kikki.K Workshops

By now you must know that I’m a kikki.K addict. The brand just speaks to me.

The products are gorgeous and I love how inspiring they are. I do use some digital planning systems – it seems almost impossible to escape Microsoft Outlook, but I’ve always been drawn to paper. Particularly for planning, I need to sit and gather my thoughts and then write it out. I think the “writing it out” part helps to cement that in my brain, it really helps me to focus and then remember.

But back to kikki.K – in addition to the gorgeous and inspirational products, the stores themselves are styled in a way that speaks to me. I love the base of white, with the pops of colour. That’s the aesthetic that I aspire to and I think my own home has aspects of that aesthetic.

So I’m always drawn to spending more time in-store. When they began running workshops, I jumped at the chance to go to one. I’ve done the Planner Workshop (twice), a Christmas Workshop, a Mindfulness Workshop and the new Dream.Do.Enjoy.Share Workshop. And I really loved all of them.

The Planner Workshops are fantastic. I went to my first one when I was quite new to planning, and I went to my second one last year, when I already owned (and used) 4 planners and a bullet journal LOL.

But still, I found it useful. It helps you to brainstorm the best ways to use your planner, to work out what you want to track and therefore what sections to set up. It also gives you some insight into their Habits and Goals Workshops by giving you some tools to help you prioritise your tasks – which tasks are the ones you absolutely have, which ones will make your life easier, which ones can wait.

The Christmas Workshop was lots of fun. I still go home to see my family at Christmas and the planning is all done by my Mum (I know right, so lucky!) so the planning part of the workshop was not so relevant to me. Although I can see how awesome it would be for people who have to plan the whole event out.

I really enjoyed the Mindfulness Workshop as well. It’s not something I would have considered attending a few years ago, but as I get older, and as my work makes me more stressed (well, my old work did), I came to relish those moments of Mindfulness. The workshop gave me ideas for practicing Mindfulness, to help me to prioritise myself when I needed to.

What I love about the workshop (apart from the free goodies that you get to take home, and the Lindt chocolates that they give you) is that they give you the tools to continue practicing what you learn. While you’re in a group and everyone has different ideas and needs, they still help you to brainstorm your own needs and apply what you’ve learnt to your own life.

Finally, the Dream.Do.Enjoy.Share. workshop – this was my absolute favourite. Longer than the others, and the newest, it was such a great evening. The content was amazing and thought-provoking and powerful, and even quite emotional for some of us. Aside from that though, it was a perfect intersection of women attending. They were fun, interactive, empowered, unafraid women. It was an absolutely inspiring night. Some of us have kept in touch and we meet up every couple of months.

So, a little about the workshops in general. You pay a fee, but the gift that you receive on the night is usually worth more than the fee. Plus you get a discount off everything purchased on the night, as well as $10 off your next workshop. The instructor introduces herself and the course, and then invites us to introduce ourselves and say something about why we are there and what we hope to achieve from the workshop. She then takes us through the material – either through the planner, or through the workbooks that are provided as the gift. Everyone is given ample opportunity to participate and interact and I find that the people who attend seem to be quite open and honest and genuine people.

If you’re considering a workshop, I would say – if you can spare the $40, do it, it’s a great experience. At worst, you’ll have a night out with like-minded individuals and take home some gorgeous stationery. Almost certainly, you’ll have an inspiring and amazing evening. You may even meet people who you continue to interact with, long after the workshop.

If you want to see more, visit my planning instagram: @desleyjane_plans

Why I Plan.

For me, planning was always quite a private thing. I was initially attracted to the beautiful stationery (you will discover that I am quite a Kikki.K addict – actually all stationery!) but I became drawn to the process of writing things down, recording memories and details and then going back to dwell in those memories later.  I also revel in the structure and routine of the planning process. It makes me feel more organised, and ultimately it leads to me being more productive.

As a child, I had a hardcover diary that my mum gave to me. I treasured it. It was made by The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine – note that the magazine is quite a bit different now compared to how it used to be! The diary was red with white polkadots and filled with images from Australia. It was your typical week-on-two-pages layout and I loved writing in there, running my fingers over the glossy white pages – such seemingly important things going on in my life back then. It was 1988 and we were going to World Expo in Brisbane. There was a cyclone. My grandmother came to stay many times. I don’t think I have that diary anymore, but I still remember those specific details, the large rounded letters etched in my mind.

I wish I could read it again.

Step forward to now and I have numerous planners and notebooks, and notepads, sticky notes, stickers, wash tape, pens (oh! the pens!!). I have, over the last couple of years, began planning again in earnest and it’s something that I now do every day.

So why do I plan?

Firstly, I find the process of writing, drawing, decorating, organising to be therapeutic as well as creative, and I love getting caught up in that.

Secondly, I have a lot of areas of my life to keep track of and I needed some way of making sure that nothing clashes along the way.

Since I’m a list maker (if you’re reading this, I’m sure you love lists as much as I do), here’s my list:

• My 9 – 5 job is corporate and involves a lot project planning, monitoring of social media, analytics, preparation of spreadsheets (ohh my goodness the spreadsheets!).

• I have a side business as a photographer. I primarily do product photography, specifically styled flatlay shoots, creating lifestyle shots for small local businesses.

• I have a website for that photography business which I have to maintain and update.

• I have a photography blog. I have been blogging for almost 3 years now and have a strong community of people there. I run some challenges and enjoy creating new content for that platform.

• I am crafting planner accessories – paper goods centred around my photographs. This is in its very early stages and I need to focus a lot more time on this.

• I create content for social media. I am addicted to Instagram. I have two accounts (one for photography and one for planning) and I really enjoy spending time there. The planning community in particular is a joy to interact with and  I have actually had business come through via Instagram.

• I have a dog and I have family and friends and I love spending time with them.

• I have all of life’s little things – dentist, bills, shopping, all the usual things that we all have to handle.

In future posts, I will go into more detail for how I plan.

PRO TIP: Using multiple planners can help you gain clarity if you have a lot of things going on in your life, however it isn’t for everyone. You may find it too confusing to have your things separated. It really is a personal choice.

Until then, happy planning!