, but trust me, it’s worth it! Even if you’re not exactly sure right now how you’re going to make it happen, know that if you want it enough, you can and you will make your dreams a reality. Life is too short to spend all day every day doing something that doesn’t make you feel alive! You’ll never regret trying. So give it a go!