LEMONADE UPDATE

Hello lemons,

I've been wanting to write this article for weeks now, but I don't know what's been holding me back... Maybe a lack of courage, or maybe I was having trouble putting into words what I was feeling deep down inside. As you probably know, my personal life has been pretty hectic over the last few months, and this has also enabled me to put my aspirations back into perspective, to isolate the things that make me happy from those that weigh me down, and to take a step back from my day-to-day life, and my life, quite simply. Like a sort of reset. Reset my life. I have the feeling that summer is often the time to take the necessary distance and make a small point, a sunny update.

And today, it's become unmanageable for me to keep it all inside, to be silent. It's high time it came out! That I unblock myself from this situation. Because, to tell you the truth, when I made the all-important decision to choose myself by ending my marriage, it would have been incoherent, sad even, to stop there and not make radical changes in the overall life path I decided to take.

And then I see comments here and words on social networks that say "it's all about selling Wear Lemonade". But yes, I know, and I won't apologize for it today. Wear Lemonade is basically the Make My Lemonade blog, the wonderful tool that enabled us to meet and gave me the keys to my wildest dreams.

Even if at first I didn't think that owning a brand could bring me so much happiness, I have to admit that it's the craziest creative and human adventure I've had so far. And my day-to-day life also involves supporting 10 people. So yes, I'd love to have time to do embroidery, time to imagine a wacky theme week... But the truth is: what I love even more is growing my Wear Lemonade brand and sharing this adventure with you (i.e. promoting it), that's what's got me buzzing at the moment. I say for the moment because it's still a fragile project that requires me to give it 1000%.

I'm not saying that I don't miss imagining do-it-yourself tutorials, embroidering entire evenings or folding paper until my fingers are numb, but that's a passing fancy. Entrepreneurship is a wonderful parenthesis that teaches me day by day a tailor-made profession, coming up with ideas to bring a brand to life, making the people who work for Wear Lemonade feel good, designing different collections, asking your opinion on the collections, imagining the future too. All this fills me with a new joy, and that's what's driving me right now.

So yes, the free content has been replaced by paid content, and to be completely honest with you, that doesn't make me comfortable either... I think back to the PDF gate a year ago, that painful memory, and the solutions we found together. So today, all our templates are available in unlimited mode at the single price of 7.90 euros per month for a minimum 3-month commitment.

I think that even if this is no longer free content, it's still very affordable for all sewing fans. Maybe I'm wrong about what's affordable and what isn't, but today it's also part of the income that supports the Make My Lemonade team. And I think it's cool to imagine that if you believe hard enough in your dreams and work hard enough, you can make a living out of it... I sincerely wish all the best for the inspiring people I meet.

But it's obvious that there's a compromise to be found. All these "ethical" issues bog down my thoughts. And as contradictory as it may sound, I miss the free, fun content, but the days are short and time flies too fast to fit everything into one day.

But I do understand the disappointment, free content has given way to promoting things to buy. I know how frustrating that is. I myself am a disappointed soul when I go to my favorite blogs, where everything has become commodified, clickable and monetizable. The blogosphere is now a real business and a real source of income for some. I'm not even talking about Instagram, which gives me the feeling that consumerism is king. It bothers me a lot, but I can't really explain it. By the way, on Make My Lemonade's Instagram, when I promote Wear Lemonade, I'm also part of that landscape... It's all very complicated.

Writing to you now, I have the feeling that there may be a new way of communicating, showing more making of, stolen moments of creation, more inspirations too... as it was natural for me to develop this in the past, without asking myself questions.

I find it hard to post objects I love without having the strange feeling of having to justify myself by saying that it's not a sponso post, but just a pair of shoes I've bought myself and that I adore, that excites my pupil and makes me want to take a photo of it. It's a complex gymnastics today for me to remain light and spontaneous when I have to weigh up every word, be careful of the tone to use, to try not to offend anyone.

And then there are times when I feel like I don't really belong anymore, and that every word and every image is scrutinized. I have a really hard time feeling free at home: too exhibitionist, not feminist enough, too colloquial, the wrong political ideas or content that's too commercial... I know I'll never be able to appeal to the greatest number, but the desire to do well or to do too well is paralyzing me at the moment.

I share my confusion with you, hoping to find answers as I type these words... (it often works, I assure you), (well, it's not always immediate...)!

And then, I think the blog format doesn't really suit me any more, and I feel I need to renew the model... Surprise you, by creating new things... I'm working frantically to imagine what this breath of fresh air will be: the means to reconnect with a taste for freedom and spontaneity, and to envisage a new way of interacting with you. I'd already mentioned the newsletter idea a few times, and I think this could be the right formula! I knew I had to get it out there, and my brain is already churning... I can't wait to read what you have to say and exchange views with you on these sensitive and burning subjects.

I send you my warmest embrace.

Lisa

Thanks to Julie Perrot for these adorable images, to Laurence Maestrello for these blue eyes and to Cut by Fred for this BB cut, and to the Eiffel Tower for its kind welcome.