“Hey Frankie, Steve and the DIFTK community, Last year when we were still deep in lockdown I was asked if I would like to cover maternity leave on a magazine for a year. I wasn't sure what was in store for my freelance career as an interiors stylist at that point (thanks Covid) so I said yes on the proviso I could still keep all my regular client work and fit that around the full time job. That was nearly 8 months ago and far from slowing down, my freelance work has increased way more than I could have predicted and I have basically been working 2 full time jobs since then. Gulp. I have been trying to survive week at a time doing my best not to let any of the (many) balls drop but I have the niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I should be making more of this unicorn time as an employed person, but I'm too knackered to think what that looks like! I have ceased all social media updates because I just do not have the bandwidth right now but what else could I, or should I be doing with the handful of weeks I have left in-house?Should I be getting training? Using this high profile magazine job to get more freelance work? Using it as a way to create more portfolio work? I need to act soon before it all feels a dream and I'm back on the other side of the commissioning fence! Yours, Completely-Spent-Sally”
This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from interior and events stylist Sally Cullen. She says:
“Hey Frankie, Steve and the DIFTK community,
Last year when we were still deep in lockdown I was asked if I would like to cover maternity leave on a magazine for a year. I wasn't sure what was in store for my freelance career as an interiors stylist at that point (thanks Covid) so I said yes on the proviso I could still keep all my regular client work and fit that around the full time job.
That was nearly 8 months ago and far from slowing down, my freelance work has increased way more than I could have predicted and I have basically been working 2 full time jobs since then. Gulp.
I have been trying to survive week at a time doing my best not to let any of the (many) balls drop but I have the niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I should be making more of this unicorn time as an employed person, but I'm too knackered to think what that looks like!
I have ceased all social media updates because I just do not have the bandwidth right now but what else could I, or should I be doing with the handful of weeks I have left in-house?Should I be getting training? Using this high profile magazine job to get more freelance work? Using it as a way to create more portfolio work? I need to act soon before it all feels a dream and I'm back on the other side of the commissioning fence!
Yours, Completely-Spent-Sally”
What would your advice be? Let us know your thoughts using #DIFTKpodcast on Twitter and Instagram, and join in the conversation via the DIFTK Community on Facebook.
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Sally Cullen's website
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Steve's podcast - Being Freelance
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