My Buzz

Tell us how #SBS has affected your business.
What a thrill watching my inbox and pages of new followers and emails. It was so lovely to receive emails from fellow publishers who I have met at trade shows and existing followers. Recognition from #SBS is such a pat on the back, I have read Theo's retweet more than once just to make sure it's really me!

My Bio

I had completed a two year Art foundation and was weeks away from starting University when my twin brother died after an accident. I made the decision not to go, instead stayed to support my family. Over the years I continued to paint developing my style whilst working in all sorts of jobs from telesales, marketing and accounts even running a haulage business with my Father all of which gave me the experience and grounding to run my own business. I initially concentrated on original work only, painting and working towards exhibitions. I soon realised that I would have a much larger customer base if the work was more affordable and so my greeting card business was born. Every design starts as an original painting, I paint in gouache excellent for detail and colour reproduction. I am often asked why I don't do all my designing on the computer like so many and save time, the reason I don't is firstly, I love to paint and secondly the original paintings are exhibited and sold - there are still many who only like to buy original artwork. I attend several trade shows a year and love working on the stand, I still get a buzz every time someone places an order, they are buying my work! My cards and prints are stocked in many shops, galleries and stores throughout the UK, Europe and from this week, Japan.

My Business Tips

Test the market first, there are so many opportunities to do this with markets and shows throughout the country.
Don't over order stock, it's better to order less and often, it may cost a few pence more but you will have better cash flow and still have room under your bed! I am a member of both the GA and the GCA they are both excellent at breaking down legislation and finding what is relevant to my business, also they have forums where other members can post information particularly on poor or non payers which can save a lot of heartache and worry.

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