New Year’s Resolutions

New Year offers us a chance to take stock of the year that’s passed and look towards the new one with fresh eyes. It’s why we love New Year’s resolutions so much.

They’re revised and careful, ways in which you want to progress in the year ahead. They’re ambitious and daring and at the core of it, exciting. We’ve compiled some of our MerseyMade family’s resolutions to hopefully inspire you.

From a long list to a single note, your resolutions are yours, so do not stress if they appear different to ours.

Our top tip: Be realistic, don’t go crazy but push yourself because growth isn’t always found walking the easy road.

Spend Smart

Where you shop matters, and for those who have followed MerseyMade’s journey, we’re sure you’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating. When you spend money in a shop, you support all the work behind the scenes. And when you spend money at an independent shop, you not only support the shop itself but the creatives who made the items, the staff who are paid a fair, living wage, the local companies that supply the shop’s produce, electricity, wifi, cleaning services etc.

And on top of this all, you’re purchasing an item made with love and care, unlikely to break like so many mass produced products. And with ‘planned obsolescence’, whereby manufacturers limit their products life span in order to sell another in the future, on the rise, buying local is an easy way to buy well made, durable, quality items.

Surround Yourself With Good

Good people, good spaces, good habits. They make you feel good! Find that creative safe haven, think carefully about patterns in your behaviour and whether they’re beneficial and do it all alongside people who support you. Take time to truly observe where you’re at and whether it’s good for you.

Learn Something New

Book yourself onto workshops, find inspiration in other people’s art, get a take out coffee and be a tourist in your own city, pick up a magazine and find new, local music. New is good. New pushes you to find things that you may not have encountered before, to grow and develop as a person, an artist, a human being.

“When you stop learning, you stop growing.”

Kenneth H. Blanchard

Look After Your Space

Fill your space with things that bring you joy. When beautiful objects surround you, you are given an advantage. Your mood is bound to be lighter, happier and less stressed because the items that surround you are ones that calm you.

Select things that personally appeal to you and they’re bound to make you smile. Design a space that is your own, make it fit for the person who exists within it.

Follow People To Inspire

Social media is a brilliant asset to communities and movements, but so often, we end up following people that make us feel uninspired and inferior. Follow accounts that leave a positive impact! Activists, community hubs, movement leaders.

Our favourites in and around Liverpool are definitely Independent Liverpool and Visit Liverpool, who highlight other amazing people and their work. And if you’re in need of a creative boost, our recent advent calendar on Instagram has highlighted some of MerseyMade’s best. So, give them a follow and get inspired!

Take Time For You

Self-care comes in so many forms. It may come in the form of a bath, getting your nails done, reading a book, getting a coffee and going for a walk. There are so many options and every person has their own way.

So, whether you have a day off, or a lunch break, take that time to really look after yourself!