Rabbit and Other Stories

05/02/2026

This view looked a little different today. Beginning of February drizzle, which meant I didn’t stop to take a picture between my car and running into the cafe, for a catch up with the lovely ladies of .

Community is a large part of running a business, and especially when you’re find yourself in business hibernation, while taking care of other life things. Whatever stage you are in your business, find other persons who are on similar journeys to yourself, and being able to share stories, bounce ideas around and generally remind yourself that everyone faces challenges.

Newlands Corner has been a thinking spot, and a major photographic muse for many years now. It doesn’t matter when I arrive, what time of day or season of the year, it always provides some form of inspiration. The reminder nature provided today, is that it’s ok to take a step back and rest. The plants are busy resting, and working hard on the inside to get ready for the explosion of growth that happens every spring.

23/07/2025

Facebook sent me a memory from 2015, yesterday of a request to my friends to borrow a child’s lunchbox. I had an interview - with Marketing Director and the Head of Marketing at the Online Travel Agents I worked at - and severe anxiety and imposter syndrome about showing up as myself. But I found a way around that.

The interview came with a task to complete. I had to demonstrate that I could come up with a social media strategy across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (as it was then).

An idea was born - a slightly crazy, off the wall idea. I walked into my interview and promptly announced that I was attending on behalf of someone else. That this someone else was sorry that they couldn’t attend and that they had sent a small token along with me to (erm) sweeten the deal. And so the lunchbox came forwards, and out came some marmalade sandwiches.

Can you guess who was ‘missing’ at the meeting yet?

My interviewers laughed a little (but not in a bad way) as we moved on to the presentation that had been prepared. We moved through a pared down years calendar of what “Paddington on Parade” might do. And it wasn’t just a PowerPoint presentation either. A page was created and still exists in my account in an unpublished way - for the memories.

The rest of the interview went quite well. Up until this one, I historically had seriously bad anxiety in interviews and got very tongue tied. I’m a natural introvert, work better when I can prepare answers to specific questions and I can be shy around people that sit in places I may want to aspire to. This interview changed things for me though. In putting myself in the situation of talking on behalf of someone else, I managed to overcome the previous mentioned afflictions. I’m a natural cheerleader and promoter of other peoples goals and aspirations, so somehow this strategy worked massively in my favour.

Did I get the job? Not on this occasion, but that’s ok. The feedback that came from the experience lifted my confidence and made the blow much less. The feedback told me that out of all the applicants, they had only interviewed two of us. I was up against another lady who had a degree in Marketing, and was already working occasionally with the department in question. My degree is in Theatre Design, and I had been in the operations and product department of the company.
But they went on to say, that I had made the decision quite hard, and not the simple one they had expected, and that they were sorry that on this occasion I was not the successful applicant. The comments about my presentation and artwork skills in the interview were also confidence building and validating.

Now you might think that this is a negative way to end this story, but the takeaway from this experience gave me a glimmer of confidence, and six months later when my department was made redundant, I looked at my options with renewed eyes, took stock of where I was and applied for new jobs, some in Marketing. Ultimately the combined experience of both, and a conversation with a business coach led me to a new idea.

I had always wanted to run a business… when asked where I saw myself in 5 years, at an interview 4 years before the one I described above, my answer was (strangely, and I don’t recommend this answer if it’s not aligned with the job role you’re interviewing for) “running my own design business…” My soul said what it needed to, and almost to the day, 5 years later, Rabbit and Other Stories, was born.

I’m Rabbit (as in Jessica Rabbit) and my clients are my other stories. I’m working towards bringing my services back and keeping the health in check. Watch out for announcements in the future about developments.

For now, I wanted to share this memory to anyone that struggles with anxieties in interviews, being themselves and shining their gifts; for anyone that may be interviewing for a new role or has been made redundant and is going through that rollercoaster of emotions that brings - hang in there. Think outside the box. Create an alter ego if you have to, and remember that everything you dream about lives on the other side of that fear you’re not addressing. One of my favourite sayings goes something like “not all storms are sent to destroy us. Some come to blow us onto new paths.”

You’ve got this... Marmalade sandwich optional.

01/06/2025

So, my lovely friend Kate, has taken her first leap with her playful and uplifting arts and crafts brand, Pip and Pickles, to the Sunday Surrey Villages Art & Craft fair at the Shere Village Hall! She’s here Sunday 01 June until 3.30. Come and have a look if you’re local.

Her stock can usually be found in her other business, alongside yummy cream teas, tea and coffees at in the Village Square.

Well done Kate. So proud of you. 💖

12/03/2025

This week has been a big week - and it’s only Wednesday! The wonderful Jo Ferrone, bought her networking back to a brand new location. As I’m not currently working in my business due to my health, I’ve found it hard to find reasons to keep attending good sized networking events, like these l, and I do miss them.
I managed to find my reason here though. I had wondered what to say in my 45 second elevator pitch, and I found it.
Cheerleading and elevating other business owners on their missions is something I really enjoy and I miss it! I wanted to be there to support Jo, but I also wanted to support all the other persons in the room, and hear about their adventures in business and life and offer that energy to the room.
And what a room of brilliant businesses. The talk was by the fabulous Emily Watson of about being your own cheerleader. She bought an amazing amount of energy to the room - the whole room was up doing superhero dances… most with more energy than my parred back efforts… but the joy in the room was palpable.
And she reminded us of the acronym ‘THINK’ which is explained in the images. It’s a wonderful reminder of a basic set of behaviours to aim for in life, particularly when we are dealing with challenging politics, world events and view points everywhere else.
Jo originally introduced me to a lovely pack of inspiring cards by , and now she’s sharing her own poetry in card form. My pull is also in the images, everyone got something different. You can find more of her poetry at .

I’m so so proud of this group of ladies, and the facilitator in particular, for the message that they bring to the world.

I’ll leave you with Jo’s three words she uses as a tagline:

Support | Encourage | Inspire.

All you need to know.

08/03/2025

Resharing this article I contributed to 2 years ago. This years theme is ‘Accelerate Action.’

“Every year, International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8 March. The aim of the day is to highlight the positive impact of women in society and also highlight issues that people continue to face including gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

It has a history which spans over 100 years, with the first day being marked in 1911. Today, it continues to be celebrated worldwide in a variety of ways; some people hold gatherings to honour women’s achievements while others may speak out against problems that females have in modern society.”

I believe it’s still important to share this, as we live in a world where women still don’t have the right to vote, the right to make their own choice, and the right over decisions about what happens to their own body, everywhere in the world. In some countries we are going backwards.

Look at the history, the symbolism and the colour psychology to see how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go.

Happy

I was invited to participate in an article, that explains the history and meaning behind the colour and branding of this particular day.

Did you know that International Women’s Day is well over a century old, originating in 1911. That goes some way to explaining the colours associated with this day in it’s branding. There are strong links here to the Suffragette movement and the colours originate from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK. The colours there were established in 1908.

If you’d like to read the article, head to this link: https://www.nationalworld.com/culture/international-womens-day-colours-symbolise-historical-significance-4055934

In 1906, the term ‘Suffragette’ was used as a term of derision, in the London Daily Mail by the journalist, Charles E. Hands. However, the women he intended to ridicule, embraced the term, emphasising the ‘GET’ in the middle of the word and hardening the ‘G’ ‘SuffraGETtes’ implied that they not only wanted the vote, but that they thoroughly intended to get it. As the non-militant suffragettes gained favour in other press, they used their colour and mission statement to achieve their objectives, and hoped to avoid progressing their cause through ‘violence, crime, arson and open rebellion.’

What a legacy and message to leave behind in colour and symbolism. In 2023, International Women’s Day is a day of activism that provides a ‘visible opportunity for impact.’ As the website for IWD says, “There's no place for complacency. According to the World Economic Forum, sadly none of us will see gender parity in our lifetime, and nor likely will many of our children. Gender parity won't be attained for well over a century. There's urgent work to do - and we can all play a part.” Not least by embracing and honouring the work our ancestors did to pave this path in rosettes of purple, white and green.

14/02/2025

Have you had your fill of Valentines Day posts today? While I’m on health leave from my business, I’m trying to indulge my passions a little - storytelling and folklore being a large part of what brings me joy. And historically, I shared my services from V Day, under the banner ‘designed with love.’

So I thought I’d share the background behind why we celebrate Valentines and make such a big deal of this holiday. Hope you enjoy.

💘

It might be a commercialised holiday now, but Valentines Day, has meaning as a Pagan festival, Lupercalia. This was a Roman hedonistic affair in worship “of the god Lupercus, the hero-hunter of wolves; and is associated with the Roman foundational myth of Romulus and Remus, twin boys who were suckled by the she-wolf (Lupa) in the cave Lupercal (while under the protection of Lupercus). Lupercalia was a sexually charged celebration and “purification” festival, which featured matchmaking, coupling and purification rites in order to ward off evil spirits and prevent infertility.”

And so back to Valentine… this festival was adopted by the Christian faith (Old Testament, no mention of St. Valentine in the New Testiment) who made a martyr of someone called Valentine - a priest who “conducted marriage ceremonies for soldiers forbidden by the state, was arrested as part of the Roman persecution of Christians. While in prison, he is said to have healed the eyesight of his jailor’s daughter, and before being executed on Feb. 14, 269 c.e., he wrote her a note signed “Your Valentine.” “

Two centuries later, in 496 c.e., Pope Gelasius I named Valentine a saint, marking February 14 as his holiday.

Cupid factors in as the son of Venus, Roman goddess of fertility, beauty and love. Unclear who his father was. Various legends indicate this is between Mars, Jupiter and Vulcan. Cupid is considered to be the god of romantic desire. The interesting thing I didn’t realise is that he has two types of arrows, gifted from his mother. Some of the points were gold, which he used to grant love, and the others were led, with which he could sow ingratitude, hate and forget. So he could bring couples together, but also separate them.

Quotes from various sources.

14/01/2025

I wrote a little something, and it was too long for an ordinary post, so I turned it into a little article. Just a few of my musings on dreams, rest, the year to come, and hopefully a message of the importance of maintaining your health and wellbeing.

It's how I am choosing to kick off my posts this new year.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dont-give-up-your-dreams-keep-sleeping-importance-rest-andrews-3u3me?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

29/12/2024

You may or may not know that I have an obsession about finding the stories of entrepreneurship - in particular those of success amongst female business owners, business, innovation, creativity, branding and the overcoming of adversity and discrimination, so when I discovered there was a film depicting the tale of the Widow Clicquot, I had to watch.

So many takeaways to do with resilience, the challenges of business and risk. The need for faith when so much remains beyond your control, and the need to believe in yourself and your own story to unfold, in the face of massive amounts of doubt and bad opinion from others and the competition. To take such a raw product and to change it based on her own tastes and ideas - walking her own walk away from tried and tested flavours and creations and to make such a mark on her industry, completely changing the face and the flavour of her own fortune as well as the region. Very inspiring.

I wonder, sometimes, what the point of the entrepreneurial life is, and then a tale like this comes along and it resonates deeply. It is not something you choose. It is just something that is. There’s a reason my business slogan has been ‘my business is to create…’ for some time. Thank you for the reminder, Madam Clicquot, and now I know why these boxes spoke to me so strongly earlier this month and potentially which one I have to go back and get… Not to mention the internal reminder that I must get back to the creation of business and telling of stories next year.

Merry Twixtmas all. Indulge me - what dreams, inspirations and aspirations will you be acknowledging and reaching for next year?

08/11/2024

I’m just back from coffee and a catch up with one of my lovely clients Chris Osborn Jewellery. One of the best things about my business journey is that while some clients come and go, some hang around and we have ongoing relationships.

Even though I’m not working in my business currently, it’s a joy to catch up with Chris and watch how she’s developing her business and using my brand materials as she goes.

I also appreciated the kindness she showed when I lost my words and had trouble describing the basic differences between tone and hue, in regards to her design. 😳

As we are now in the lead up to the C word (or just the festive period in general)… if you are in the market for some lovely bespoke crystal jewellery for gifts (or yourself - you’re allowed gifts too) she is at various markets in the lead up to the big event.

If you’re local to Surrey, she will be at Denbies - Dapper and Suave fair this coming Sunday. Or you can find her at her online shop - https://chrisosbornjewelleryandhealing.com.

I’m super proud of her for this, as she’s been working away at her new site for a little while now. Teaching herself to set it up. There is a little glitch with the Security Certificate, which Chris is working to get fixed ASAP, but it’s a safe site.

Well done Chris. Thank you for your ongoing trust and support.

💎

18/10/2024

It’s not often I have Miley Cyrus going on in the background… (much less admit to that…) but she edged her way into the radio stream on my way home, and the lyrics sort of sum up the vibe at the moment.

-

“I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
You'll never reach it
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I, I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb.”

-

There’s a few procedures that are making me advocate for my limitations currently, and I don’t like arguing for limitations, because there is always the worry that if you focus on them too hard, you get to keep them.

So here is the reframe - to find a solution and a way forward you have to see all aspects of the problem. One does not exist without the other, right?!

One step at a time. Crawl if we have to, but climb! And keep that head held high!

Have a great weekend all.

26/09/2024

Update: email [email protected] is fixed and back in use.

📧

Back in July, I posted that I was taking a little time away from my business… and I am still taking that time.

As I’ve needed a little website work, I have let my website, as it was, go, and will release an updated version when I’m ready to. I still have the domain name etc. Rabbit will be back. I promise.

However, in doing this, I’ve managed to disable my email address, so currently I am not receiving anything to [email protected].

If you have sent me something via email, and not received a reply, this is why, and I apologise for the lack of response.

While I resolve the issue, if you need to get in touch, I can receive dms here, or be contacted at [email protected] in its place. I am still checking in to all my platforms periodically, if not as frequently as before while I get myself back on an even keel.

Thank you for understanding.

Now to get rid of the FOMO… Hmm. First world problems.

09/07/2024

Paused:

Back in 2021, I contributed to this article in Freelance Corner about what to do when you fall sick as a freelancer (link at bottom of post). Ironically the sentence before my quote starts with ‘even those who do not suffer chronic conditions…’

When this article was published I had ‘only’ had a bad six months of pneumonia, Covid and DVT… Four years down the line, that combination has meddled with all of my pre-existing health conditions and left me with that ‘chronic’ condition.

This past year has been particularly challenging, as we come up to a first anniversary of the date when doctors asked me to put work down, and completely concentrate on my health. And so, reluctantly I put down my brand styling work and my mentoring and I resolved to work on my habits, diet, exercise and medications, and actually relax a little. Turns out, I’m not so good at the resting part…

I maintained a role in volunteering, as a way to monitor my work fitness and keep a social aspect to things, as I felt loosing that might lead to depression. What it actually lead to was complete and utter burn out. So now I have put it ALL down and am working on plans to relax and heal. I’ve slept more these past two weeks since I put this role down, than I have in a long time.

Why am I putting all this personal type stuff up on a business page you might ask??

Well, when I was asked to put the work down, I felt shame. I didn’t have a huge life threatening condition, like say, Cancer. Touch wood. And yet… I do have conditions that are considered as serious if not managed properly, and we are still working out how to best manage them.

I’ve worked since I was 14 - you know, that silly little paper round still counts - and I am hugely independent. A background example might be this:

At 15, when Intercranial Hypertension landed me in hospital for 2 weeks of my summer holidays, and then half days at school for the entirety of year 11 and my GCSEs, I still battled hard to earn all of my 10 A-C grade GCSEs and went on to do a physical month long expedition around Costa Rica less than a year after, and then 3 A Levels and an AS Level. So you see, resting on my laurels, is not something that comes easily.

I post this now, as I feel it is important for all aspects of a working life to be noted. I don’t think I am on my own in the wanting to power through health challenges, and life changes rather than taking a beat to rest. I bring more empathy to my clients and mentees, than I afford myself. Ensuring appropriate rest breaks and reasonable work hours are things I would adjust or question for others in the support of their overall goals, and it is something that I challenge myself with now.

I have had 2 weeks of sleep and rest - and more is needed - but I am now starting to look at what needs to be done. How I pick myself up from this point, without the shame. My beloved brand, Rabbit and Other Stories, currently sleeps. It needs to be reworked so that I run the business and not the other way around. I immerse myself deeply in the stories of the brands and business owners that I work with, and love that aspect, but I will be looking at redeveloping services that do not take quite so much of me with them. They have always been a collaborative experience with the business owner, so I am looking forwards to reworking what that looks like in business speak. Mentoring, also holds a big place in my business heart. I’ve really enjoyed my time helping other business owners in the governments ’Help to Grow’ scheme, and mentoring students/flourishing entrepreneurs through a couple of other programmes.

For now, maybe rest for me looks a lot like - sleep, time in my lovely Surrey Hills home and nature, perhaps a course or two that I am already signed up for and I have my eyes trained on delving into Fiona Humberstone's Summer School programme, when it arrives.

And perhaps, giving myself both grace and time to figure out the health stuff. That it is ok to take steps to advocate for that, because truly, if we don’t have our health, what do we have?

I want to thank some in my business network, who have been so kind and supportive when I admitted half year into work sign off, that I was feeling something of a business fraud, and not only encouraged me to still come to the meet-ups, but helped me to be less ashamed of where I found myself, and made allowances for me when I was symptomatic - anything from energy outages, to vocabulary that went for a wonder. Friends that make allowances for me that a trip into a London exhibit, now requires planning, in rest breaks and clearing of the diary for a couple of days either side of said visit, to rest and ensure optimal energy levels when out.

Rabbit will be back, I promise.

I want to invite you all to take a good long look at your habits and your health and ask yourself if they are working for you. I have first hand knowledge of how the body will take care of what you don’t think you need to, and it won’t necessarily do it in a way that is convenient for you.

Please stay in touch. The kettle at my local tea shop is always on if you’re in the area. And they do a mean cream tea.

Link as promised - https://freelancecorner.co.uk/what-to-do-when-you-fall-sick-as-a-freelancer/?