New Beginnings here at The Digichick!

[nicoleseitler]

Dear Digichick Friends,

For three wonderful years I have been running the show here at The Digichick, but the time has come for me to pass along the reins to someone else.

If you've gotten to know me during my time here, then you know how busy my life is. I have four kiddos--and that right there makes life crazy enough. LOL! But I also homeschool. And I design for both the digital and the paper industry. Along with all of that, I've been running TDC as well. Whenever I meet someone and they ask "So, what do you do?" I hesitate to tell them! "Oh, I have four kids... I homeschool... I run two on-line businesses... and I am a freelance graphic designer." I can see it on their faces as they transition from thinking "She's 'just' a SAHM" to thinking "Good Lord, she's crazy!"

When first I took over TDC, I had two kids--just 5 and 2. School didn't take more than an hour a day. But now I have two students (plus two toddlers to entertain!) and school takes up at least 5 hours a day. Then there are all those other things we hate to do--things like cooking and cleaning--that I was happy to ignore. LOL! On a good day here at home, I would have maybe two hours left over for designing AND taking care of the Digichick. That's just not enough for either of those things. On a good day for my business, my kids would do their math on their own and then beg me to play video games for the rest of the day... and dinner would come from Wendy's... and my husband would have no clean socks or ironed shirts for work the next day. LOL! I've been falling off the horse on one side or the other on any given day for far too long.

By stepping back from running TDC and freeing up my time for taking care of my family and designing alone, I hope to restore some peace to my life. A new kit can wait a week. Customer service can't. I need that kind of flexibility in my life right now. Designing has always been my first love and I am excited to get back to focusing on it full time once again. I took over the shop here, not because it was my goal to someday be a store owner--quite the opposite! I've never really felt comfortable being "The Boss." LOL! But I thought that I could do a good job of it and I have truly enjoyed my time here. I'm just at the place now where I am fully aware that I really can't do it all. Honestly, I've known this for more than a year... I've just been hanging in there, smiling and still trying to make it all work. But then in January I had a big, tearful heart-to-heart with my mom and I finally came to a real breaking point a few weeks thereafter. I knew it really was time to take this step.

The Digichick has had a long history of passing the torch on from one girl to the next. When thinking about who might be the best candidate to fill my shoes, one person came to mind--someone who loves this place and has been here longer than I have! I am happy to announce that Sinead Turner has taken over the reins and is currently doing an awesome job handling the day to day affairs of the site.

Sinead has been working hard behind the scenes here for years helping to run our events and take good care of our designers. Starting in February, she began to take over more and more tasks and now she knows how to run the whole ship! (See how smooth that was? You didn't even know about it!) I know that you are in good hands with Sinead at the helm. Because she is not a designer, Sinead will not have the same conflicts with her time as I have had. She won't feel torn and she won't be distracted. (Whoever came up with the whole "Store Owners should be Designers" thing has no idea what that insanity is like. LOL!) I am confident that under her leadership, TDC will continue to grow and shine and I am so happy to hand over my "famous" rolling pin to such a capable person.

With this change, other changes were bound to happen--just as it did when I first came on board. When something like this occurs, it causes us all to look around us and question if the time is right to make even more changes. Some of our designers have decided that it's time for them to either retire from the spotlight for a little while or move to a different shop in the hopes of finding their perfect audience. While that is sad and we will miss them, we are also happy to let you know that we are fortunate to have a ton of guests coming to visit us in April and May--and you never know who might find that they have a happy home here at TDC! We hope you will make them feel welcome!

So, please join me in welcoming Sinead!

I know she is nervous but excited to have the news out there. I hope you will be as kind to her as you have been to me.

[Charla]

I'm going to miss having you at the helm, Nicole, but I'm so excited that you handed it over to someone so perfect for the position. I LOVE Sinead and know she'll use the passion she's always had for TDC to make it ever more inviting and striving for excellence!!

Meantime, mind if I a little more??

[chloe]

You were a fabulous "boss lady" Nicole, no matter how uncomfortable you were with this idea, and I can totally understand how crazy your schedule was. I'm glad you pass the rolling pin to Sinead. I've known her since a long time, I think since I joined TDC waaaaayyyyy back in 2006 (gah, I just dated myself!) and I know she's totally dedicated to this community... or should I say family? And no matter how sad I am to see you step out of the captain's position, Nicole, I'm really excited to see you designing more.

you both, Nicole and Sinead!

[melissaj17]

Congrats to you both, Nicole and Sinead!

Nicole you will be sorely missed here, but I will continue to stalk you for those gorgeous designs!! Sinead, you rock!

[sinead]

Nicole, thank you for your sweet words. We will truly miss having you at the helm here, and I know that I have big shoes to fill. I will definitely work hard to keep this place the awesome place that it is and has been for almost seven years. I haven't been here since the beginning, but I have been here for most of those seven years, and I'm committed to continuing the long-held tradition of a friendly loving community and a boutique that offers what I feel as some of the best products in the digi world. I hope that you'll all stick around with us as we continue to improve and grow!

[HeatherB]

Congrats to both Nicole and Sinead!!

[donnawells]

Looking forward to more good times here and to hearing about Nicole's new ventures!

[michellebatton]

Congrats Sinead and looking forward to continuing on and supporting you in this wonderful journey! Best wishes to you Nicole and hope your dreams are fulfilled

[Unica]

Big congrats Sinead, there is nobody I can think better fit for taking over this family Nicole, we will miss you so very much.

[IntenseMagic]

Nicole, you will be missed and the site has been so fortunate to have you wielding the rolling pin But I'm also happy for you, that you have found what works for you in life instead of just continuing to do what you think you should and trying to make it work. Best of luck in all you do!!
And Sinead, I can't think of anyone any better to take over that rolling pin. You are such such an amazing asset to the site and will make a fabulous leader!
Congrats to you both!!

[KarenLewis]

You've done such a fabulous job in running TDC Nicole and you have influenced and guided me in more ways than you probably know but I'm excited that you are going to have the opportunity to spend more time doing what you are most passionate about.

Sinead congrats on taking over. I know how much you love TDC and I know you will do an excellent job.

[Trista]

Nicole - wow you are one busy woman and kudos to you for holding it together while juggling so much! You are an inspiration. I know you will be missed dearly here at TDC and I hope that I continue to see your PL progress - it is an inspiration for me!

A huge congrats to Sinead for taking over the reins! You are well loved and respected here and I know you will keep this place rocking!

[jomi]

Thanks for being such an amazing site owner and congrats Sinead! You'll do an amazing job for sure

[day]

Well I'm new here, but I've already seen Sinead all over the forum and she seems like an amazing sweet capable person. Imho you made a fantastic choice! Good luck with getting your life back on track again!

[YvetteSanders]

I'm positive you will do a great job Sinead, you always have!

Nicole - Good for you! You have to have balance in your life before you can enjoy it!

[tropt]

Thanks, Nicole, for the wonderful atmosphere you've promoted here at TDC: ideas like focus on what is your priority, leave a legacy, remember the big and small moments, enjoy the creative process and have fun. And those values are what you are honoring as you've evaluated what is working and what is not for you at this time. So kudos to you for focusing on your priority of family and the creative process. Wishing you all the best!

And yay to have Sinead leading out now! She is always soo helpful and positive and I'm sure she has a lot of future fun for us.

[sinead]

Thank you all!

[nicoleseitler]

Thank you all for your words of support and understanding! They mean so much to me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[AnneofAlamo]

day late and dollar short...well, more than a few dollars..I heard there was a changing of guards and I wanted to pop in and say, good golly how you have done what you dun did(no grammar police) Nicole I will never know. This is a welcoming community of people that have fortitude! You have made a marvelous home here, and I think Sinead is the perfect woman to keep that comfort and wonderfulness.
Good luck to you both, and I am honored to have been a DigiChicklet!

[sjdahlblom]

Wow, Nicole. It sounds like you have been busy, busy, busy doing all that. No wonder you have finally decided to pass the torch to the next gal. And what a Gal! ;D Perfect choice I feel, and I've only been here since August.
I do hope you won't leave us altogether, though. We all love you