Hey there!

I’ve been pretty quiet here and on social media lately.  Not because nothing is happening.  Just because it’s the same things happening.  Over and over. And over.  Like Groundhog Day.  Do they have groundhogs in the islands…?

But you know what I realized? Even though I feel like I’ve posted about it ad nauseam on IG and Facebook – a lot of you still don’t actually know what’s going on. Blame it on ever changing algorithms, my lack of consistency posting these days or whatever – but people aren’t seeing the posts and I get a lot of questions about where we are and what we are doing.  

Where are you?

We came down to St. Thomas in November of 2020 to buy the catamaran. And guess what – we’re still here 😆

Sure, we left for hurricane season and headed south to Grenada/Carriacou for 4+ months. But travel during Covid was both expensive and annoyingly challenging. We are used to hopping from island to island once a week or so – but at roughly $600US worth of testing every time we wanted to move… Well let’s just say that it’s a good thing we love Grenada, because we spent all of our season hanging out there.

We came back up to St. Thomas in October – because Mark had to get back to work. That’s right. A job. And he not only has a job, but he went in as one of 3 partners in STT Marine Services. All 3 of the partners are cruisers/liveaboards – and with all of the boat buying madness the market has seen over the past couple of years, they have their hands full.

What are you up to?

What started out as Mark working for a few days in November 2020 eventually turned into a full blown business. Mark and the guys like to focus on power systems – Lithium, Solar, and all the components that make it work. (they also do a lot of charter fleet maintenance) I’m sure that’s not shocking if you’ve watched us upgrade this boat. We are certainly not short on power these days. They have a few employees and typically work 6 or 7 days a week. They are currently at the busiest point of the season – as cruisers head south they are making stops here for their major upgrades before sailing further south for Hurricane Season.

I, on the other hand, have been learning to create digital art. I finally bought an iPad in February and have been learning Procreate and Affinity Designer (an alternative to Adobe Illustrator). I love creating art, and am having some success selling paintings here in the USVI. But what about when we leave? (And yes, we will leave) I can’t legally sell my items in foreign countries without going through the proper channels. And while other cruisers often buy my perfectly boat-sized paintings, it’s not enough to really count on as an income.

That’s a Thing?

One day, I don’t even remember when or where, I learned that creating patterns is an actual job.

I had been making my own swim suits on the boat. It’s really hard to find them down island – we can’t just run over to the Target clearance rack down here. We DO have not one but TWO of the only remaining Kmarts in the US right here on St. Thomas. But yeah. Quality swimsuits are lucky to make it 2 seasons, so sub-par quality stuff doesn’t have a chance in this sunny, salt water environment.

The problem for me is that I can never find fabric that I love. When I flew back to the States in 2021 for my semiannual blood work, I searched and searched Jacksonville, FL. While I did come back with quite a bit to work with, it really got me thinking about the limited choice of swim fabrics. Thus the giant rabbit hole I leapt down with both feet.

Dude. I love computers. I love art. WHY have I never combined the two!!? Well – to be honest, it was barely even a thing when I was in college getting my art degree. But now? Now it’s everywhere.

The Process

I’ve spent the past couple of months pouring through Skillshare classes, YouTube videos and “free” courses online. I’ve set up both a Spoonflower and Society 6 store (I’m still a novice and they are still in the works, but feel free to have a gander) And I’ve started spending a good 6-8+ hours a day learning, practicing and creating. I could not be more obsessed.

If you know me, you may know I love what other people often is feel is tedious, mind numbingly repetitive work. Spreadsheets? Yes, please. But this? Oh my. This pattern creating is both creating the art images AND arranging them much like a puzzle – but with no correct answer. I. Am. In. Heaven.

And the icing on top? I can sell the prints in a variety of places – purely online. I can easily work anywhere on my iPad, and then upload my new designs when I have solid wifi. It’s like a perfect Digital Nomad fit for me.

What’s Next:

We will still be here in St. Thomas, USVI until sometime in July. Then we head down to the Grenadines. I’m continuing to plug along at these designs and learn as much about the industry as I can. Mark is working his butt off and having a blast doing it. But man. We are both ready to return to the beautiful Grenadines in a couple of months. I got a wind surfer for my birthday this year and cannot wait to crash epically learn to use it!

About Author

Jennifer

Artist, food nerd, SUP/yoga enthusiast and travel obsessed blogger – chronicling the process of going from land to sea. Selling all of her worldly possessions so that she can set sail into the sunset with her husband and two dachshunds – searching for that next sunrise paddle. Follow along. It’ll be fun 🙂

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