Welcome to The Navigatrix!

Welcome to the budding blog all about The Navigatrix and it's creatrix! I'll be sharing what I learn and find along the way, promoting, supporting and welcoming other likeminded creative people (We are ALL Creative People, in one way or another :)

Let's start with a little background, in the hope that others out there will gain something from the tale.

My name is Sally-Ann and I have travelled a long and interesting path to get here. I started my working life with a Degree in Design Representation (Modelmaking) and worked freelance for three years. After a while working mainly in architectural modelamaking, I became frustrated at not being able to get into the more imaginative yet highly competitive SFX side of the industry. I became very stressed to the point where my health suffered and eventually discovered Reiki. After three sessions, I was hooked and went on to learn how to treat myself and others.

I then visited a career analyst and chose to retrain as a Montessori Directress, teaching 2-6 year olds. I loved the philosophy behind it and really enjoyed working with the children. My creative talents were put to use making classroom materials and displays. Still, something wasn't quite right, even when I found the most wonderful position (and promotion) working in a brand new school in the countryside. My intuition told me in no uncertain terms that it was time to set up a Reiki Practice. I left the school and set up in a rented room within a Health food shop.

Hindsight is great, isn't it?! I could have asked to work at the school part time...well, though I may not have earned a great deal, I learned a lot about working for myself. The most important things I learned were that this suits me down to the ground and that I Can Do It! (Thankyou, Louise Hay). One beautiful baby and a housemove later, I found myself thrown into life's tempestuous hug again. 'Honestly, dear, I willmake you listen!' says Life. So, out of struggle, I am re-creating myself once more.

One of my hobbies is Live Roleplay so it was no surprise when my brother and a friend of mine started to get me interested in Steampunk. This led to the creation of a Steampunk persona and more importantly, a costume (complete with corset!). I made myself some aged fingerless gloves and a little hairclip. I looked at this little clip and thought 'oh, people might buy these' so I asked my brother for space in his online shop. He just said 'Why not make your own shop?'

I found Etsy and suddenly my creative streak exploded. I found that I could make small items easily using pretty much what I had to hand or was given from the bottom of family sewing baskets. So now, alongside a new budding Reiki Practice I have this wonderful shop and a warm welcome in a community of creative and caring people. The Navigatrix is finding her way in the world, at last!