This post is months in the making, and if I’m honest, more like years. On the surface, it may seem like I just got a wild hair to change my packaging. As a creative, we do that. We get restless, and we go looking for a change, and as an entrepreneur, we are always looking for ways to improve. But this project is so much more than that.
This is a reclaiming of my power.
A reckoning with my own creative voice that has been a long time in the making.
Sometimes I feel like I have so many crazy stories to tell that if I told them all, no one would believe that they all happened to just one person. But that’s really all of our lives, isn’t it? Don’t we all have crazy stories to tell? And what is the point of going through hell a few times over if you can’t come back and at least give a road map with a few tips on how to survive it?
Back in 2016, my company was growing quickly. I had over 20 employees and was traveling extensively to be in as many markets as possible. I said yes to everything and was miserable. As a single mom, my life was all about keeping the business going to keep a roof over our heads. I was living in a state of fear and scarcity fueled by a core belief of not being good enough. Any of this sound familiar?
When you don’t believe in yourself, everyone else becomes a more trusted authority, and we fall into the habit of looking outside ourselves for answers. As women, we encounter this from a very young age growing up in a patriarchal society. As a result, our identities become entwined with weakness, smallness, and needing rescue. Everywhere you turn, there are people lined up to sell you a solution. This got me into trouble a few times.
This isn’t the first time I’ve revamped GP packaging, but it is the first time I’m doing so by honoring my creative vision.
Looking back, I can see how I lost my way in trusting myself when I outsourced to a graphic designer in 2015. My intuition told me that he was not someone to be trusted, but he was recommended to me, and at the time, I was more worried about being liked than liking myself. I trusted other’s opinions over my gut and hired the firm with the creep designer that came with a million red flags. I was polite and accommodating as he harassed and manipulated me into things I wasn’t comfortable with. I had already invested in this product and was worried that if I stood up for myself, I wouldn’t get the work, I’d miss the deadlines, and would be out the money.
When I look at the packaging, I see him and the pain I endured during that process. But I also see a past me. Someone that chose to trust someone else over herself. Someone that had lost some of her power, yet again, to another asshole.
I’ve done a lot of healing since that experience, and I’m finally ready to step into a space of vulnerability and share this new version of GP (and myself) with you. This has been a long time coming, and its development turned out to be a ritual of reclaiming my power as a creative.
The rollout includes 3 phases: Packaging, Website, and Displays.
Gleeful Peacock’s mission statement has always been to spread love, kindness, and glee, and I’m proud to say that GP 2.0 better meets those standards.
All product packaging, the website, and even our product displays are adorned with my personal artwork and doodles. The whimsy and bright images on the packaging are accompanied by affirmations that I hope will help you see the potential for love and joy in your own life.
These stories are never fun to tell, and I guess that is why we don’t tell them. Part of me is like a kid at Christmas, and I just can’t wait to blurt it all out and share it all with you all! But the other part of me is dreading it like it’s a mammogram. It’s scary to work on projects for months and then put it out into the world and hope it is well received. This is a vulnerable place to stand in. Even more so when you decide you are going to tell your story along with it.
Remember— there is no shame in your story. It brought you to where you are today, in this moment, being more capable than before. Having learned more lessons enables you to make better choices for yourself, which in turn brings you more in alignment with the life you want. In sharing my stories with you (and yes, I have plenty and more to come!) I invite you to look back on your past self with compassion. See how you were doing the best you could with the tools you had. You tried so hard. With this perspective, it’s easier to celebrate the wins, the lessons, and the growth of life without the judgment. After all, the lessons never stop coming! But that’s the beauty of this life, isn’t it?
