In September, I saw a report about the three-legged raven Yatagarasu, and learned that it was an animal that was part of Asian myths and symbolized "the one who shows the way". I was looking for an idea for my logo, and I love crows. After a bit of trial and error, I came up with the final shape of my logo, which I used as an illustration, a notebook and a sticker.

I wanted to open my online store in September, but it wasn't realistic because I didn't have enough products. I decided to give myself until February to put things in place. That was without counting on a letter from URSSAF ( the organization that collects taxes ) that I received at the end of September demanding payment of contributions!

I was surprised because I was just starting up my business and I wasn't earning anything. In fact, I should have declared in July that I was earning nothing. A few years ago, when I set up a service business, I didn't pay any contributions because I was unemployed and receiving start-up aid. But my situation was very different!

I was devastated... But I quickly came to my senses and got into combat mode. I worked 7 days a week, ten hours a day for three months, the adrenalin keeping me going (not to be repeated at home, as I ended up in the emergency room...). I decided to set up an online store, which was new for me, but as I'm a curious person, I saw it as a new adventure. My new goal was to open the store in December!

Setting up the site was exhausting; there were so many things to do, and at the same time I had to keep drawing. The adverts for setting up the site said it was very easy, but it wasn't that easy at all; it wasn't insurmountable, but it was time-consuming, involving a lot of technical subtleties. I went through every section of the site, watched hours of tutorials and went to bed not understanding certain problems, but after a few days of agony I managed to sort them out, and I was proud of myself for having worked so hard!

My creations were taking shape; I was under pressure, so I was making progress... I didn't have many products, but I liked what I'd made. I dreamt of a woman in an astronaut outfit lying in the grass and I made an illustration of her, which I entitled "About Dreams".

Come to think of it, if it hadn't been for that cursed letter, I'd have procrastinated for months on end, and I wouldn't have taken on all those challenges. It was the wake-up call I needed to move forward!