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Reflections on 2012, and looking to 2013

Last updated on April 2nd, 2021 at 09:03 pm

Forgive me if this post doesn’t contain new information about corseting per se. I don’t really share my personal life on this blog, but thought it appropriate to write something a bit more personal as 2012 comes to a close. After all, I am a human being and don’t take the role of teacher all the time.

2012 was the first full year that I’ve been out of school. It’s also the year that I probably worked the hardest in my life. January 5th 2012 was the day I launched lucycorsetry.com and in less than a year, it has grown to proportions of which I had never dreamed.

Personal Growth

Many of my long-time viewers know that I’ve battled depression in the past, and I’m proud to say that this year was the year I finally learned to manage it. It may be common where I live (especially in the winter), but it doesn’t have to run my life. Under the direction of 3 separate doctors, I discontinued my medication and I now make sure I’m taking in enough Omega3 and vitamin D, getting enough exercise, and that I get out and socialize on a regular basis.

Each day I still struggle to not be hypersensitive towards things such as offensive Youtube comments left on my videos. But now more often than not, I simply block and delete instead of replying, which prevents sparking flame wars. Within a day or two I completely forget about the negative situation. My time is precious and shouldn’t be wasted on having the last word, when I can just choose peace over pride. The amazing support from my followers helps make each day easier, and I’m infinitely happier when I focus on their love.

Accomplishments of 2012

CORSET REVIEWS – This year I published an incredible 111 videos on my main Youtube channel, which included an unbelievable 35 corset reviews! This time last year, I was worried that I would not be able to sustain my channel. You, my wonderful viewers, came to the rescue, and I sincerely hope I’ve kept my promise of providing in-depth reviews of the corset brands you want, and of giving back in other ways.

GIVEAWAYS – This year alone there were 14 corset giveaways – the most special of which was the giveaway in memory of Jody (phoenixjodirae), my dear online friend. (Every time I see a butterfly, I still think of her.) I hope to continue “paying it forward” in the future – giving individuals the opportunity to own a corset where they may not have been able to own one otherwise. I am truly indebted to “Michael with All the Cats”, aka the corset angel, who sponsored the majority of the giveaways this year – because of his mind-boggling generosity, other individuals have come forth also offering to sponsor future giveaways. I will have to find a way to organize these giveaways in such a way that my channel doesn’t become all giveaways! (I am open to any suggestions, by the way.)

Black Iris Overbust, one option in my recently launched OTR shop

WEBSITE SERVICES – 2012 marked the launch of my corset-selling businesses. I officially announced on Youtube that I was accepting bespoke corset commissions in March, and then started selling OTR corsets as a distributor of Timeless Trends/Black Iris on the side in June. I have zero shame or regret running both services side-by-side, as different people want different corsets for different reasons. There truly is something suitable for everyone. Running these businesses has opened my eyes to the challenges of a corsetiere, and I’m very fortunate to be able to experience this business from both sides, being both a consumer and a provider of corsets. This year I constructed 20 corsets (an average of one every 2.5 weeks); some of which I filmed case studies for this year.

In October, I launched the Corset Consultation service (which was an explosive success, having completed 100 consultations in a little over 2 months), and just yesterday launched the Corsetiere Map which will be used in hopes of celebrating bespoke corsetieres, encouraging clients to support their local community, and tying the world corset community a little closer together.

Foundations Revealed Harman HayINTERVIEWS – This year I also had 3 interviews (with Bloggery of a Gothcat, Foundations Revealed, and Radical Redefinition, respectively). Although I had the opportunity to be interviewed on national television, I shied away from those as I’m not quite ready for that yet. I’m comfortable in my own space and niche and don’t often step out of my comfort circle, but am very pleased with the outcome of the three interviews done this year and feel that I’ve made new friends through these contacts.

Looking to the Future

2013 is looking to be an exciting year. In January/February I plan to change webhosts and give this website/blog a slightly new design which will hopefully be more organized and easier to navigate. I’m working with a web designer and graphic artist right now, and hope to launch some other pages in the not-so-distant future.

I hope this will be a year where my channel can place more of an emphasis on companies that offer custom work, and also individual designers. This will likely mean considerably fewer than 35 corset reviews this year, but the corsets may be of higher quality and made-to-measure. OTRs will not be completely forgotten, but I will soon be introducing my audience to wonderful corsetieres who deserve to have their work highlighted.

I also hope to make videos of higher impact – more corseting lifestyle videos, more physical effects videos, and a possible corset sew-along in which I tie my previous tutorials into one cohesive project. This may come a little later however, as I’m currently taking some time to refine my skills as a corset maker – another goal for this year. I don’t yet have my own distinctive design, and this is something I would like to work on. I’d also like to step up my organization and increase my productivity.

(My apologies if this sounds completely vague but I don’t want to give away too much, in case I end up disappointing some people with setbacks later on.)

This year I hope to continue working on my health and wellbeing; cutting out most wheat, processed sugar and dairy (as much as possible), as my experiments with this in the past have reaped amazing benefits in my overall energy level and mood, further feeding into greater productivity. This is a year that I will be more compassionate with myself; a year that I set health goals and standards that are realistic enough to be achieved, but challenging enough to make the effort worth it.

Thank you, friends, for this amazing year. May 2013 be even more prosperous for you and this community.

27 thoughts on “Reflections on 2012, and looking to 2013

  1. Hi I have been a follower for a while and you always present things in a nice manner. In general I am against OTR corsets since everyone’s body has different measurements and a corset needs to fit really well in order to be comfortable. They are cheap though, but I hope you can review more custom made corsets. Maybe you can also make a short sidestep to other historical corset styles, such as 16/17/18th century? Have you tried those and did you like them or not? Corsets with shoulderstraps is not for everyone.. I have a huge list of custom historical corset makers if you want.
    Keep up the good and informative work

  2. Dear Lucy,
    I have been watching you channel, and later on your blog from the very start, with grand admiration and interest, but always from a distance. I had withheld myself from comment, simply because I did not think I had anything to add. After all this time, I even feel I get to know you, even though we never met or never spoke. What you try to do in the corset world is valuable, and I appreciate the effort you have already put into it. Keep up the good work, and I wish you all the best in 2013!

  3. Hi Lucy, what do you think of Axfords? I read online that they’re a really good company, but I have no experience with corsets so I want my first corset to be good. Just found out about your blog and video’s and I’ve seen many things that I didn’t know, so thank you for that!

    1. Hi Veerle, I’ve done two reviews of Axfords corsets (an overbust and an underbust), you can see the articles/ videos by clicking through the links. Thanks for your comment, and I’m glad you found me!

      1. Thank you for your help! Now I know I can safely order one!

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