Hello Again… It’s Been a While, Hasn’t It?

You know that feeling when you bump into an old friend and somehow years have passed—but it still feels like yesterday? That’s me, dusting off this little corner of the internet, brushing cat fur off my keyboard, and wondering where on earth the time went.

If you’re new here (or if you’ve forgotten about me entirely—rude but understandable), I’m Mandy. I’m still very much living my independent woman, slightly feral cat lady, romcom protagonist in the wrong movie life. Yes, still single forever—thank you for asking. And honestly? Not mad about it.

🐾 The Current Cat Chaos Roll Call

• Charlie – Legendary cat, absolute icon, still running the household like he pays rent.

• Angus Beans – The smallest, sassiest kitten with a name far too grand for his tiny legs.

• Iris – The wise elder of the group, quietly judging everyone from her favourite spot.

• Maggie – Found abandoned in a recycling centre and now living her absolute best life (because obviously, she owns the place).

• Jasper – Technically my daughter Abigail’s cat, but you know how it goes—visitation rights and all that.

Somehow, between the cat wrangling and my long-standing phobia of bananas (yes, that’s still a thing—don’t ask), life took an unexpected turn thanks to TikTok. What started as me rambling into my phone has turned into a full-on career. I’m now a content creator across TikTok, Amazon, YouTube, and apparently back here again. Who knew over-sharing on the internet could be so profitable?

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📱 Where You Can Find Me These Days

• 💫 Follow me on TikTok (@mandyyourtiktokmum) – for chaotic storytelling, product reviews, life updates, and occasional existential dread (with a side of cat content).

• 🛍️ Shop My Amazon Storefront – if you’re wondering “Where did she get that ridiculous but oddly life-improving gadget?” it’s probably here. Curated, tried, tested, and Mandy-approved.

• 📌 Hang out on Pinterest – perfect for late-night scrolling and finding all the pretty things I don’t actually need but desperately want.

• 🎥 Join me on YouTube – yes, we’re doing that now too! Expect honest reviews, a bit of chaos, and the occasional unplanned existential crisis.

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This year, I’m all about embracing joy again—more travel, more cats, more unhinged product reviews, and maybe even a little theatre obsession thrown in for good measure. And if you’ve stuck with me this far, you’re officially part of the VIP club (no membership card required, just a tolerance for sarcasm and the occasional cat photobomb).

So, grab a coffee, settle in, and let’s make this next chapter the most chaotic, hilarious, and gloriously unfiltered one yet.

P.S. Tell me in the comments—what have you been up to? And if it involves acquiring more cats, please know I am fully supportive.

The Hardest Thing is Letting Go: The Emotional Journey of Closing My Business

 

The Hardest Thing is Letting Go: The Emotional Journey of Closing My Business

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when it involves letting go of something you've poured your heart and soul into. Today, with a heavy heart, I share my personal journey of closing my beloved business. Join me as I navigate the depths of emotion and bid farewell to a chapter that defined my entrepreneurial spirit.

The Birth of a Dream 

From the moment I envisioned Philomena's Boutique, it became an extension of my very being. It was more than a venture; it was a representation of my passion and a testament to my resilience. Countless sleepless nights and tireless efforts birthed my dream, and seeing it flourish brought immeasurable joy. But as the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end."

Navigating the Storms 

Running a business is not for the faint-hearted. I weathered storms, both literal and metaphorical, that threatened to shake the very foundations I had built. I battled through economic downturns, fierce competition, and personal sacrifices. Yet, each challenge further fueled my determination to keep going, until the weight of it all became too heavy to bear.

The Unseen Toll 

Behind the scenes, the toll of entrepreneurship can be invisible. The sleepless nights and the constant weight of responsibility took their toll on my physical and mental well-being. Sacrificing personal relationships and neglecting self-care became the norm. It became clear that I needed to reassess my priorities and address the imbalance that had slowly eroded my joy. At first, I hired Robyn and that worked so well but then Robyn also became anxious, in serving wonderful customers we also encountered aggressive, rude, abusive people, some of whom actually threatened us.  No cup or bowl or handmade item is worth that and we choose to save our mental health first and foremost.

The Bittersweet Farewell 

Saying goodbye to something you love is a cocktail of emotions—bittersweet, nostalgic, and undeniably painful. As I made the difficult decision to close my business, I mourn the loss of the community I have built, the customers I have served, and the dreams that fueled my ambition. But in that farewell, I also discovered an opportunity for growth and new beginnings. Today, as of now, Philomena's Boutique is up for sale. I will continue to run the business until such a time as it sells but I will be removing all of the handmade goods and continuing with gifts I don't make, ones which with the click of a button I can send to your home wherever I may be.

Closing my business is undoubtedly the hardest thing I've ever done. It requires immense strength to acknowledge that letting go is not a sign of failure but a leap of faith towards personal well-being and happiness. I choose to cherish the memories, the lessons learned, and the strength gained throughout this journey. Today, I embark on a new path, eager to apply the wisdom acquired and embrace the unknown with an open heart.  I will continue to build Mandy Charlton Photography, I've been a photographer in Newcastle since the 22nd of June 2007 and I'm happy to say that I have work coming in and a busy calendar for weddings for the next couple of years.  I also continue to thrive on TikTok where I have my own TikTok shop making affiliate income from sales, it's completely unstressful and as I have found, I can make more from one 15-second video than a whole week of constant work and stress at Philomena's Boutique.

Philomena's Boutique has so much potential in the right hands but it needs someone with vast amounts of energy and a healthy wallet of cash, we recently reached a six-figure valuation but if you're out there reading this, know that I would take half of that to walk away tomorrow.

I really do not know what the future holds but I do know this, in 6 months I am going to be 50, it's time to read books in the sunshine, it's time to have an easier life, it's time to enjoy just being me for a while.

What happens when you go viral on TikTok?

You may have noticed that I have not been blogging lately and honestly, it's mostly down to TikTok.  For all of the love I have for social media, nothing has been so impactful as TikTok and as I've recently gone viral I thought I would share what actually happens when you go viral on TikTok.

I started doing TikTok for fun during the winter lockdown, I shared the walks that I was doing and my aim was to get to 1000 followers.  Within a month I accidentally had a semi-viral post of my pets being ridiculous and I started to get a few more followers, I then had a gradual build until I posted about some money-saving travel hacks and that got me to around 7000 followers, it was lovely and slow and steady and then suddenly I found my feet.

If you want to be successful on social media you need to add value or entertain, teaching people to do things in one minute or less seemed to me like a challenge and as I make things for Christmas every year I thought I would share the process.  I made a few videos that had some good views and I could see myself reaching 10,000 followers and being able to join the creator fund.  Then I posted a 1-minute Tiktok documenting myself making Rhubarb gin and everything changed.

Since I posted that TikTok on the 22nd of September my follower count has risen from just over 8k to just over 40k and that one TikTok has reached over 465000 people, let's just think about how many people that would be in real life?!!  It's not only brought me followers but it's made me the loveliest community, a community of people who love making things, who love gin and who adore Christmas.  It is the best community and if you fancy joining me I'm Mandyyourtiktokmum I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up the content ideas but honestly, the internet is so full of things you can make that I can't see me running out of ideas anytime soon.

Has it changed my life or lead to my business going viral and selling out?  No, honestly, it hasn't but I use TikTok not to push my businesses but because I've always wanted to be a creator, I love making things and I love creating content.  I do have some added extras on my profile like my shop is connected in my profile through Shopify and yes, I definitely get sales that way but I would never encourage anyone to go viral on TikTok with the expectation that it's going to skyrocket their business.  It might do in certain circumstances and it really depends on what your TT that goes viral is all about.  

In the future I'd love to teach people how to make things, it's where I began all those years ago working in the craft industry.  Abi moves out at the end of this week and I'm turning that room into my craft room.  I plan to make things not just for me but also for Philomena's Boutique I've bought a Cricut, and I have managed to get my hands on a second-hand dye-sublimation printer and my next work purchase is going to be a mug press and T-Shirt/Bag press.  I can't wait to be more creative, especially as the winter is coming and my Jan-March calendar is never all that busy.

Am I worried that in January people will stop watching my content?  Not really because I'm building up a community that is all about making (and gin) and we can make things together all year round.  Handmade things aren't just for Christmas.  Plus I know how to add value in so many areas, I have been practising for this moment for years on other forms of social media, it's just how I happened to have found my people on TikTok.

Between various forms of social media and my blog I can reach way over 100k people a month, in fact, the last month alone on TikTok I've reached around 1 million people in total and we're only just at the start of video content, this is only going to keep growing over the years and I am there for it, I love it all!!

Do I get trolled?  Yes, occasionally, it's the curse of social media but I just block and delete, I'm pretty laid back when it comes to such things and I have the most supportive group of cheerleading friends who are all there behind me to keep me grounded and remind me that I am enough.

So if you're missing my daily updates you can find me on TikTok and I promise to still try and find the time to write, it didn't help that I shot 5 weddings in the space of 2 weeks and I've only just come out of the editing hole I was in for a month!!  Life moves pretty fast, I heard that somewhere...