For this month’s Seller Spotlight we’ve been chatting with the lovely Nicky from Little Light Stitchery. After working as a civil engineer for 20 years Nicky decided to take the plunge and pursue a life and career that brought her joy. Fast forward 2 years and Nicky now has a colourful range of funny/sweary/motivational/BRILLIANT embroidery hoops!
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Nicky!

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you create.
My name is Nicky and I stitch funny, cute, inspirational and rude embroidery hoops! I also teach workshops (online at the moment) and sell kits so that people can learn the brilliant art of embroidery themselves.
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When did you open your Etsy shop & what inspired you to do so?
I opened my Etsy shop in October 2018. At the time I was working as a Civil Engineer for a large consultancy business, but I was just miserable there! We’d had our son 3 years previously and after 2 years back in work I realised that my priorities had completely changed, and I didn’t have the energy to give my all to both my family and that career. So, I went on a 1 year sabbatical and I think I opened my Etsy shop in the very first week! 


How do you balance full time work and your creative business?
This is my full-time job. I handed my notice in when my sabbatical finished because I just knew that I couldn’t go back! Our son starts school this year and so I will be doing this properly full time. I do actually also have an admin job for a friend one day a week, which I like because it means company and it’s something a little different

Tell us a bit about where you work… Do you have a dedicated workspace, office or workshop?
I work mostly from our spare room / home office but as I’m currently sharing the desk with my husband while he works from home, you’ll as likely find me on the sofa, at the dining room table or in the garden. One of the joys of embroidery is that it is very portable!

How do you organise your day and manage your time effectively? (Do you follow a strict working routine or are you more organic with the way you work?)
Honestly? I’m not that organised and I wish I could be better! I start most working days by writing a ‘to do’ list and I make sure it is realistic (because I don’t like leaving things undone). I also Eat the Frog! That means that I do the worst job first, although I confess that I sometimes Eat the Cake instead. If there is a job that I’m really looking forward to doing, then sometimes I do it first because otherwise it distracts me all day!

Tell us about the way you work, do you work on one product at a time or do you often have more than one project one the go?
I have such a long list of product ideas on my phone! But I do try to be strict and only work on one thing at a time, otherwise I don’t think that anything would get finished!! I also really struggle to leave a hoop unfinished (unless it is a big design), so I do tend to get individual hoops finished off. Having to stop a hoop mid-word is a nightmare for me!
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What inspires you to be creative?
I love being able to use my hands to create something that people want to hang in their homes or gift to others. It is a world away from the 20 years that I spent working in the civil engineering profession, but I think that is exactly why I love it! And embroidery as an art form is such a mindful, slow, contemplative experience.

What is your favourite creation in your Etsy shop and why?
My favourite hoop is the Sweary Multiple Choice hoop because it just makes me laugh! I have a load more planned as well and I find myself giggling like a kid while I’m designing and stitching them, in fact just thinking about them now is making me smile!
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What is your favourite accomplishment?
So far in the journey of Little Light Stitchery I would have to say that having a stall at the Winter Arts Market is the best thing that I’ve done (so far, as I do have a top secret project coming up that might just trump it!). The Winter Arts Market has become such an iconic event in the creative calendar in Liverpool and being able to be part of it was amazing!

What do you love most about your job?
The flexibility! One of the main reasons for starting this business was so that I could be more present for my family and that is exactly what I’m able to do. I also really love speaking directly to my customers and planning the perfect bespoke hoop for them, and then seeing the pictures of my hoops in their homes definitely give me a warm feeling inside

What other interests do you have?
With a 4-year-old whirlwind in the house it is hard to find the time to do much else! But recently I have started to rediscover my love of wild swimming. I have always been a water baby and there is something really special about finding that perfect, remote, quiet swimming location.

What music/ podcasts are you listening to at the moment?
I actually really like peace and quiet, but I have recently discovered a business called The Indie Roller and Leona curates the most inspiring and informative podcasts aimed at small creative business. I also love listening to science podcasts, the more obscure the better! I don’t even pretend to be following half of what they talk about but something about them really draws me in! Two that I love are The Infinite Monkey Cage (I guess that is more accurately a radio show) and Surprisingly Brilliant.

What advice would you give to anyone who’s thinking of opening up their own Etsy shop.
Get your pricing right! Make sure that you are covering all of your materials and overheads, paying yourself a wage and making a profit. Pricing products too low helps nobody. It under-values everyone else in your industry and makes your own business unsustainable.

What has been the best advice someone has given to you?
Don’t compare yourself to others, be it Etsy sales, social media followers, product prices…. Nobody else is YOU.

Do you have any future plans in the pipeline that you can share?
I’m planning on launching my own website in the next month or so but I will most definitely be keeping my Etsy shop going alongside it. I’m also going to be producing a range of pdf downloadable patterns as a more passive income stream.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I did a lot of synchronised swimming as a kid (and I was pretty good!
​

Back again after a bit of a hiatus with a bumper batch of new team members to introduce to you! Now more than ever we need to keep supporting our local small businesses and we've got some seasoned sellers, some brand new to Etsy, all with something wonderful to offer you so have a look!

Left to Right from top:
Blue Jay Way UK is your go-to shop for unique handmade fashions, homewares and bags, and she's now doing face masks too!
Julie Dodd Artist creates fascinating paper and wood sculptures made using recycled materials and inspired by nature.
Sew Nonny's colourful shop is full of print laden bags and accessories like these hair wraps (to cover your lockdown roots!) and she's also got you covered for for masks too.
Tailored Yarn Memories creates original watercolour art, greetings cards and can even do bespoke calligraphy quotes just for you.
Baby Rose UK has got those cool kids in mind with her huge selection of alternative baby accessories. Leopard print everything please!
Suzanne Kate Designs should be your first stop if you've got a newfound passion for baking. We love her range of tea towels, aprons and homewares featuring her original pattern designs.
Kiayas Art is created from her waterfront studio in New Brighton and you can see the influence of the shifting light and moody seas in her original paintings and art prints.
Aviate Her has cornered the market for women in STEM with her best selling enamel pins, pre-order while you can as they're hot property!  
Strawberri and the Lion creates colourful polymer clay jewellery and these peachy earrings are giving me total holiday vibes!

Left to Right from top:
Judy Musselle Art taker her inspiration from childhood holidays, folk tales, coastal walks to create her dream like artworks, available as originals or limited edition prints.
Berf Ceramics creates beautiful organic ceramic jewellery that is totally unique.
Zoe Pearson Art's shop is your place for affordable original artworks. Her oil paintings of Liverpool and the Wirral make beautiful gifts.
Make Everyday Lovelier has a huge selection of handmade gifts and cards for all occasions, whether that's birthdays, weddings, new babies or anniversaries.
SarahB Design is a showcase for the original hand illustrated work of Sarah, with a full range of initial greetings cards, colourful home wares and art prints.
Talla Boutique is the work of Maria and features her eye-catching handmade wire work jewellery and hand stamped pendants.
Cartoon Pets by Pithon is exactly what it sounds like! Get a custom pet portrait done of your favourite fur friend in Emily's characteristic style. 
FO! Design create modern travel notebooks and journals with an architectural influence. Perfect gifts for those with itchy feet, gap-year adventurers and honeymooners.
Pig Loves Giraffe is a riot of colour, find hand crafted woven wall hangings and fibre art greetings cards to brighten your home,

Welcome to the team everyone! We look forward to seeing more of you in future!

With everything that's going on in the world right now it's been a breath of fresh air chatting with Charley Zollinger this month from Studio Chuffed. A business which stemmed from a school project, Charley has been running Etsy businesses since the age of 15, and has gone on to have over 2,100 sales! An incredibly inspiring story for young entrepreneurs. Thank you so much for sharing your business story with us Charley x
​

​Tell us a bit about yourself and what you create.
I’m Charley, and I run Studio Chuffed! I design and sell bow ties, enamel pins, patches, stickers, and button badges, which includes designing the fabric for the bow ties and handmaking them. I’m queer and I have various mental health problems, which I discuss a lot on social media.

​When did you open your Etsy shop & what inspired you to do so?
I opened my current Etsy shop, Studio Chuffed, in September 2016. I’ve been running Etsy businesses since 2013 when I was 15!
Studio Chuffed started as a home for my bow ties that I was selling on my first business, Pixie Bluebell Designs. That business started as a school project! I took a subject called ‘Project Qualification’ at GCSE and we could do any project we liked. I loved Etsy so I decided to start designing and selling hair bows! I got the top grade in that subject and continued my first business through sixth form college, at the end of which I decided to go full time with Studio Chuffed, which was less than a year old at that point.

​How do you balance your business and personal time?
I’ve yet to find a perfect split between the two! I try to not work on evenings or weekends, but my rule is I can ‘work’ during that time if it’s something I find fun or interesting! I find that keeps me motivated and not just viewing my business as a dull 9-5. On the flip side though, I will spend time on household chores, playing with my pets, or hanging out with friends during the working day, so it probably evens out!
 
Tell us a bit about where you work… Do you have a dedicated workspace, office or workshop?
I currently work in our spare/second bedroom. A bit of an upgrade from the single desk at my Dad’s house, which was also my gaming desk! It’s great having my own space as I can lock it away on the rare occasion it gets too stressful or triggering. It’s also where my hamster and gerbil live, so I’ve always got company in there!

​How do you organise your day and manage your time effectively? (Do you follow a strict working routine or are you more organic with the way you work?)
I tried to follow a strict routine but because of my mental health, I’ve found it best to work organically. I keep a to-do list split into days where I can reschedule stuff on a bad mental health day, and that keeps me focused on what I want to do that day, although I usually approach the tasks in a fairly random order! The only schedule I have is that I tend to start the morning with tasks I can do on my laptop from my sofa, and then I usually work in my office after lunchtime.

​Tell us about the way you work, do you work on one product at a time or do you often have more than one project one the go?
I used to work with multiple projects at a time, but I found I kept prioritising the ones I shouldn’t, and I’ve ended up with a huge backlog of work for my other projects! So now I try to focus on one product or product type at a time.
 
What inspires you to be creative?
My friends and my customers! They’re always interested to see what I’m working on and my latest creation, so that spurs on my creativity and want to create.

​What is your favourite creation in your Etsy shop and why?
That’s a tough choice, so I’d have to go with two! I love my enamel pins, they’re so satisfying to design and then see as a physical product a few weeks later, and I wear them all the time! But I’d also say my pride bow ties, as they’ve introduced me to such a broad range of incredible people and friends, and it’s humbling how much the bow ties mean to some of my customers!
 
What is your favourite accomplishment?
Reaching 2000 orders! It’s such a big number that I genuinely never thought I’d reach. It’s mind-blowing that 2000 people have ordered products I’ve designed/made!
 
What do you love most about your job?
I love the creativity, but I also love the flexibility. With my mental health problems plus four demanding pets, it’s the only job where I can change up my plans or drop everything and deal with a problem without much consequence! That element of it has genuinely changed my life. I also just love being able to do what I want and having complete creative control over my job. And I also love the friends I’ve made in this work, who I would’ve never met otherwise!

​What other interests do you have?
I spend a lot of time with my pets, and I also really enjoy gaming! I also make sure to spend at least an hour a day watching a TV show or movie with my partner. I also have an in-depth knowledge of Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, and Pretty Little Liars!
 
What music/ podcasts are you listening to at the moment?
I listen to a lot of Paramore, Mika, and Billie Eilish! And in terms of podcasts, I listen to the Indie Roller Podcast, it’s very motivating and inspiring!
 
What advice would you give to anyone who’s thinking of opening up their own Etsy shop.
Don’t worry about it being perfect at the start. The best thing you can do is get your ideas out into the world and start showing what you can do, and you can always go back and improve listings and photos later!

​What has been the best advice someone has given to you?
Be yourself! I used to try put on a front and act like this big professional business, but it’s so much more fun and easier to be yourself when talking to customers, be it via message or social media.
 
Do you have any future plans in the pipeline that you can share?
My current focus is on expanding my pride range, especially with my bow ties! I get a lot of requests and I have a ton of ideas. I’m also exploring making acrylic or resin jewellery later this year, but there’s no guarantee yet!
 
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I’m half Swiss!

Whilst the weather has been pretty glorious over the past few weeks in the UK, the current situation across the world has not been so great. With the UK's ongoing lock down lasting for more than a month now, it's been a breath of fresh air chatting with the lovely Tina Leahey for our Seller Spotlight, who has not only one, but two Etsy shops! Tina Leahey Designs UK and Handmade by Tina Leahey. 
Having always had a life-long passion for the arts, Tina took the plunge in 2008 to leave her day job and create a business with her textile designs. Tina joined Etsy in 2016 and has since gone on to have over 2,500 sales! An incredible achievement, and an inspiring story to hear. Thank you so much for chatting with us about your businesses Tina! 

• When did you open your Etsy shop & what inspired you to do so?

I opened my first Etsy shop in 2016 using it to showcase my work as customers wanted to know what else I had in my collection and not having a functional website at the time I felt it was the best option. Mersey Etsy Team helped so much at the beginning and gave me the confidence and knowledge to make it successful. In 2018 I opened a second Etsy shop to separate my two different styles and to add my brooches and notebooks. I wasn’t sure if it was the right direction to go down but it is working well.

• How do you organise your day and manage your time effectively? (Do you follow a strict working routine or are you more organic with the way you work?)

I love lists and I love crossing the jobs off as I go.  I work my way through them. I fit the small jobs in around my family/home life and the larger jobs have dedicated time slots. 

• Tell us about the way you work, do you work on one product at a time or do you often have more than one project one the go?

My studio/workroom lets me have few things on the go which makes my work more enjoyable because I never get bored. I do have time scales which I work to but having more than one projects on the go lets me get more done. 
​

• What inspires you to be creative?

The inspiration for my designs is deeply rooted in my fierce pride for the city in which I live. Liverpool has a wealth of culture and stunning architecture and I could spend hours gazing upwards at its stunning buildings. 

• What is your favourite creation in your Etsy shop and why. 

My skylines are my favourite creation. I’m developing a range of city skylines which brings with it new levels of challenge and reward as I’m getting to know their wonderful architecture – which is exciting to embrace. I have 10 skylines in total in my Etsy shop and two under development. The process is very time intensive and I normally create approximately three skylines a year. 
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• What is your favourite accomplishment?

Apart from having my own business later on in life, my best accomplishment is having my three children grown up into well balanced individuals.

• What do you love most about your job?

I love the flexibility of my job and I’m in complete control of my business. I have to pinch myself sometimes because I’m doing something I love as my job.
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• What other interests do you have?

I love walking and normally take an hour out of my day to walk and relax.
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• What music/ podcasts are you listening to at the moment? 

I like music that is easy to listen to such as Ed Sheeran, Tom Walker  etc.  My daughter has shown me a few podcasts to listen to but I’ve not got around to checking them out yet because I’m too busy watching dramas on my iPad when I’m working on my computer.

• What advice would you give to anyone who’s thinking of opening up their own Etsy shop. 

Have uniformity in your Etsy shop so it looks pleasant to the customer’s eye. Take all the advice you get off Mersey Etsy Team because it really does work.
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• What has been the best advice someone has given to you?

The best advice I got was from my dad, he was a very wise man. When you think you can’t do something because it seems too big of a job – “Just do it ” – Because once you’ve started it, it doesn’t seem so bad and you will work your way through it. I work by that rule all the time.

• Do you have any future plans in the pipeline that you can share?

I have spent these last four years expanding my skylines and I have decided to concentrate on the buildings I’ve already done and create more wedding prints.
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• Tell us a fun fact about yourself. 

I’m not sure if it is a fun fact -  whilst procrastinating years ago when I was supposed to be studying for my Interior design course (I don’t like writing much) I decided to research my ancestry and discovered that I’m related to the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool – John Charles Ryle.

 In the second part of our Team Work series of posts we'll be shining a light on the fundraising work the Mersey Etsy Team has done over the last four years.

Since 2016, our first full year of being an IRL active team, we've been choosing a different organisation to support through secific fundraising events and with money we've raised in the day-to-day running of the team. Our first designated charity was the Whitechapel Centre, a group local to us in Liverpool who work with people experiencing homelessness, living in hostels or having difficulty managing their accommodation. 
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Our first event we held was a fun Etsy Craft Party making origami and papercut houses, with tea, cake and Etsy goodies on offer for a donation, and then we distributed our houses around the city to raise awareness of the charity. Check out the #paperhousehunting tag on Instagram for a flavour of what we were up to! We were lucky to have expert tuition from Hannah of Joyful Array and Carol of Jackdaw & Jay and in the end we raised over £200!

​Later that year a group of us took part in the Whitechapel's annual Sleepout event, bedding down for the night in the churchyard at St Nicholas' Parish Church, not only were we raising money through sponsorship but we also held a late night crafting session making pom poms with anyone who wanted to join in. We then gave the fruits of our labour to their charity shop Open Door to decorate their windows with. Head to team member Jen's blog to find out more about our experience. We continued to support Whitechapel in addition to our designated charities for a while after too, taking part in the sleep out the following year, making knitted paper chains to decorate centre for Christmas and doing crafts for kids at their family sleepout events as well.

In 2017 we held our first team wide vote to choose our charity for that year and the winner was the Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, a dedicated charity for patients and research into cancer based in Merseyside, and one that is close to a lot of our members hearts.
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In June we took part in a Midsummer Event at our team meeting venue Hus, offering craft activities for all ages with all donations going to Clatterbridge. And in August we held our first ever Team Photo Walk raising money through donations for participation.
Finally in December we manned a gift wrapping station at the Winter Arts Market, armed with donated wrapping paper, ribbons and supplies we took donations from shoppers to have their presents wrapped on the spot!

In this unusual time that we're currently in it's never been more important to support our local businesses. This month we've been chatting with the lovely Pat March, from Pat May Crafts. With nearly two thousand Etsy sales, many of them from loyal returning customers, Pat has built up a very successful Etsy shop selling personalised cards, wedding, Christmas and baby gifts. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Pat! 
​

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you create.
I’m Pat May March, my shop is Pat May Crafts. My first degree is in food and I taught secondary for 29 years before taking voluntary redundancy and setting up my little business. Apart from a few night classes in calligraphy and painting, I've no formal training, but as a knitter and lover of buttons, I decided to try and sell the cards and gifts I've always made and started trading in the summer of 2015.

When did you open your Etsy shop & what inspired you to do so?
I set up my Etsy shop in Dec 2016, (after encouragement from Tina Leahey, who I knew from Craft Fairs.) I offered two cards, each with one photo. In the listing anything that said 'optional' was left blank, a basic description, no tags. The method in my madness was to join MET, so I needed to open a shop first. I went to my first meeting in December, found out tons, did loads of research and opened it properly in Feb 2017. Within minutes of opening I heard these odd noises, didn't know what they were and found I had 'favourites' and a sale.

​If you're reading this, as an Etsy customer, a budding Etsy seller or a new team member, you might have a few questions about what an Etsy team actually does, or more specifically, what the Mersey Etsy Team actually does. This post is the first in a series highlighting a few of the different aspects of our activity as a team, and showing how they relate to you as a seller or as a customer.

Education is a big part of the Mersey Etsy Team mission, with a full year round schedule of meet-ups covering different topics to help our members run the best shop they can and maximise their sales while still providing great service and quality products to their customers.

An important online tool we have to educate our members is our Peer Reviews. Any of our team members can put themselves forward for a peer review in our private Facebook group, and in simple terms it's a chance for anyone on the team to have a look at that person's shop and, using their experience as both a seller and a buyer, give constructive feedback, hints and tips for how it could be improved. 

For new members it can seem a little scary, but we've chatted to two team members who have taken part in peer reviews to show you how worthwhile they can be...

Hello to Sara from Stampystamps, and Mary from QuillArtUK! Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourselves and your businesses?
Mary: My shop is Quillartuk and I sell cards and nursery art with quilled details. I've been selling on Etsy for about four years, and I'm still learning!
Sara: I'm Stampystamps and I make journals. I'm a self taught bookbinder who has now decided to try and make this a full time job as of this year so I wanted to get more involved with Etsy this year too and have already been to my first meeting which was really helpful and very friendly!

 Can you tell us about when you decided to ask for a Peer Review from the team?
S: I had been on Etsy since 2016 and I had my Peer review in Nov/Dec last year. I was happy with my sales then as I had a full time job but I put my name down for a review because I was going just starting to make my journals full time.
M: I think I'd been on Etsy for about 5 or 6 months and my sales were very low. I was reading lots of other Peer Reviews and thought it would be great to hear what other people thought of my work/shop.
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​How did you find the experience? Were you nervous?
S: No I wasn't nervous as the Mersey Etsy Team have been so friendly as long as I've been on it. The experience was great! I got good advice, simply explained to me. It was better than I expected.
M: I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of feedback I got as I was still fairly new to it all.

And did you get any advice you hadn’t thought of? What was the best piece of advice you were given?
M: The best advice was mainly about my photos and keeping them consistent.  Something I wouldn't have given a second thought to otherwise.
​S: Yes I saw my Etsy shop in a whole new light! Especially when it came to the photography. I was advised to photograph a book in my hand for perspective etc. All good advice. Also someone said 'what's a smudge stick?' I hadn't thought to explain exactly what it was and how to use it, I expected if you were looking for one, you'd know what it is but it was a good valid point. The photography prompts were brilliant and tags too.

And then how did you work with the advice you were given?
M: I knew I would have to retake some pictures and amend titles and tags, so yes I made a list and fitted the jobs that needed doing in over a period of time.
S: I went straight out and bought an arm for my phone to make my photography better. I edited the listings straight away updating my descriptions and correcting any faults. Then when the arm arrived I re-photographed everything! Big job but well worth it.

​What were the results like? Did you notice an immediate difference?
​S: I did indeed notice a BIG difference! Straight away too!
​M: I didn't notice immediate results - that came over time but I found that I was learning more just by putting things into practice.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of having a peer review?
M: Having a Peer Review is a great way for others to guide you in the right direction. There could be lots of things out there that could really help but you wouldn't otherwise get to know about.
S: I'd say what have you got to lose? It's good advice from people doing a similar thing who may have one little thing that'll help you so much. So thanks to all you lovely Etsy friends out there for all the help and advice so far. I hope I can also return the favour!
​Thanks so much for chatting with us guys! If you're a team member and would like to have a Peer Review just head to the private Facebook group and search 'peer review'. And if you're on another team and you're not already offering peer reviews why not give it a go!  ​

Hello again! We're back to showcase some more fantastic new team members for you all to enjoy. It was rich pickings again this month so here's just nine of our newest members, but if you want to check out the rest of the new faces joining us then head to our Team Shopping Pinterest boards for up to date pins from all our new members shops. 

Left to right from Top:

• Beauty in Design Shop have a huge array of prints and wall art to suit all tastes. I think this peaceful silhouetted scene would be a beautiful addition to bedroom decor.
• If fun prints and practical products are your thing then you'll find it at Crafty Het. This little make-up bag is so giftable!
• A first for the team, fabulous false nails from Fife Fantasi Nails! It was so hard to choose one set to feature but you can't go wrong with classic red.
• Organic forms and tactile finishes set Gail Louise Jewellery apart. I love the combination of solid silver and copper in this cuff.
• One of the members we met at our Newbies Meet-Up last month is Catherine of Huggles and Kisses Art. Catherine creates beautiful keepsake art and prints for your little ones.
• Just in time for Mother's Day, Moo and Me Designs have you covered for handmade charm jewellery with a message. Check out their full range of birthstone designs too!
• One for the dog parents, Proper Giraffe create pet bow ties and bandanas in super fun prints, and you can even get human bow ties too, matchy matchy!
• Ryan the Designer Art has got the music fans covered with his range of prints inspired by hip-hop, indie and Britpop. 
• And another of our Newbie meet-up attendees is Teo of Toa Beads, who has a shop full of handcrafted gemstone dreamcatchers and bead jewellery.

Welcome to the team everyone!

This month we have been chatting with the lovely Jess Hankinson! After being told by a teacher at university that she was set to fail, Jess determinedly worked from home and achieved a First Class degree. With over 160 Etsy sales in just a few short months of working as an illustrator, and having her work shared by Independent Liverpool, Jess is proof that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. Thanks for sharing your story with us Jess! 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you create.

My name is Jess Hankinson and I own the 'JessHanko' Etsy Shop.
I create digital artwork of buildings and surroundings, which I then bring to life with an array of characters that tell a story within the drawing. My most popular illustrations are of the KrazyHouse and Swan Inn - I currently customize these drawings so that I can illustrate people into the original image and allow them to tell their story through their own unique version. 

Tell us about the way you work, do you work on one product at a time or do you often have more than one project one the go? 
I usually have around 3 on the go but recently I’ve realized it’s really beneficial for me to have a drawing for myself on the go at the same time. So that even when I don’t feel like I can work I can still draw something that gives me creative freedom and reminds me how much I love drawing. 

What inspires you to be creative?
I love looking at photos of 'Old Liverpool'. I’m really inspired by buildings and the history of them. I love how a landmark can have so much history tied into its bricks when really it’s just an old building. I think it’s really something that should be celebrated more. I love shop fronts, ghost signs, architecture, and people watching.

What is your favourite creation in your Etsy shop and why? 
The Krazyhouse artwork as it brings back so many memories. 

What advice would you give to anyone who’s thinking of opening up their own Etsy shop. 
Be prepared for the admin and make sure you figure out how you’re going to package and ship all your items.

What has been the best advice someone has given to you?
Such a tough question. My pal Judy Garland said to ‘Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else’ which is so important on so many levels including on how you brand yourself and stop comparing to other artists. I also listened to the ‘You Are A Badass’ audiobook on repeat which really helps you to stop doubting yourself.  

Do you have any future plans in the pipeline that you can share?
My next big piece (fingers crossed) is going to be a re-imagination of A Night At Erics in the 70’s! 

Tell us a fun fact about yourself. 
Forever lacking in fun facts. 
I’ve been drawing since I was 4. Mainly cats.

With the newbies meet up happening next month (book your free ticket here), it's the perfect time to share a short interview with team member Angela Stringer from Angela Stringer Studio about attending her first Mersey Etsy team meet up. We are really grateful to Angela for sharing her experience and hope it will answer some questions for those who yet to attend a meet up!  ​Angela is a very talented natural dyer and textile artist based on the Wirral. She has a wide variety of work, ranging from hand dyed silk scarves and sleep masks, to artwork created using her hand made natural paints. Today we have been chatting about her experience attending her first meet up. 
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