Too much of a good thing?

I never thought i'd say this, but it turns out I can't do it all..

As many of you already know, I split my time between two dream jobs;

Firstly I have my own beloved business creating sparkling costumes for burlesque showgirls, skimpy bikinis for strippers, specialized VFX suits for performance and motion capture, orthotic support corsets for wheelchair-bound women, stage bikinis and trunks for professional body builders... the list keeps growing with every new spark of an idea!

And secondly is my other love, special-effects costumes for film.  I'm the second-in-charge of the costume department at Weta Workshop in New Zealand, where my amazing team and I get to create crazy costumes for major film projects like Ghost in the Shell, Power Rangers, Pacific Rim, The Hobbit and so many more.

In creative industries, we nearly always need a side hustle - that second stream of income that keeps the bills paid when your other job is slow (or a film project falls over/is put on hold etc)..  Due to my insane work ethic (absolute workaholic) I've ended up with two main hustles, and as much as i love them both equally, the non-stop work is starting to wear me down and i need to take a break.

Aside from the long hours, my poor old hands & wrists are taking a beating.  I'm sure many of my fellow costumiers will understand the frustration of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tendinitis, it's getting so bad that i can't even hold my phone or open a jar without feeling the effects... I'm even starting to have trouble threading a needle and using a pen, it's a bit scary to be honest.

So i've made the huge decision to cut back on things for the rest of this year, and will be having surgery to help with my wrists.
I've had to weigh the pros and cons of each job, and this time film has won.  I've taken a more supervisory role on this next film project, which means I can rest my hands a little and will be doing less of the actual physical work myself.

I'm not closing down my own business though - far from it!
I'll just be using the spare time in the evenings to review and streamline my business, to make sure that i'm directing my efforts toward the parts of my business that i love the most.
You might notice a few changes on my websites - I'll be taking a few of the more complex items out and only offering the basics.  I love making G strings, and it's where my entire career began so i couldn't possibly stop making them now haha!

So yeah, thank you to all my amazing clients for being so patient over the past few years while i was biting off more than i could chew.  I'm still here, I'm just taking a half step back for a while ;)