This is how it all started

A few years ago, my oldest son struggled with making mistakes. Everything had to be perfect right away. After every creative session, we were left with a huge pile of crumpled and torn papers. "But it doesn't have to be perfect," I'd say.

It didn't resonate at all. And I actually knew why: what I said didn't match how I truly felt inside. I also had some work to do on my own, regarding perfectionism and fear of failure.

Praatplaat 'Stappenplan bij fouten en mislukkingen'. Op de plaat zie je kinderen die balen dat iets niet lukt. Stap 1 is: zucht eens diep, wat voel je? Dat is oke! Stap 2 is: wees lief voor jezelf. Zeg 'ik kan het nu nog niet' Probeer het nog een keer. Stap 3 is: juich voor je brein! Als je oefent kun je overal beter in worden.

One of the steps in that process was drawing a picture about making mistakes. I made it just for my children and myself, to make the conversation easier. They were also allowed to contribute ideas, and that's how we came up with the slogan "A mistake is GOLD."

After a while I put it on LinkedIn, not for sales, but just to show something of my process.

It turned out that there were many more people who struggle with making mistakes. And who would love to have the picture themselves.

I eventually set up a small online store to make things easier, and discovered that people actually wanted to buy my artwork. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to start drawing more. I set a few guidelines: I always draw from my own interests or experiences. And I create artwork that is positive, focused on inclusion, diversity, and self-acceptance.

Portret van Michèlle. Ze wijst naar haar t-shirt, daar staat in het Engels op: kindness matters.

Hundreds of parents, teachers, schools, colleges and universities, companies, coaches, psychologists, and therapists have already hung my talking pictures on their walls. The "Step-by-step plan for mistakes and failures" (a mistake is GOLD) is even included in Tirtsa Ehrlich's book "Children and young people with ADHD: how do you help them? "

With your order, you're making it possible for me to generate an increasing portion of my income from the talking pictures. For me, that's truly a dream, because it gives me the space to keep creating new pictures and making the world a little more beautiful. Thank you!