6th Birthday - A look back over the years.
Miss Priss Polish opened its online shop in August of 2015. Six years on we're still going! So I thought it might be nice to take a look back at some of the highlights.
The first collection that was released was the Piece of Me Collection which featured four jelly polishes, designed for layering and nail art. Even though this was the first collection that I released, I had already made heaps of polishes by this point. I had been experimenting and creating for almost a year before opening my shop. Early on I had decided that when I started selling my polishes, I wanted to start with something simple. These polishes are still available today.
2016 was our first full year in business. As I look back I see that this year was heavy on the sparkly holographic glitter. The Celebration Collection Part 1 and 2 featured colourful micro glitter and golden flakes, while the Hidden Treasures Collection featured chunky colourful glitters in a silver base. This year even saw the start of our most popular polish to date: "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" the perfect holographic gold, which is still available seasonally.
2017 was probably my most productive and favourite year. This was the year of Indie Con. I loved being surrounded by other people who loved indie nail polish and being able to share that with each other. That year I also released two of my favourite collections; The Believe In Mermaids Collection and The Unicorn Trio. Polishes from these collections are have made a come back every now and then. Is it time to bring some of them back again?
Our two most notable collections from 2018 were The Sweetest Friends Collection, inspired by Strawberry Shortcake and friends, and The My Little Pony Collection, which, of course, was inspired by My Little Pony. I really loved doing these collections as these collections really got me into creating polishes from a specific inspiration, rather than around a theme, colour, or finish.
In 2019 the most notable collection was The Happily Ever After Collection Part 1 & 2. These collections were inspired by Disney princesses, which was a really fun inspiration to work with. I did a fair bit of research behind the seasons for this collection, mostly rewatching Disney princess movies, but that's still considered research, right? This collection has been restocked a few times since its release, and some polishes are still available today. By 2019 I was attending the Handmade In The Hunter Markets regularly. Sometimes the early mornings, long drives, and longer days were very tiresome (especially after already working a full time job during the week). But I loved being able to sell directly to customers, face-to-face, sharing my passion.
We all know that 2020 was a crazy year, but it didn't stop me from making polishes! My attendance at markets ended, but allowed me to put more focus into my online business. During 2020 a few small trios were released, including my first thermal polishes. Throughout 2020 I took less inspiration from specific sources (such as the character inspired polishes from above)
and let more of the inspiration flow. I released a few stand-alone polishes that weren't part of any specific collection, as well as The All Mixed Up Collection. These polishes were purely creational and not inspired by anything. Creating in this way was a nice change of pace. But that wasn't it for 2020. I also created two collections based around a colour theme. The LOUD Collection was a collection of neon creme polishes and The Fruity Flavours Collection which were neon dots glitter toppers. Surprisingly, these two collections have been my most successful launches, almost selling out within the first week and requiring a quick restock.
In 2021 I began a new chapter in my personal life by moving to a small rural town to focus on my career as a primary school teacher. Because of my new job polish making for Miss Priss has slowed down significantly this year. Earlier in the year I did release my second trio of thermal polishes, but my main focus has been contributing to the bi-monthly Indies Down Under collaborations. I'm loving being part of a collaborative project on a regular basis and working from different sources of inspiration. In the past I've only participated in a few collaborations sporadically as a guest or part of a one off fundraiser. I do want to share that I have been working on two major collections in the background, but big things take time, lots of time, and I haven't had much time due to my career, so progress on the new collection is slow. I have already leaked some sneak peeks on my instagram story, so keep an eye out for more coming soon.
Looking to the future...
I hope to continue creating and sharing polishes for as long as I can, and I plan to continue doing so as long as I find enjoyment in it. Often when people that I work with find out out my side business and see pictures of my nail art and the polishes that I have created I usually then get asked something along the lines of "Why are you a teacher? You are so talented, you should be doing this full time!" My response is always the same: "I don't want to mix business with pleasure." I then go on to explain that I do it because I love it. I never want nail polish to become something that I have to do. If I just don't feel like painting my nails or creating a nail polish, I don't have to. I can stop at any time. This gives me the freedom to create whatever I want, whenever I want, and I love it! I don't think my business would be the same if it became something that I had to do. Doing it because I really want to do it, means that everything that I do is done with intention, purpose and love.
- Bettina
