Friendship, a sharing of skills and workbooks

About ten years ago a pal in Shetland told me about someone she'd met who she thought I'd love too.  This September I went to Brighton to meet her IRL (not Ireland, but In Real Life..I'm only telling you that because I didn't know what that meant!)

Saskia lives in Rotterdam and was over in London at a yarn event and made time to come to Brighton to see me while I was visiting my eldest Remi and their partner.  Saskia and I have had an online friendship for so long that when we finally met in person it was like we'd always hung out together - no awkwardness and definitely no silence we just laughed, chatted, cried (a little bit) and laughed some more! 

She runs an online community for crafters and makers and those interested in sustainable fashion and living sustainably too. If you'd like to find out more, this is a great place to start  Ja, Wol's Story 

For about five years I've had the idea to write workbooks on a variety of mental health subjects. Another huge part of this process was the design skills of Shaun Holyoak-Shanks and her husband Steven Shanks.  I gave them the content and colour scheme I wanted and they came up with the design - they were fab to work with!

The workbooks have been designed so people can work through them over a 10 week period, applying new strategies and techniques and exercises to aid their journey towards healing and self-discovery.

Each workbook is about 70 pages long and costs between £10-£12.  I understand that not everyone can afford one to one sessions or has access to professional help, which is why I was motivated to create these affordable tools.

I have about 10 mental health subjects in mind that I want to cover in a workbook, and the first three are now available on my website by clicking the workbooks tab. 

My trio of support has done such a great job, I'm so grateful our paths crossed.  I met Shaun and Steven through   TrustedHousesitters.com when they came to look after my cat Magnus when I went on holiday!  We hit it off straight away and  they are dear friends now. Shaun has her own products for sale on Etsy - you can check them out here, they're gorgeous, and you can see why I was delighted when she agreed to design my workbooks BornOnAWeekday 

If you, or someone you know is looking for someone to build a Shopify page or website then I can highly recommend reaching out to Saskia by emailing her info@ja-wol.com 

Now of course I have to make the very important point that the workbooks are not a substitute for professional, medical or psychiatric support. If you or someone you know is experiencing severe symptoms or in a mental health crisis I encourage seeking help from a medical professional or local mental health crisis team. 

Thank you all for your continued encouragement and support.

With love,

Kathleen x