Making My Business Dreams A Reality

Well it's most definitely been a while since my last blog post!

To be perfectly honest I'm not even entirely sure where I've been.. lets just say its been a while.

I don't normally like to bring my personal life into my blog posts.. however I think you have to know where a person has come from to understand just how far they've travelled...


I've always been easily influenced. Even as a child my favourite toys, choice of clothing or favourite foods were determined by what my friends were currently into. My christmas list from year to year could not have been more different. One year all I wanted was a 'Puzz 3D'  - incidentally I never finished it as I couldn't stand the feel of the polystyrene pieces on my fingers (but that's another story!) Another year I was in my 'sports' phase and all I wanted was a pair of adidas trackies and a hideous matching tshirt (again..another time!)

I went to university because it was what was expected.. and was what everyone else my age was doing. I soon found I hated the experience, so transferred to another city. Again because I thought carrying on with my studies was the right thing to do - afterall everyone else was doing it.
I should have just listened to my gut and never gone in the first place.

 

I've done the same thing in my working life. After university I very quickly fell into my retail career - something I had been doing part-time throughout my studies anyway. I don't like to blow my own trumpet, however I have had a successful career so far. I dont think there are many people who can say they were a Store Manager at 22 - and a busy store at that.



I am proud of how far I have come.. but I can't help feeling dissatisfied with the path my life has taken. Whenever I think of the 'dream' job, the one that I will want to do until the day I retire.. its not this. When the opportunity arose (and when I say 'arose' I mean after I worked for years in various companies to make it happen) - I became a Store Manager. I did this because I wanted to learn how to run a business successfully, and do it well. But with someone else's money!

Now that  know I can successfully run a profitable store and manage a team of people, I want to combine this with my true passion - Soap Making.

I started The Little Soap Shed (or Craft Shed as it was back then) in 2008, and steadily over the years it has grown and adapted to my personal life. Now I think it is about time I allowed the business to be centre stage.

My dream?

My dream is to open a small handmade soap shop in a pretty village or seaside town. I would like it to have a gorgeous big window with soap piled everywhere.. like an Aladdin's cave! There would be a workshop and studio in the back where I can prepare all my soap loaves, cakes, melts, truffles and fizzies, plus space where the public can come and take part in workshops and classes.


So I have a plan...
I'm going to make my dreams come true... and for the first time in my life I'm going to go with my gut!
Follow my blog as I start the most exciting chapter of my life so far.. and turn my business dreams into a reality.

Stay tuned x

A Love Affair

If I could take one thing with me to a desert island.. it would without a doubt be my sketchbook.

My sketchbook isn't your average bound book with a wad of white scary looking paper inside.. oh no!

I always found the process of beginning a new blank sketchbook quite frightening actually.. that may indeed sound very silly! However, I hated that awful feeling you get when you sit there, staring at the huge white expanse of cartridge paper.. and then the mental block rears its ugly head!

I tried all sorts of 'creative stimulation' exercises.. all the usual tricks of the trade! I often found one of the most effective to be drawing a simple heart or star line drawing in the corner of the page. Almost as if I was tricking my mind into believing the page wasn't actually blank anymore. This worked for a while.. it got me through my Art A-Levels actually.. but then university was a different kettle of fish, and my mind out-smarted me!

Then suddenly it came to me!

What if I didn't use a sketchbook at all? I could use a completely unrelated media on which to record my ideas. 

I started to experiment, using the backs of old cereal boxes, napkins in coffee shops and scraps of graph paper... anything that already had a pattern or image on it. Anything that was already stimulating to look at even before I attacked it with my paintbrush!

In my personal life I am a very organised and disciplined person.. but in the studio i'm a complete nut case! So much so that it became increasingly difficult to keep track of all my scraps of paper.

I've always had a love affair with books.. I am a keen reader and have a vast collection of titles, both old and new. I have many vintage hardbacks from various countries I have visited.. many of them in foreign languages so I am unable to read them.. I literally bought them because they looked interesting 

... or even because they smelled amazing (like the oldies often do!) 

It seemed a real shame that these treasures were no longer being used.. just sitting on the bookcase alongside modern novels and trashy romances. It was almost insulting. After all they have a rich history and a life story amongst the dog-eared pages that no new glossy title can compete with.  

So I decided to breath some life back into them.. and my new sketchbook was born!

'A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett' - My favourite bedtime story!

I firstly white washed the pages so they could be worked upon

Being careful to still keep some of the text visible through the paint

One of my favourite pages!

I have found this new way of working to be both incredibly inspiring.. as often you come across a line of text peeking through a white washed, page that sends sparks flying through the imagination. Here is a classic example of one of those occasions... 

As a Yorkshire woman I find this statement to be very true!

This week I have come to the part of the year when I need to start a new personal journal - something I have done every year since I was a teenager. I have decided to follow the same method as I have previously done with my sketchbooks, and have been looking for a suitable vintage book for some time.

I came across this 'Simple Needlecraft' book on a facebook page called Yorkshire Teas.. and snapped it up for a great price. 

It has beautiful illustrations to work over

So here it begins! I have so much to write in this new journal.. and guess what?

The pages don't look so scary!

I'll keep you posted xx

Something new!

Hi everyone.. just a quick one today as due to my hectic workload I told myself I wasn't going blog until the weekend.. I know I'm naughty but I'm also very easily distracted!

I just wanted to show you the designs for the new cotton book bags I've been working on.. I've been taking so much inspiration from my old sketchbooks, and thought I'd try something new. 

So here's a sketch from my university visual journal that I've turned into a cotton tote.. 

I'm having so much fun making these, as I get to be so free and draw straight onto the fabric.. It's actually quite scary.. 

Seriously anything could happen!

Is this week over yet?

This week has been pretty hectic in the shed!

I've spent the majority of my time getting the studio in order..sorting through my scrap box for vintage fabrics and trims to use on my new Jubilee brooches.. and just generally getting everything organised. 

The Jubilee collection is coming along nicely, although I may have to invest in a more complex sewing machine soon..as all this hand stitching is taking it out of me a little!

I have spent the rest of my time catching up on any outstanding orders and trying desperately to prepare for next weeks craft event at RotherValley College, South Yorkshire, and also the huge craft showcase event I have coming up at Spitalfields Market, London. 

This event is actually the first one that has got me feeling all nervous and anxious! This is a big deal for a small business like mine.. and I feel like a VERY small fish in the large ocean that is the London art scene.

Anyway.. I'm making my palms sweaty just thinking about it :) Here's some of the finished Jubilee brooches I've been working on this week!

  

I am also in the design stages for a pretty special festival range for the summer.. so watch this space!

See you soon xx

... A Kate Obsession!

For the past few days I have spent my time in the studio creating hand-crafted Jubilee themed textiles.

Surrounding myself in all things British and Royal has reignited my huge obsession with Miss Middleton.. or should I say 'The Duchess of Cambridge!' I just LOVE her.. her style.. her confidence.. what she represents. A new generation of Royal who understand what it means to be a young, average Great British woman in today's society. Yes she came from a wealthy middle class family, and probably had a lavish upbringing in a great house. She attended the best schools and is very educated. But whats wrong with that? You can still be, dare I say it 'normal' and have money... and a brain!

However I think out of everything its her style that I most admire..

The stunning Jenny Packham evening gown..

The gorgeous Purple Issa Canada Day Dress..

... and of course we cannot forget how truly stunning she looked on her wedding day to Prince William!

Stunning 

in lace..

I just think its fabulous that finally the Great British public, and young women everywhere have a Royal figure who they can look up to. Its great to dream of what her life must be like now... after all she was, and still is just a 'normal' girl!

April Showers!

Well.. I think this awful weather takes the phrase 'April Showers' to a new level!

Heavy rain.. high winds and flooded roads. I find the only cure for having to stay indoors during such awful weather is.. TEA! So here I am.. getting my head down in the studio with a steaming hot cuppa and some of my favourite Jammy Dodger biscuits.

My creative ideas always seem to match my mood, and this weekend I really felt like getting messy.. so out came the clay and paints.. here's what I've been creating!

Jammy Dodger Biscuit Brooches

After a busy day in the studio, I decided to relax in front of the television with a good film and some popcorn. Those of you that know me well, will know that I cant sit still for long! So during the film I finished making up some cute little felt brooches that I started months ago (I never finish things!).. Here's the end result of my 'relaxing Saturday evening'...

Afternoon Tea Felt Brooches

These were hand-stitched using small dolls house miniatures, safety pins and ribbon. I love the finished design and will definitely be making some more of these to take to my next event! 

Well that's all from me today! I hope the weather picks up wherever you are.. and if not you've got the perfect excuse to stick the kettle on and get creating xxx

Welcome to life inside the shed.. this is the part of my business where I open the doors to Craft Shed HQ and let you into all my secrets, tricks and tutorials. Here you will also gain access to new designs before they are released, sneak previews and (hopefully) brainstorm new ideas with me.. sort of like a little arty community.


So get comfortable.. grab your brew.. and let me show you whats been happening inside the shed this week!

It all started from a conversation I had with my Nanna.. Shes great is my Nanna.. always got a great story to tell, or a memory from my childhood to recall. I like to call in once a week.. (unless the order book is bursting!) and each time I go my visit will unfold in exactly the same way. I'll sit in the conservatory overlooking the vast expanse of lawn, Nan will make me a cuppa and offer me a slice of her infamous chocolate cake, and she will ask me about my week.

Let me firstly introduce you to my grandparents back in their younger days...

They look so in love in this photo.. a snapshot taken in Blackpool when they were in their early twenties. The best thing of all is that they are just as crazy about one another now!

Anyway back to memory lane...

The conversation normally moves onto something funny that has happened to someone in the family.. Grandad will say 'It was never like this in my day!'.. and then down memory lane we roll.

On this particular trip down the lane Nanna told me about my days as a budding fashion designer. Apparently (and my grandparents never forget anything!) I used to make clothes from plastic bags, and adorn them with buttons, coloured threads and silk flowers.. and then add a ribbon rosette. Above is a photo of myself (left) and my cousin Hannah - who was always my 'design guinea pig!' Which I guess is proof enough that I did in fact make clothing from plastic bags! Cringe!

So then I started thinking.. what if I made a collection based around these amazing memories?

Okay my memories may not be of any relevance to yourself.. however your own memories are the most important thing you own.

Once I get an idea, then I start to picture what materials I will use. I choose my fabrics.. rummage through button boxes.. find the perfect thread colour and add embellishments. Here's what my search lead me to...

It took around three hours from the initial design stages to the infill being inserted, and I think the end result is a triumph!  

Remember when ... I realised I had talent!

The back of the cushion is trimmed with vintage inspired lace and comes complete with insert pad...

£25.00 + £2.50 postage & packaging

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Little-Craft-Shed/160337644085865