Planning for the Future
When I finish my University course this summer, my life will change in so many ways! This is a slightly scary but still exciting thought! I will no longer have the routine that has filled my life for the past 3 years and I can’t wait to see where this new chapter will take me. I have a few plans in place to make sure it all goes smoothly and one of those plans is to immediately start job hunting. I have a few places in mind I would love to apply to like Tiger, Typo or small independent cafes. I would love to have a creative element in my work to keep my brain active and the ideas flowing. For now, a job is a priority as being able to save up plenty of money will be important for what I want to start up; creating my own shop and brand.
In my own time along side a job, I plan on creating my own shop that sells stationery and items I have designed myself. I have always had a big love for buying stickers, prints, washi tape, badges and all sorts with unique designs from independent artists so it only makes sense to pursue this myself! This will require lots of planning and setting up, lots of research into manufacturers and pricing etc. The first steps of this journey will be creating an Etsy page and a few starter products to get me going. I also plan to start fresh on social media with Instagram and TikTok accounts to promote my shop, give glimpses into the art I am creating and some of the processes and insights into creating a brand from scratch. I hope that this will work well as the first steps to get more known and to get people interested in my illustration work and products. Depending on the success of the Etsy shop, I hope to expand this to other places like my own website, other online shops, and spaces in physical shops like Design@44 which specialises in handmade items and supports over 90 local designers and makers. You can find more about this shop here: https://www.design44.co.uk/
Another way I hope to get exposure for my brand is by having a stall at craft fairs like The Craft and Flea which travels round the UK and brings together talented independent makers, designers, producers and collectors. This is a great opportunity to meet and chat to customers and other creators, get new ideas and a chance to present myself and my stall in an appealing and ‘me’ way! More information on these craft fairs is on their website: https://www.thecraftandflea.com/
Once I have my brand more established, I hope to organise collaborations with other illustrators and designers to bring more interesting products and it will give an opportunity to be known by another shop’s customer base that has similar tastes and interests and vice versa. This is also a great way for me to make connections and friends with other creatives, locally and worldwide! I will also try and develop connections with different retailers, for example food retailers especially small and bespoke like farm shops. I think that with my brand being carrot themed, it gives me a unique angle to pitch to farm shops as I can make it relevant. A local farm shop/café I would love to collaborate with is Cattows farm as I have been going there since I was young. I can specifically look at illustrations and work reflecting their products and ideology. I would love to design something based around the fruit and veg they grow on the farm and of course cows! More information about Cattows farm and tea room can be found on their website: https://www.cattowsfarm.co.uk/
In the future when my shop has been up and running for a period of time and I have settled into a place to live long term, I hope to set up a shop/ café where I can still sell my products but can also run it as a friendly fun and quirky café! I want it to specialise in ice-cream, cute cakes, patisserie and café food! This pairs my love for food and snacks with illustration and design and will give me the opportunity to learn even more about running a business, food creation, food hygiene and designing a useable and interesting space. Alongside the shop and food, it will also allow for my partner to work alongside me running the café and to pursue his dream job as a barista. Because my speciality area will be the design products in the shop, it means I can approach local food producers and give them the opportunity to sell their goods in the café, for example Heather’s Bakehouse https://www.facebook.com/heathersbakehouse/?ref=page_internal
I would love to propose the idea of a collaboration of an exclusive carrot design cookie to sell. Other potential local bakeries include Project D and Brownie Points Bakery.
One food I am particularly interested in specialising in is pancakes! I would love to be able to create fresh English pancakes, crepes and mini-American pancakes with all sorts of toppings including my signature chocolate spread and marshmallow fluff folded pancake. I plan to name all the dishes after something related to myself and my brand and maybe even my family members favourites named after themselves!
Extra opportunities the café will offer is the opportunity to hold themed activities for every age group. For young kids I would create sessions with simple engaging activities like potato printing, and for older groups I would hold sessions with activities from lino printing to pizza making to polymer clay classes. I hope for it to be a friendly welcome space for anyone who is interested in being creative, learning more or even just to make friends and have fun. I can also hold some of these sessions in collaboration with other businesses who want to promote themselves or help people to learn more about what they do. I would also offer them the opportunity to have a space to sell their products in store too.
I can’t wait to work hard towards these plans and to see them start to take shape!