Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023
2022 was a year of hard ups and downs for me. Personally, it was a year of a lot of pain, learning about myself, what I want out of life, and making better choices to get there; but through my art and business it was a year of excitement, taking chances, and great enjoyment.
I've always been someone who tries to find the best in bad situations, and always look for any lesson I can take from a situation, good or bad. 2021 ended very painfully with the loss of my father, but helped open my eyes to what was most important to me in life and how to integrate more care and love into the pieces I create. As the months went on, I learned how deeply grief can affect every facet of life and how important it is to channel your healing in productive ways and connect with those you care most about. I fell a bit behind on my schedule at various points in the year as I learned my limits on what I could do each day, how much I could even function when chained down with grief, and how much work I could take on before I started to go underwater with it. In my toughest days, I found myself up all throughout the night working on what I cared about, and in my better days I still found myself doing the same thing, but as more of a mad rush to meet a self-imposed deadline vs. the cathartic "I'll always have my art" approach. It was a tough year of learning, but I came out the other end of 2022 so much stronger and more motivated than I was going in. With each passing day I find my focus more and see a clearer place for myself and my art in this big, big world.
I have lots of plans for 2023, but another thing I learned in 2022 is that plans can change so quickly and you always have to be ready to adapt and take on new challenges. I think the coolest point of growth I chased in 2023 is learning to take more opportunities that required myself to get out of my comfort zone. It's easy to make a schedule and say no to opportunities when they don't fit into your neat plan, but it's much more fulfilling to to push yourself beyond that schedule to take the opportunities as they present themselves to you. For me that came in the form of traveling from East to West coasts, picking up events on a short timeline, and even treating myself to a plan-as-we-go vacation in New York City, networking with eclectic strangers in bars, packing up and flying across country, all while pulling several all-nighters to have the chance to do so.
For 2023 I plan to specialize more of what I do to be able to offer the best of my best in things people want the most. I will be stepping back from doing art pieces and will focus very heavily on jewelry. Art pieces are very fun for me, but I never felt like I could find my place with them and didn't often feel strongly proud of what I had made. However, with my jewelry I find myself refining the craft more with each release and feeling very proud of each piece- like I've poured a small bit of myself into each one. Every time I see a floral piece being worn at an event or in photos, I can remember every little detail about making it and how I was feeling and what I wanted to accomplish with each one. In all the various creative pursuits I've done, I've never been so proud to have my name on something and see it out in the world.
I currently have several new ideas I'm working on in the jewelry world that I look forward to debuting within the next couple of months. New jewelry, new natural elements used in the designs, and some non-jewelry wearable items as well. I have built a bit of a fanbase with the designs I currently have, and I feel I owe my appreciation to you all by listening to what you request and making it happen.
The amount of travel I did in 2022 was HUGE. I visited 13 different major US cities for work, networking, or personal trips to see more of the country. Whereas I want to scale back on how much I was out and about, I want to still shoot for visiting new places. I have three new cities booked for events so far, and as the months go on I greatly hope to book appearances in a couple more at a much larger range so I can meet more of the friends I've made online and expand my work to people who may not see it or be able to get it otherwise. I will not stop doing what I do until everyone who wants their dream piece gets it, even if it is an endless pursuit.
The end of 2022 also hit me with surreal images a few times. Seeing my work worn in overseas events and expanding to more international customers is a wonderful honor to have stumbled into. I never would have dreamed that I'd see people who didn't speak my language or know me at all wearing my pieces to high profile events across the entire world. With this, I hope to work towards my first international appearances in Europe and Asia. If your country has an event that you'd like to see me at, please reach out and let me know! If the audience is there then I will certainly work to meet them. I've had the honor of traveling internationally a few times before, but never for my art, so this is a big goal for me to work towards as this new year progresses on.
I used to view the New Year as a somber holiday with the best parts of the year ending, but I've got a leg up on my goals already and finally see the holiday in such a positive light. I hope to work towards so much in 2023 and grow every day. Life can be hard sometimes, but it never stays that way and I will never let myself get stuck in a place that will keep me from expanding and enjoying the best that life has to offer in its fullest. In 2023 I hope to bring more beauty to the world in the form of what I love, find my place a little more, and be a positive presence for all who may need it in their life.
I cannot express my gratitude enough to those who have supported my journey so far. Néant began in 2019 as a way for me to find comfort in a hard point in my life, and I never would have imagined that it would grow so far beyond that. The community and friends I've found have helped me in so many ways and I only hope that I can give back to those who have given so much to me.
Love and Light,
Kei