A Week of Building in Beauty

A Week of Building in Beauty

This week I’ve been working from a spot that feels more like a writer’s retreat than a workspace. I’m in Wandiligong - the most beautiful valley a stone’s throw away from bustling Bright in Victoria. Through the window in front of me there’s a tree shedding its vivid red petals, and behind it is a sea of green and gold. I’ve got my coffee, my trusty laptop, a sleeping dog at my feet - everything I could want to be able to think clearly and dream big.

And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing: dreaming up ways to make life easier for teachers. Because if there’s one thing I know, it’s that teachers are already carrying so much. Admin, scheduling, billing, communication - it’s all invisible weight that sits on top of the real work: teaching and inspiring students.

Over the past week, I’ve been refining features in My Music Studio that I hope will lift some of that weight. Updates like:

• Cleaner dashboards so that the information you actually need - lessons, notes, invoices - sits right where you want it, without clutter.

• More flexible billing tools that adapt to however your studio runs (monthly, term-by-term, or annually).

• Smoother parent and student portals, so families get clarity without you having to send five follow-up emails.

• Little touches of polish across the board - because good design isn’t just nice to look at, it saves you clicks and keeps you calm. My theory is if you have to think about how to use the tool, then it could be built better.

Looking out on the garden while I work makes me laugh a bit. What I’m doing is a bit like gardening: clearing weeds, pruning back what’s overgrown, and planting new ideas that will (hopefully) bloom into useful, beautiful tools. The funny part? I’m a terrible gardener - please don’t give me plants as a gift as I will only stress about how long it will take to die - so I’ve had to channel all my pruning and weeding instincts into development instead. Turns out the software survives a lot better than my poor plants.

So from my desk by the window, with blossoms falling and ideas flowing, I’ve been quietly shaping the tools that will hopefully make your teaching lighter, more focused, and even more joyful.

Or if that’s too ambitious, at the very least, simply help you spend less time on admin. Because the more time you have for the music, the teaching, and the students, the better life will be.