I would say this year was fantastic. It was a prolific period filled with achievements, sense of fulfillment, meaningful relationships, and trying new things.

I continued to stick to the following recipe:

1. Shut up,
2. Do the work,
3. Consume less,
4. Create more.

Software

Due to my side projects getting more visibility I occasionally get asked if I even do software development anymore.

I don’t see myself quitting any time soon. I was born to be on the computer.

I’m working on the Cardstack project where we develop open source tools for merchants and creators in the Web3 realm.

I get to work with exciting blockchain technologies – in May, wrote my first smart contract!

This year marks my 10th year as a professional software developer.

Side business

On the side, I run an Etsy shop where we sell handmade busts of influential people and mini replicas of famous monuments.

I now have a team who takes care of 3d modelling, production and shipping so I can focus on research and development of new products, and meme marketing.

We launched several new items: Nikola Tesla, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Karl Marx, Frida Kahlo, and Epictetus.

The build quality and the finish of the busts is something we improved substantially. This took many hours of experimentation with different materials.

How can concrete be so beautiful?

In my last year’s review I set myself a goal of growing this shop to a profit level that could pay for all my living costs with my minimal input to the business operations. I’m happy to report I achieved that!

We sold 483 handmade busts which is almost 10 per week. The customers are ecstatic. It’s not rare we get reviews like this:

Art

My other creative outlet is creating abstract brutalist sculptures made from concrete.

I had 2 art exhibitions where I showed my work.

The first one was hosted under a giant hayrack in Sentrupert, my hometown in Slovenia:

The second one was in Nova Gorica:

Plans for next year

1. Start building a house
2. Start a new side business

Other important things that happened

👉 Spent a couple of nights in a banana plantation

👉 A very famous philosopher reacted to a fashion accessory I created

👉 Drove a boat around a beautiful island

👉 Transported some concrete

👉 They put my products in the most desired bar in Ljubljana

👉 A friend showed me where his leg hurts

👉 Witnessed a man with a computer on the beach

👉 Broke a wooden bench