a few thank yous

My head is spinning.

The reaction to Etzcetera has been amazing. When you put yourself out there and launch something YOU really love and are totally passionate about, it doesn't always mean that other people will embrace it and love it too.

So while I THOUGHT crafty people might enjoy a crafty magazine with tutorials, stories about creative people and other tidbits, I didn't really know for sure.

But it seems you do! Which is a relief.

And it's time for a few thank yous..

Firstly a thank you to Ken who has been incredibly supportive of my decision to do this. In fact it was Ken who listened to my continual dithering about whether to do this or not and finally said to me, "Just do it!" It was Ken who covered all my @Home business expenses and things that my income usually covers, while I took time out from the @Home site to work on the magazine. And it's Ken who has proudly told everyone he meets about what I'm doing!

And thank you to my mum who has been with me every step of the way. She has read and re-read over and over, every last word written in that magazine as she worked hard as my proof reader and she has now come on board to help me look after sales, advertising and the accounts. She has always been so supportive of anything and everything I have ever done my entire life and never, ever doubted for a second that I couldn't do this!

THANK YOU to my three kids. This last fortnight before the launch has been crazy and I am sure they were totally sick of seeing me glued to the computer screen when they arrived home from school each afternoon! Thank you to Capri for helping me in the photo shoots for some of our projects and for taking my profile photos too! She did a great job! And thank you to Jamison who came on board and made and styled and prepared the recipe for the individual delicious trifles for the food section of the magazine. He was excited to be involved and I was thrilled to be able to include him! And thanks to Brandt who took the time to actually look at the magazine even though he hasn't one crafty bone in his body and to his credit, his eyes didn't glaze over and he was genuinely interested!

THANK YOU to my business coach Julie. Who said something to me that made me make that final decision to do this. She said, "This is something you really want to do and you're going to do it sooner or later so it may as well be sooner!" And I realised she was right. She kept me on track, helped me hugely with the website and helped me set goals at our meetings so I could keep going forward with the project.

Thank you to my wonderful friend Lisa who checked on me all the time, right from the start, to make sure I was eating properly, drinking my water and exercising! She made sure I was taking time out and not getting too stressed. She picked up the slack with emailing for permission for various projects nd products we used and wrote a few of the articles.

Thank you to my wonderful support network - my sister, other family members, my friends, the @Home Support Team girls, the wonderfully talented contributors, those I interviewed and who shared their stories, projects and talents with us, and our beautiful Issue One advertisers who cheered and supported this venture all the way along and believed in me that this could be a reality.

And it is a reality, thanks to our readers. And that's YOU. Thank you for the support and enthusiasm and excitement. It's been wonderful.

Here comes Issue 2.

Comments

[Christine]

There is never enough time in the lives of crafty people for all their projects and interesting ideas to develop and become reality! I am one of those people. However this magazine is a definite consumer of time in my life so something else will have to give! Congratulations Kim and your team. I love this magazine.

[Christine]

Kim, it is absolutely wonderful, what a brilliant publication, well done to you!

[Lisa Pate]

It was such a pleasure to help in such a small way. I can't wait to see where this dream takes you xx

[Jenny]

Big Congrats to you Kim (and your wonderful support team)... LOVED LOVED LOVED Issue One... packed full of inspiration.... can't wait for Issue 2...

Jenny x

[Donna Wilson]

Just one more thankyou............

ThankYOU Kim. Thankyou for keeping us inspired over the years, thankyou for making us think and look outside of the box, and thankyou for making it look so easy, and doable (is that a word??)

Now, the next chapter (lol) of your career..
I have loved reading Issue 1 of your magazine, and can't wait for the next one.

Dreams are amazing things, and when you get to follow them, well.... that makes you very lucky and blessed.

xx

[Lee Mills]

Well done! You should be congratulated, not many of us are gutsy enough to 'follow their dreams' - way to go Kim, you continue to be an inspiration. The first issue is wonderful and I look forward to many, many more issues!

[Peggy]

Oh dear I hope the "proof-reading police" don't catch up with me now!

I remember when you shared your vision of Etzcetera magazine with me. I was transported back down the time tunnel to the magazine you made for Nana and Grandad when you were in your early teens. They were thrilled and shed a tear when they were presented with this very special one-off edition of a family magazine complete with individual stories, poetry, photographs and special messages from you and "your team" - Debbie and cousins. I felt the same as they did back then, when the Etczetera magazine successfully launched on 1 July!

Thanks for the thanks - and of course my help and support goes without saying!! xx