#1 Why The Dotty Room Exists

Just over 3 years ago, I was newly married and was coming to the end of my degree; I was gearing up to graduate from Dental School & had so much hope for the future.

I'd had a rough childhood & early adulthood; I fought my way through higher education & working my way up in the dental nursing world. Once my life had settled, I set about working towards going back to university - this time to persue working with patients myself!

Life had other plans for me though - so, back to 2018: I went through a traumatic time & persuing working as a clinician got put on hold, as I navigated regressing mental health.

That autumn, I decided to make the spare bedroom into my safe space; somewhere I could work on myself, meditate, paint etc. I bought some rainbow vinyl dots & decorated the main wall - it was then that we started referring to it as The Dotty Room.

My mental health came to crisis point in early 2020 & I started crafting to help myself; I made myself some selfcare & self-harm alternative cards, and set about making a envelope to keep them in. I joined Instagram around this time, as the Selfcare Corner (as I had no thoughts of a shop at this point) and shared my crafts - I was quickly DM'd asking to make them for others too. And so the seeds of TDR were sewn & I quickly learnt that making things for other people not only helped them, which made me feel good but also that the act of crafting was therapuetic.

That was over a year ago & I now can't imagine my life without TDR. I've met so many wonderful people & small businesses through the amazing community on Instagram - I'm so thankful for you all.

Emily xo