A Creative Life: Trendy Peas

Thanks to Designing Mom Tori, we have a great ongoing list of children's art on the blog that we love contributing to. So I was more than delighted to hear from Patricia Cancado, co-creator of Trendy Peas, about her modern (and affordable!) stationery and wall art for nurseries and kid's rooms. Read on about Patricia's "day-in-a-life" and click here to go to their website!

How do you balance life as a mom and working on Trendy Peas? I am able to focus on what I am doing in any given moment. When I am working on Trendy Peas, I am focused on the tasks at hand, but when I am with my family I can quickly turn my focus to my kids. I do my best to just be a mom when I am with my kids. This way, there are no distractions, I am always focused on what I am doing at the moment and I can accomplish much more. My family always gets the most of mom and I can get the most of them too when I don’t have to worry about any deadlines, new designs and collections. I know I will have enough time to accomplish my business goals tomorrow with minimum distractions.

What are some the rewards to starting your own business?
It is a wonderful feeling to design my own ideas and create products that I love and that I am proud about, and most important products that are welcomed by a specific target market. It is rewarding to know that at the end of the day I have done what I like to do best and what I feel I was made to do, design. I can accomplish this with my business and have fun as well. I can also say that starting my own business has allowed me to spend more time with my kids. And that is the best gift of all.

What about the challenges?
It is always difficult to start any kind of business in any market with any economy. With an online shop, the hardest job is to drive traffic to the site. It can be very challenging to reach a specific target market. I am lucky to run both my businesses, Trendy Peas and CCK Studio, with the help, leadership, and support of my sister Raquel. She is not only a great business partner; but she is also a dear friend. She has always been a great supporter of my design and creative ideas. I know that no matter the challenge we will be able to face it together.

What is a typical day in the life for you?

I usually try to get most of my work done in the morning. During this time, I balance the work that I do with Trendy Peas, with the work that I do as a graphic designer with my second business CCK Studio. I keep everything organized so things can flow easily. I try to maximize my hours by focusing on small goals, so I can get a lot done. Then in the afternoon I am free to enjoy my time with my kids, Isabela who is 2 and half years old and my seven-month old son Marcus. They inspire my work daily. In fact, they are the reason I started Trendy Peas. I just love to watch them playing. I like to see which colors, shapes, and textures they like best. I like to be surprised with what they discover and how they interact with each other, their toys and nature. Whenever I don’t finish something that needed to be done that day, I always have the evenings, when they are asleep. But I usually try to avoid the evening work so that I can relax a little and spend time with my husband Alex. It is nice to be more than parents once in a while.

Any advice for creative moms out there who want to start their own business?

The best advice that I can give to creative moms who want to start their business is to find a balance between your work and your family. It isn’t easy to find that balance. But the days that you do, you will be able to be more creative, create better products and at the end accomplish all your goals. Remember that the goal is not only to be happy in business but also be able to dedicate a lot of time to your family.