We are beyond excited to be able to feature the lovely Be and her charming etsy shop: Mindful Productivity on the blog today. She has put together an absolutely wonderful and inspiring post, so please enjoy and be sure to have a peek in her shop!  So without further adieu … Be!

Hello all  ....  I’m delighted to share with you a #dayinthelife sort of post.  Well it’s not really about a day, more about how I got to this day – to this moment.

Tá mé Be and I run a design business called Mindful Productivity, and like many creative businesses these days, the beginnings of Mindful Productivity began waaaay way back when a I used to spend my days pondering the meaning of life and why everything was the way it was.  I also liked to make pretty things to give the ol’ brain a rest from time to time and found I liked being creative almost as much as my ponderings.  Later I gained an honours degree in Philosophy and Psychology then continued my studies and completed a diploma in Life Coaching.  Eventually I started my own practice where I really liked helping others find their way through the valleys and mountains of life. In 2010, whilst taking a year off, I discovered mindfulness meditation [or maybe it discovered me] and after some absolutely boringly long meditation sessions [read 10 minutes] I found my stride and felt that mindfulness was helping with many of the answers I’d always been seeking.  As the months passed  a feeling started and the need to do more creative things grew, I felt a pull to slow down more and pay attention to what each day offered.  To enjoy the present and all that came with it and not to be concerned so much with why it was, but rather to accept that it just was. #lightbulbAs 2011 rolled around I returned to Ireland and began to think that maybe it would be possible to carry on life coaching  in some way using both my creative and seeking sides ... and after a lot of tooing and froing and what ifs and should I, could I... Mindful Productivity was born!

Fast forward three years and here I am typing this from my first floor workshop here in Mayo in the west of Ireland on a surprisingly sunny morning.  I moved to this studio almost 18 months ago now – an upgrade from my back room - and share the building with another creative person, Lisa.   It’s a calm and inspiring space to work in with white floor boards and lots of beeswax candles, incense burning during the day and of course my own designs and work in progress around me.



I climb a multi coloured spiral staircase to get up here, which is sometimes nice and sometimes a bit tricky - especially when I’m moving bags and boxes downstairs!  Originally it was an old cobbler’s workshop so my favourite saying when things get a bit much is ‘cobblers!’  It’s a lovely feeling to think that there has always been something creative going on here and in some small way I’m carrying on with that energy.

My creative endeavours find me now designing calming and mindfully inspired cards as well as hand rolling pure beeswax candles. 



It’s always nice working on new designs and a humbling experience to see people reacting in a positive way to my words.  I’m also delighted to be stocked by some lovely retailers around Ireland as well as having an Etsy shop at etsy.com/mindfulproductivity






Each typographical card starts as either a hand lettered drawing or one of my original mindfully inspired phrases.  I like to combine both traditional and digital techniques as I work and scan my calligraphy then digitise it to add colours which enhance the words and designs.  My designs come from all the insights I have found in my own journey and I hope to have something resonate with others who are searching for calm and understanding in their own lives.




My mindfulness extends to the way I like to run my business as well.  I get all my cards printed at a local artisan printer here in Mayo and include 100% recycled paper envelopes with them.  I’ve just recently sourced some eco friendly biodegradable display bags for the cards too, which I am really happy about.  They do work out a bit more expensive, but I think it’s important for business to absorb those costs sometimes and this is one of those times.



Last year I began hand rolling beeswax candles to sell.  I was running a drop in meditation group at the time and was using a lot of candles in the studio and wanted to use something chemical free, natural and renewable.  So I made some to burn in the studio and everyone kept asking for them ... they said it was the love I rolled into them!  I do love rolling them ... it’s like an active meditation J om..
So that’s the story of how I began and what I’m now at ... there has been ups and downs, sideway travels and some hard grafts in there.  Not only for the business but also for my mindfulness routine – both can be a slog sometimes, though in the end it’s so worth it! J