What My Trip to Italy Taught Me About My Business

Last month, I spent a week tucked away in an agriturismo in Tuscany — a quiet, sun-washed retreat designed for creatives and entrepreneurs to slow down, explore their craft, and let the landscape set the rhythm of each day. We painted with different mediums, studied light and texture, wandered the gardens, and allowed curiosity to lead instead of deadlines. There was no rush. Only space.

After the retreat, I spent six days travelling with one of my closest friends, exploring small Tuscan towns that have shaped so much of who I am. We stayed in Volterra and visited Cortona, Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, and finally Florence. It all felt like a return to an earlier version of myself — the one who spent her university years studying medieval architecture and dreaming up a future built around art and design.

I’d worried that going back might dull the magic. Instead, it sharpened it.
I found myself seeing everything with the same fascination I felt years ago.
Art and history.
Balance and structure.
Light and story.

And in that stillness, something became very clear.

Italy reminded me to simplify.

Somewhere in the quiet, I realised how much I’d drifted from what I truly wanted my business to be. The Good Canvas had grown beautifully and somewhat quickly, and in ways I’m deeply grateful for. But with rapid growth comes more yes’s than you sometimes realize you’re giving.

Smaller projects.
Extra coordination.
More admin.
More team members.
More doing, less creating.

It had all become a little too much.
Not misaligned but just noisy.

And what I’ve always wanted The Good Canvas to be is calm, focused, and deeply creative.

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THE GOOD CANVAS

Italy clarified what matters most.

Coming home, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time: eagerness.
Excitement to spend more of my days creating, which meant painting, designing, shaping stories into visuals that last.

But it also brought a new level of clarity. I needed to redefine how I work.
Not for efficiency. Not for scaling. But to honour the artistry that sits at the heart of what I do.

I realized that the way I offer my services needed to change. I needed structure that allowed for:

• fewer clients
• deeper, more meaningful collaborations
• branding that feels lived-in and emotionally rich
• websites that are crafted slowly, intentionally, and with care
• more time spent on the part of the work that truly matters: beauty, story, feeling, and design

Italy reminded me that creativity isn’t something you squeeze into the margins.
It needs room to breathe.

A website is a space with feeling.

Walking through Tuscany and the arches, the stone, the light that moves like water between walls, I remembered why I fell in love with design in the first place. Architecture and web design may seem far apart, but they share the same language: space, pace, proportions, feeling.

A website should feel like a place someone can step into.
Not rushed. Not crowded. Not chaotic.
But intentional.
Emotionally grounded.
Built with clarity and purpose.

That kind of work takes time, but it also takes spaciousness; the very thing Italy gave back to me.

Above all, this trip brought me back to myself.

The stillness, the long walks, the sketchbook mornings and long chats with friends and other entrepreneurs gave me so much clarity. And in this reflection, I saw the version of my business that I’d love to grow into: one centred on artistry, honesty and depth.

So I’m reshaping things.
Refining my brand and custom website package.
Building a slower, deeper, more thoughtful process.
One that honours both my creativity and the clients who trust me with theirs.

If you’re looking for a website or brand that feels calm, beautiful, and intentionally crafted — not rushed or templated — we’d love to work with you.

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ABOUT THIS POST

This post is written by Donata Delano – A Web Designer, Professional Artist and Architect based in Burlington, Canada. She specializing in visual communication and web design, creating branding solutions and websites that are thoughtful, unique and aesthetically pleasing.

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