Hanji Business....

Well here I am sitting at my computer in my Hanji room in Adelaide.

 Joy for joy!

I'm surrounded by all my lovely Hanji papers, cardboard, books, tools, worktables and, with a project underway I couldn't be happier. My computer and printer are now working so it's time to do a blog post after what seems like such a long break.

It's been a while since I've had my Hanji things around me and have had a daily routine of creativity in my life. Its been 4 months and in that time Ron and I've packed up our 2 storey house in the UAE, including my studio full of all things Hanji, moved across the other side of the world back to Australia, organised and overseen the workmen to get our house in Adelaide renovated, unpacked around 280 boxes and had to find places for everything in a smaller, but very lovely townhouse. 

We keep saying that we need to downsize as we get older and we've certainly achieved that with our new dwelling but it's all the things that don't fit into the house that cause the problem!!  We've had to ask ourselves where do our priorities lie and as you can see, my Hanji Room has won out and I must add that Ron's mezzanine study area has had equal priority as well. 

My room is to be multipurpose and used as a spare room for guests and grandchildrens sleepovers so we're working on the functionality of it at the moment which will become easier as time goes by and I'm able to find a studio for my Hanji collection. 

Settling in is an ongoing process but we're nearly there and now I finally have time to get my head around setting up and establishing my HANJI business.

I did manage to register my business name last week and I'm very excited to now have an ABN (Australian Business Number) too so I'm officially the owner of:

                                HANJI

                     ABN 48304950644

I've opted to keep the name short rather than using 'Hanji Happenings' as it may be too much of a mouthful for people to remember plus, as a friend very kindly informed me, "It's very 70's!" 

As many of you will know, the meaning of 'Hanji' is not widely known in the Western world so I'm going to have an uphill battle  trying to get it known here in Adelaide  but I'm aware of the problem and am really looking forward to the challenges ahead and spending time promoting something that I love doing and I think others will enjoy too.

My next step is to find a studio space where I can set up classrooms and workshops, hopefully not too far from the house but in a nice environment where people will want to come and learn this new craft. 

Fortunately we're situated in an up and coming  suburb of Adelaide just 4 kms from the city centre and in the next suburb there's  a billion dollar development going on over the next 10 to 20 years.  It's in it's early stages now but Bowden is to be a hub for young people, artists and those who want a 'life more interesting'. It's being promoted as 'a creative place where residents and visitors can enjoy vibrant street art and gallery exhibitions'  and I'm looking forward to being a part of this community.

Now we're nearly settled I'll definitely keep you posted more regularly on how the business setup is going here in Australia and look forward to sharing the many ups and downs of these new experiences  with you in the future.