Spring has sprung: another business cycle

Spring has sprung, another business cycle - Dala Muses

Spring has finally sprung in Sweden. Finally! After the longest Winter I ever experienced in my life. It isn’t the first time I mention that I’m really affected by the seasons, even in business. I wrote about Summer and Winter before. It isn’t any different this time. Spring is the season of planting new seeds and ideas, the season of opportunity and blossoms. I’m living more outwards (less introvert), everything feels lighter, I pay more attention to things around me and see possibilities. Read more →

Red and blue colors in Scandinavian interiors, part 1.

Credit: Drömhem och Trädgård & theswedishfurniture.com

I’m so curious about your homes. Though many of you and I share a common interest in DIY, home decor or even furniture painting, we may prefer totally different colors. This is so interesting! I wish I could visit each and every one of your homes, experience “the vibe” and see how it links to your unique personality.

I played around with neutrals for a very long time, but red and blue were never far away. For many years different tones of North American historical reds and blues were a large inspiration after a trip to New England. I call them ‘barn red’ and ‘colonial blue’. Does that make sense, dear North American readers?  Read more →

Visual journaling for business: collages

Visual journaling for business - Dala Muses

I like these early evening hours at the end of Winter. Not yet dark, with a very quiet atmosphere here in the woods and the perfect moment to write. I want to tell a little bit about my collages, a creative outlet that starts in school and so often stays exactly there: in school.  But not in our house. I’m 38 years old, but I still love making collages and I do take them very seriously. I glue them in what I call my ‘visual journal’. Read more →

Painting furniture as art therapy

Painting furniture as art therapy - Dala Muses

Many years ago I was a teacher at a university college, teaching communication and writing skills for social workers. The first day I walked into that school I was given a ‘buddy’, another teacher that could help me getting used to the new job and school. She, her name was An, was also an art therapist. It sparked my interest, it inspired me without really knowing what the meaning was of my sudden interest. After all, I didn’t consider myself as creative or artsy at that point. I was a teacher and a researcher for local governments involving a lot of statistics. I guess you can see why I didn’t understand the meaning of being inspired by an art therapist? It felt like it came out of nowhere. Read more →

Business growth when you don’t have time

Business growth when you don't have time - Dala Muses

Hello from winter wonderland. It has been such a long time since I wrote on this blog. I missed it a lot! It’s one of the creative outlets that brings me joy, and is just another way to express myself. I’m glad to be back. The past weeks were a bit rocky in our family and I just didn’t have a lot of time left to write, work on my business or even relax a little bit. I hesitated to write ‘not a lot of time to work on my business’, because I’m a business coach. Who wants to read that a business coach doesn’t have a lot of time for her business, I was thinking? But hey, let’s be real, I have difficulties too, just like anybody else. Let’s not fake things, there’s already so much fake in this world. Read more →