I have a confession to make. Whilst I know I’m not the only one in this position – far from it – it’s time to come clean all the same.
I am living a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde life.
By day I toil away in my desk-bound “regular day job” and by night I alternate to the creative mindset of designing and making handmade craft.
A little over a year ago I started experimenting with felt and turning the creature designs in my head into reality.
Like many people, I wasn’t overly confident in what I was making at first, but eventually plucked up the courage to start a dedicated Instagram account, Facebook page and ultimately an Etsy store, on the back of some solid encouragement from family and friends.
The plethora of you living similar lifestyles know how demanding it can be to turn around the mental drain of your day job, switching gears in the evening in tackling the swathe of demands that come with starting up a handmade business.
Of course, the creative outlet which my business provides, and the humbling feedback from customers make it all worthwhile.
When it comes to running a business, designing and making products is simply the beginning. I’m fortunate that when it comes to many of the administrative and commercial aspects, the skills from my day job actually come in handy.
I’ve always enjoyed design and craft – long holding a latent desire to convert on previous study in industrial design. It’s really satisfying when you put it all together and see the final product out there in the hands of customers.
I’ve been incredibly inspired by the sense of community amongst handmade makers and those who appreciate craft. The comments that I see daily on Instagram, Facebook, and craft blogs are so refreshingly positive, it keeps me going!
It’s wonderful how many people you can touch across the globe with creations you’ve made from the comfort of your own home.
Every week I set myself a challenge to design a new creature to add to the family. Inevitably the true challenge is not in finding inspiration, but rather time.
I have a myriad of plans for new creatures I’d like to develop, and other types of products to grow my range.
Stay tuned – I hope that we can inspire each other in our Jekyll and Hyde lives.
