Happy Blogiversary - My Blog and Website are 3 Today!

Hello! As you can see, today is a special day for Artwork By Angie.

  

Today is the anniversary of the launch of the website with my very first blog post on here.  What a wonderful and enriching 3 years it has been.  I would never have dared to dream about how much I would gain from making that very first blog post and stepping into the world of online social networking to grow my little business.   Not only has it enabled me to work on some great creative projects and stretch my imagination and skills.  It has had a huge positive impact on me personally and my home life.  

It has enabled me to discover and become friends with so many wonderful like minded people.  My home and my wardrobe are steadily transforming thanks to the power of facebook, Folksy and Etsy as I find and collect more and more beautiful handcrafted things - each with a very personal story to tell.

In the past couple of years when this blog reached anniversary day I rambled on about how the business has developed and changed.   This time I want to show and tell about the people I've met and the wonderful way that has enriched me and my home.  To me, this is more than a 'job' and means to pay the bills, this is also a way of life, without wanting to sound corny it's a continuing quest for a happy creative life.

So, I'll take you on a quick guided tour of some of the loveliness that adorns my home.  I've picked out a few choice items that remind me of the great people I've met or have inspired me on this journey over the past 3 years...

See that dangley bird up there?..that's a Muddy Puddle Crafts hand painted wooden bird.  It hangs proudly in our lounge.  It has a prominent position because I owe a huge debt of thanks to it's maker, my good friend Jo Williams.  Jo and I were at college together more years ago than we'd like to confess to.  We've stayed in touch over the years, then one Christmas Jo mentioned in her Christmas card that she had started a blog.  It was around the time I was looking at Illustration Friday and wanting to have a go at getting back into illustrating in a serious effort to make a go of it.  I needed to have a blog to take part in Illustration Friday, so I had a look at Jo's blog and really enjoyed reading her updates.  A few months later I got an invite to follow Muddy Puddle Crafts facebook page and watched with joy as I saw how my friend's work was gaining popularity and reaching a wider audience....and quite right too, her work is fab.  Check out her website, it's a gloriously happy world of colour: www.muddypuddlecrafts.com

Watching Jo's business grow steadily and confidently gave me the courage to take my first step and set up my blog, shortly followed by a facebook page - for that I am eternally grateful to my friend :) ...

On the opposite side of the mirror in the lounge that the Muddy Puddle bird hangs on is a London star by Little A Designs.  Marna at Little A Designs was someone I met fairly early on.  I'd only done a few branding packages for crafters when she approached me to design a logo for Little A Designs.  Since then we've worked together on many things, but more importantly we've grown a good friendship and shared many giggles that have certainly helped me keep going with my business.  Anyone who works for themselves needs to have people to giggle with who understand the ups and downs of running a business from your home - I truly believe that sharing a laugh should form an important part of any business plan! ...

One of the main benefits of using online social networking to promote your business aside from meeting other like-minded souls is that you discover so much talent.  It makes it very easy to find something a little bit different, unique and to suit your personal taste.  Here are a couple of items from two designers/bloggers I've discovered in the past 3 years who are particular favourites of mine.  

Above is a screen-printed cushion by Jane Foster.  I have a few Jane Foster cushions scattered around my home, they never fail to raise a smile with me and the colours brighten up each room. Jane keeps a very inspiring blog which is well worth a follow: http://janefosterblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Below are some prints by Gracie's Garden Bazaar and these add a very pretty touch to my daughter's bedroom.  Every piece Cassandra makes with her combination of painting and embroidery takes my breath away, her work is simply stunning and she has a great Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/graciesgardenbazaar ...

 It's not just my home that has seen the positive effects of being in the online craft community.  I do like a bit of dressing up so my wardrobe has had a boost too.  The brooches below are the ones I am wearing right now as I type this.  The dinky apple brooch is by the very wonderful Andrea at Polka.  The little yellow crochet daisy is by Rose from Victoria Rose Crochet.  Rose was my first ever branding customer.   I'd never even considered doing branding for crafting businesses before she asked if I could design her a logo and I said 'OK, I'll have a go!'.  It's fair to say, I have done A LOT of branding work since!  

Thank you for that first order Rose :)...

I had to show you this one - look at these lovely cherries in the pic below, they are by Jo at Elf Designs.  I get plenty of complements when I wear this brooch and my kids love this particular brooch too as they like giving the cherries a bit of a squidge - tactile accessories are always the best!....

And Finally!!...talking of meeting lovely people on this creative journey, last weekend I did exactly that.  

I went on a bit of a road trip to Stratford where the River Festival was in full swing to spend a glorious weekend in the excellent company of some of the lovely ladies I have been very fortunate to meet from my blogging and facebooking efforts.  It was 24 hours of fun, laughter, inspiration and talking...lots of talking.  It was a weekend I'll always remember with a happy smile!

The group pic below is a blend of 2 photos (as we didn't have a pic with all of us in it) so I used my photoshop knowledge to tweak..  

From left to right, please allow me to introduce (click the names for links to their websites or blogs):

Roslyn Mitchell (Roslyn Mitchell Designs), Julia Crossland (Artist), Kate Brazier (Kate Creates), Marna Lunt (Artist/ Little A Designs), Helen Bottrill (Kindred Rose), Me, Kirsty Elson (Kirsty Elson Designs) 

It's been an amazing 3 years and my only hope that things continue as they are.

If anyone is reading this and considering getting started on their own little creative blog I'd say go for it and see where it takes you.  I hope you discover as many joys as I have from sharing and taking part in this amazing creative community.

Happy Anniversary Blog!

Trying New Things...

Hello!

The weeks are flying by as ever, but I wanted to share a few things with you to follow up from a blog post I made on here at the end of May called 'Time to Make Some Changes'

Since that post, I have been steadily making changes and starting to make the time to attend to a few things I've planned to do for ages.  I've been longing to see some of my designs on different products such as printed fabrics, canvases etc.  

Spoonflower and Society 6   are two websites that have been on my radar for some time now as both sites have enabled me to discover some fantastically talented designers and artists.  I love the way they enable artists to do what they do best - create, whilst providing them with an outlet to produce and market their designs in a low risk way.

Since making changes to the way I work, I've been able to set a little bit of time aside each week to finally get the ball rolling on these grand plans of mine.  The tricky bit is, like anything new - there is so much to learn to make sure this plan gets the best chance to fly.

With designing fabrics for Spoonflower, there are lots of technical issues regarding colour reproduction which is very different to print on card or paper (which is in my comfort zone).  Adapting my existing designs which were originally created for greetings cards is not as straight-forward as you may think so a bit of research and development is in hand at the moment.  I'll let you know how I get on when my first designs start to emerge....

I've also begun to dip my toe in the Society 6 waters and see what that feels like.  So far, not bad - getting products up on the site is a breeze and I'm gradually getting to grips with being part of that community by learning how to follow and promote other artists on there.  From what I've seen of it so far that's the key to success on there, being involved in the community because the more your work is promoted by others the more visible it will become on the main site.  At the very least, it provides a way of making my designs available on a new range of products...

My other news is that many of my designs will be making their way to Harrogate this month for the annual Home and Gift fair.  If you are visiting the show you will find my designs on ArtEco Designs stand, number H40.  My designs will sit alongside some other delightful photographic and illustrative ranges.  

With this in mind, I've also been able to tick something else off my 'to do' list that has been there for a very long time.  I have finally created a Trade Brochure which has all my greetings card collections in one place complete with their trade codes to help make wholesale ordering easier and it is available to download as a PDF from my website here:  http://www.artworkbyangie.com/trade.html 

All the items featured in the brochure will need to be ordered via ArtEco Designs/ The Heart of a Garden . This brochure features my designs only, for their other ranges you would need to obtain their brochure from their website: http://www.theheartofagarden.com/

That pretty much brings us up to date.  It looks like this weekend is set to be a gorgeously sunny one for the UK.  Slap on the sunscreen and have a great one everyone!

Best Wishes

Angie :)

New Designs Brewing and Spotted in the Shops...

Hello!  What a lovely day it has been today.  It's also been a while since my last blog post so I thought I'd drop in and share with you the piece I've been working on today which is all about happy sunny days.  For the past 6 months at least I've been itching to make a gift wrap version of my 'Living the Dream' designs.   Time has not been on my side until today.  Today was as good a day as any to just get on with creating the vision I've had in my head for months.  

I must admit, it wasn't the job I set out to work on today.  This morning it was all about Christmas.  Which felt very wrong -  but it needed some attention to keep on top of things.  First up was gathering some of my Christmas stock for a local stockist's photo shoot...

.. and whilst I was getting in the Christmas groove I started mapping out scamps of ideas for my next Christmas designs.  However, once I'd had my tea break in the garden I just couldn't face the prospect of  doing anymore Christmas on a day like this.  Which is why I got going on my designs for 'Living the Dream' gift wrap and feel all the better for it!....

It's been busy times behind the scenes here for the past couple of weeks.  I've had a major sort out of my working area and my admin. I've taken time out to enjoy the nearby coast and country with my family.  I've caught up with friends, read books, made plans and have generally got myself in a much better place with my working situation than I was in a couple of months ago.  It's so good to be developing new stuff again.

The other exciting thing that has been happening lately is, because more people are getting out and about in the better weather, more sightings of my designs in shops are arriving in my email inbox.  I am so humbled by the fact that other people value what I do enough to not only stock or buy my designs, but also take photos of my designs in shops and then email the pics to me so that I can see.  I can't begin to express how exciting that feels and I am eternally grateful for each and every sighting!

Here are a few to share with you.  First up, a very special shop in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, The Jewellery Junkee which is run by a lovely lady called Liz who is not only a loyal stockist but has also become a great friend too...

Step inside Liz's pretty pink shop by the seaside where quirky and colourful jewellery, cupcake bath bombs and pretty hand-made things are the order of the day.  This shop will put a smile on your face... 

I must thank Marna at Little A Designs for these photos as she was the one who spotted my cards and promptly took lots of photos to email to me - thank you so much!

Another shop, another sighting.  This time I need to thank my Auntie Lynda for sending me the photo below of my cards in a gift shop in St Mawes in Cornwall.  From Wales to Cornwall, it's fair to say my cards are getting about a bit!...

I hope you are all getting a chance to get out and enjoy the sunshine too.

Have a great week

Best Wishes

Angie :)

Purple Sensation...

Hello,

It's back to business after a lovely week long break during the school half term.  

For me, this week is all about getting back in the swing of things, having a little sort out and starting to develop some new designs.  Whilst I get to grips with that, I'd love to share with you the most amazing view I have at the moment.   Beneath my window are a host of gorgeous Alliums, 'Purple Sensation' in full bloom stretching towards the sun.  

We plant more and more each autumn as they are may favourites and I really wish they'd bloom a little longer as I just can't get enough of them...

 

I'm in love with that rich purple against a deep blue sky and now there is a lone yellow iris which has come out and is such a wonderful sharp contrast to the purple. It's a stunning sight, I hope you enjoy it!

I'll leave you to soak in those colours and will be back soon.

Have a lovely week :)