Monday 14 April 2014

Craft Business Inspiration Day

Mum and I really are becoming quite the double act this year. Yesterday we went to a fantastic Craft Business Inspiration Day at Beechenhill Farm, Derbyshire. It was quite a way for us to go but so worth visiting this beautiful location (plus we packed a huge picnic to keep us going!).

This was the first inspiration day run by photographer Lyndsey James, web expert Daniel Phillips and pricing and pitching pro Suzy Rai. I thoroughly recommend going to one if you get the chance. 

Greeted with tea, biscuits and goodie bags. What more can a girl ask for?!


The day consisted of different workshops and group activities designed to encourage us to think about treating our creative ventures as businesses, rather than constantly apologising and putting ourselves down for what we do (I think this must be a common thing among creatives as there was a lot of chuckling over this point!). We also learnt about the importance of building a network of fellow creatives as making can be quite isolating at times. 

Group tasks in the beautiful venue. You can't go wrong with fairy lights.


I also really enjoyed Lyndsey's mini workshop of photography tips and tricks. I've actually signed up to one of her online Photocraft courses which is coming up in June. Anyone who can talk for an hour about photography and have me understand everything they said is definitely the person to teach me!! The photos in this blog post are used with kind permission of Lyndsey, but hopefully you'll be seeing some rather snazzy photos on here in a few weeks time thanks to the course!

Lyndsey's tips on lighting.


For me, the most enjoyable part of the day was meeting so many other lovely creative people. I didn't study an art degree which, I think, is where a lot of people meet fellow creatives and support each other so it was so lovely to be part of a group of like-minded people for the day and then find everyone on Twitter afterwards!



Admiring Nicola's candy resin bracelet!


Here are the very talented makers from the day. Click on the names for links to their work.

Allsopps Bookbinders: Beautiful books! As everyone knows, I love books, so it will be no surprise to learn that I've already placed my first order with them!
Elm Tree Studio: Beautiful textiles for gifts and special occasions, although I don't think Kirsty will be too pleased if you order another nappy stacker for her to make!
English Garden Soaps: Seona wins my unofficial prize for best business cards- each one comes with a butterfly shaped sample of one of her gorgeous soaps!
HWR Designs: Wonderful textile creations. Helen brought one of her gorgeous pig bags with her and I fell completely in love with it.
Joy Interiors: Super stylish shabby chic interiors. Nicky also makes lampshades and brought a lovely tractor one with her yesterday.
Little Brown Dog Workshop: My favourite products of Susan's are her gorgeous personalised peg dolls.
Made By Daisy: Wonderfully quirky jewellery. Mum and I are admiring one of Nicola's candy resin bracelets in the photo above!
Popsyclunk: Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to chat to Sally, but she makes hand-painted personalised wooden gifts that would make fantastic christening presents.
Scavenger Annie: Another person I didn't get to talk to! Annie makes great alternative embroidery.
Tenacious Bloom: Wonderfully whimsical porcelain jewellery. The cloud earrings are my favourites!

I know that I haven't managed to include everyone in this list, so please message me if I missed you (sorry!) so I can add you to the list :).

Beautiful products for the 'show and tell'.



A huge thank you to Lyndsey, Daniel and Suzy for such a fantastic day. I have so many notes in my notebook and am really looking forward to putting them into action!





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