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So, the big news... notonthehighstreet.com got in touch and asked if I would like to become a Partner about a month ago.
Initially I was just flattered and had no intention of taking them up on the offer but then I thought it through and, after some discussion with my good friend Witty Hearts (who already sells on NOTHS), I decided to go for it. It's been a stressful month, I've thought of nothing else and bored everyone around me silly with talk of photos, product descriptions and pricing (including indepth analysis of profit margins and GP%)! However last Monday my storefront went live and I am so happy with it. The photos - eventually - look fabulous and I am so grateful for the help and guidance that NOTHS have given me (although at the time I wasn't saying that)! Here's a link to my NOTHS shop. So far it has been a really great experience and although I will continue selling through Etsy I'm confident that NOTHS will prove to be a great business move, I've already been getting quite a few sales (including one repeat customer) and I just hope that these will continue to grow!
In other news - I've completed work on the banner design for the lovely Tracy from IndigoStitch who is just starting out with her Etsy shop. Her products are amazing and really high quality, I am sure she will do really well with it.
I've also completed work on the logo for local wedding stationery business Tatty Lashes. Jenni and Karen were really pleased with it, and it was a pleasure to meet them both.
I am currently working on a series of children's prints based on the rhyme "Monday's Child"; it's a project I have been toying with for a while and can't wait to see it completed. However it is nice to be working on something without a deadline so I can take my time on it. Here's a bit of a preview so far, this is Tuesday's child (that's me), who is "full of grace"! As I am one of the least graceful people I have ever met I don't have a lot of faith in the rhyme, but I am enjoying the drawings and experimenting with my fabulous new graphic markers!
Watch this space as I'll post more soon!
Finally I am trying to work out my calendar for this year, I'll probably be scaling back on craft fairs this year which is a shame as I do enjoy doing them, and have made some wonderful friends through them this year, but I just don't have time to do everything!
Don't forget for my most up to date news to find me on facebook and twitter (@beckagriffin).
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Wow, it's been a busy month or two, and not without it's fair share of problems - my car getting written off and a nasty bout of the flu to mention but two!
I had a quiet Christmas in Cumbria with my mum, grandma, my sister and one of my brothers and his wife. It was nice to get away from everything but I was still poorly so probably not the best Christmas ever! I was really happy to finally present my mum with her Christmas gift - a picture of her house - and she loved it!
I've had a lovely busy start to January - at the moment I feel surrounded by wonderfully creative people and it is really fuelling my own creativity. I simply don't have enough time to utilise all the ideas I am coming up with! At the moment I am working on projects for Bay Treatments, Tatty Lashes, Sandcastles Children's Nursery and several private comissions not to mention ongoing wedding stationery orders.
I've also been working on some new Valentine's designs (available over on Etsy), and of course my "born in 2012" range, which now features bibs and cards!
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come - I'm really looking forward to loads of great new projects and collaborations in 2012... maybe this is the year I will finally be able to go part time in the day job, by the look of things I might need to just to keep up with demand!
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It's been a really busy few weeks for me. I've been doing some work for the lovely Craft Creative and the fabulous Orb Events for their upcoming Christmas events, and also had a few orders for Christmas cards (the latest of which is printing as I type).
I'm in the middle of a number of house commissions but sadly cannot share any of them as they are all Christmas presents. I can't wait to share them all, there are a couple in particular which I am really pleased with!
Last week I met with a lovely lady, Sue, who is the chair of the newly formed Liverpool Childminding Association. I volunteered my time to create a new logo for the association, and we were both really pleased with the outcome:
 I also spent yesterday morning working on a personal project. Some time ago I came up with the idea of drawing every house I've ever lived in. I have moved house quite a few times (seventeen in total, it transpires), so I knew it would be a bit of a mission! With the help of Google Maps - and some brain racking - I managed to put together each of the houses.
 I really enjoyed drawing this - I found myself remembering little snippets of my life that had been locked away for years and years! Drawing the windows on a small terraced house I lived in in 1994 I remembered getting the wonderful phonecall to say that I had a new baby sister; the door of the following house brought back memories of my first boyfriend and the hours we would spend chatting on the doorstep, not wanting to say goodnight. The tall house I lived in in 1999 was my first student house - I drew each window thinking of the people I met who lived behind them. I couldn't remember the addresses of several of the places I lived in in Oxford, but as I discovered them on Google Maps it was like revisiting the chaotic months I spent there, and the rollercoaster of emotions I experienced at that time. And then at the end, my lovely little terrace in Toxteth - the place I have lived for seven years now (except for a brief interlude in 2008), and am so pleased still to call home! It's so funny to think of how different things could have been, and how one exam result, one job application or one chance meeting could so easily have made my "Life In Houses" so different...
I have spent time over the past few days thinking of every person I have ever lived with; Mum, Dad, Sam, Jake, Matthew, Norma, Dawn, Nicky, Ann, Andrea, Helen, Sarah, Elaine... a blur of people in Oxford who I am afraid I can't remember (except Ross, Vicky and Kate)... Stuart, Beth, Dom, Alan, Phil, Matt, Lea, Matt, Joe, Chidders, Lucy and Carys. So many people, and so many memories. I'll definitely come back to this and explore the ideas further; it absolutely fascinates me.
And now, back to some real work! Tonight I'll be drawing a very pretty Cumbrian terrace. I'm off to my friend's house for a working evening in front of Saturday night telly with some Schloer, some Kettle Chips and the promise of some home baked cake. Sounds perfect!
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A short but sweet post today; I fear that most of my updates between now and Christmas will be similarly brief!
I'm all booked up now and have a few weekends I'll be at craft fairs both Saturday and Sunday... looking forward to getting to Christmas and enjoying a few days off in Cumbria with my family. I've just updated the "Find Me" section and realised how busy I am going to be!
Here is a photo of one of the beautiful mugs I picked up yesterday - I had them printed locally and am delighted with the finish and the new design (which I've adapted from my Biscuit Alphabet). I've also had my Cheese Alphabet printed onto mugs too, which looks great.
Also a sneak preview of a design idea I'm working on for custom wedding / engagement / anniversary cards (or possibly wedding invites); here is the card I made for my friend Claire who got engaged at the weekend. All the custom cards I currently sell on Etsy are digitally printed, but I like the idea of having a couple of options that are hand drawn, and I quite like the way that this idea could work.
And my final snippet, some work I did with the lovely Helen of Grinning Cat Designs over the weekend:
She now has a lovely new banner for her Etsy shop and website, and some beautiful new business cards!
Right, off now to start thinking about drawing ducks for Sonja and to finish Sarah and Noah's wedding table plan!
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Hello and welcome to my latest installment...
Have not been quite as busy as usual with the end of the bootcamp I've been going to; I was a bit lost this week as I managed to completely finish my to-do list (a feat never achieved before). I even did all the ironing - there are only the obligatory four odd socks left in my ironing pile; and my Sky+ is looking uncharacteristically empty. I'm quite enjoying having a little bit of time to myself before the Christmas rush starts in earnest.
I attended a Craft Creative event at Leaf a few weeks ago, along with some of my fellow Lark Lane stallholders Helen (Grinning Cat Designs), Claire (Handmade by Poppy Pumpkins) and Rosy (Stuff By Losy Posy). It was an aromatherapy evening and definitely my favourite Craft Creative so far. We made bath bombs, salt scrub and moisturiser, all scented with our own unique mix of essential oils. Carly Neill, the aromatherapist, was really helpful and informative and we came away with a bag full of wonderful products each. It was well worth the £8 and I'd thoroughly recommend the next one to anyone.
I finished a commission for Rosy's friend who was getting married in the church at the bottom of my street (Toxteth Tabernacle); I'm really pleased with is as it's a building I pass most days and I'd never spent a huge amount of time looking at.
I ordered a new address stamp for the back of my envelopes. I discovered The English Stamp Company, who'll transfer your jpeg to a rubber stamp relatively cheaply. They were great as the first stamp did not arrive in the post so they just despatched another one without going through loads of hassle (as you'd normally have to). To see my design have a look on my facebook page!
I have done a few new craft fairs recently; had a wonderful day at Capstan's Bazaar (at Leaf on Bold Street) last weekend; last night I was at Inspired@Oomoo which was a small but very friendly event. I'll be doing both events again in the next month or so.
So here comes the time of year when my Christmas preparations are starting to get underway... it feels a bit odd, especially with the weather having been so warm at the end of September, but I know if I don't get it started now I'll be manically busy throughout November and December.
My Christmas Alphabet Cards have been available on Etsy for a few months and I have actually sold one pack already. I've also recently posted my Liverpool Skyline Christmas Cards, which were extremely popular last year.
I also just revamped my Colour In Christmas Cards, which were a real hit with kids and adults alike last year.
On that note I am going to go and get myself prepared for next Saturday's event at Lark Lane, and make sure I have loads of Christmas stuff ready... |
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Not too many words in this update... I'm going to let the pictures do the talking:
This is the picture I recently finished for Vickie and Ian at the award-winning Liverpool Cheese Company.
I am so pleased with it, and they were too! They're using it on cards for their gift hampers and prints are also available in the shop and online here.
Here is a taster of the finished work for Cuthbert's Bakehouse:
 
Again I am very pleased with how it's turned out and the menus look fantastic on the tables - do pop in and have a look if you are passing!
The final project I'll share with you for now is the artwork I just finished for my mum and sister's new venture:
They have just opened an Etsy shop of their own - Crunchy Pumpkins (the name comes my sister mishearing the term "country bumpkins" when she was younger)!
They are still working on their products and getting them into the shop but it's looking really good so far.
I was really pleased to reach four hundred "likes" on my facebook page this week too. If you've not clicked on it then don't delay! I ran a little discount offer over the weekend to celebrate, and I'll be doing the same when I hit 500.
And I am currently lost in a whirlwind of work, drawing, bootcamp, swimming, Pilates and volunteering. A few craft fairs thrown in - Hope Street Feast and Lark Lane - and a few on the horizon (next one is Capstan's Bazaar at Leaf on 9th October). I'm already looking forward to having a day off sometime in January!
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It's bee n another busy few weeks; I've been caught up in a frantic whirlwind of craft fairs, volunteering, boot camp and work.
Projects have included working on an image for the wonderful Liverpool Cheese Company (see preview, left). This is probably my favourite shop in Liverpool, and Vickie and Ian are the friendliest and most helpful people you could ever hope to meet; I'm looking forward to getting the picture finished and made into gift cards to accompany their cheese gifts.
I've also had a busy week or so on Etsy, with several new products including my "Born in 2011" babygrows (see below right) which have proved popular online and also at craft fairs. This was a great idea given to me by the lovely Fionualla. My personalised Mr and Mrs wedding cards have also been popular, which is great as I really enjoy making them.
I went to a lovely leather-making workshop this week with my friend Lucy. It was a Craft Creatives event at Leaf, which always makes for a lovely evening. We made leather cuffs (of varying success), but it was lovely to have a glass of wine and to be creative in a more social way than either of us would ordinarily be. 
My volunteering project is a wonderful way to spend a Friday afternoon - I'm doing craft projects with teenagers, and I was really touched to have some really generous donations of leftover bits and pieces from fellow crafters at the Lark Lane fair last weekend. Some beautiful beads and ribbon from Helen at Grinning Cat went down well last night, and I look forward to using the fabric and paints from Tina and Steph in the coming weeks! I'm racking my brains to think of some more "boy-friendly" craft projects, any good ideas for cheap-yet-macho projects are more than welcome! We're going to do some canvases and possibly a mural, but after that I am a bit stumped.
So, this week I am hopefuly going to get the menus for Cuthbert's Bakehouse finished and also start working on the dreaded Christmas cards. I know it sounds a bit previous to be doing them so early, but I need to get some ideas sorted out to accompany last year's Christmas Alphabet cards, which I'll still be selling due to their popularity.
Today I'm going to give myself a bit of time off - long overdue I think. Looking forward to some cake and tea with a few friends this afternoon and then I'll have to debate the merits of X-Factor v. a house party invite this evening...
Oooh, before I go, I nearly forgot to mention the lovely No-Me (aka Naomi) who I met quite randomly at the Lark Lane Craft Fair. She's an illustrator too and I have been a fan of hers on facebook for ages. She was visiting from Hampshire and just happened to walk into the event in Liverpool! How bizarre.
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Well it's been a while, and for that I do apologise! No real excuse for my silence except for the usual "too much to do and not enough time" one. Even less excuse when I explain I have been so busy due to me having nearly two weeks off the day job!
Knowsley Flower Show was a lovely day; a little quiet but I was delighted to meet the lovely Lucy Hopping (see picture below) for the first time in the flesh and also to see my favourite cheese-loving friends Vickie and Ian from the Liverpool Cheese Company. I was very organised and took some lovely fresh bread and slices of tomato so Mum and I got big wedges of delicious cheese (a mushroomy Camembert for me, crumbly Lancashire for Mum) from LCC and we had a wonderful lunch!
Well, I managed to escape the unfolding riots and travelled north - via Grandma's in Fleetwood - to my brother's caravan in Cumbria for a few nights - my timing was by coincidence as it happened, but I was happy to be out of the way. A few cars were burnt out on the next street to mine, and it was scary seeing pictures of places that I know so well in such utter chaos.
Had a very productive time in the Lakes; I worked on Cuthbert's menus, Dean and Natalie's wedding invites and a banner for Ruby and Tom. I did a few little personal projects too, and drew a picture for my Mum for her birthday. I ate a lovely assortment of really inventive vegetarian pates (from Grub, a present from Mum); did a spot of gardening and some reading. All in all it was lovely to spend some time away from everything and strangely liberating to have no internet access.
And then... disaster struck. While putting the outside chairs away in the shed, I gently brushed my hand against the shed door. Somehow I managed to lodge a huge - well, probably about a centimetre long - splinter down my little fingernail. Stop reading now if you are of a squeamish nature. I went through every cupboard in the caravan but could not find a first aid kit, so had to drive fifteen minutes into Keswick to the nearest chemist; who promptly redirected me to the local hospital! An hour later, and a thoroughly unpleasant encounter with a very pointy pair of tweezers, I was sent away (by the very lovely nurse), splinter still intact. I was instructed to return the next day for the local GP. The following day I encountered another equally pointy pair of tweezers to no avail, and was also given a tetanus booster - ouch! I drove back to Liverpool with a throbbing finger and an aching shoulder. I've been to see my own doctor since, and have an antibiotic cream and a warnign that I may have to live with a black splinter under my nail for the forseeable future. At least it's stopped hurting now.
 So, back in Liverpool I spent some time with my friend and her lovely baby boy, Niall (see right). I filled my freezer with cauliflower cheese and veggie lasagne. I pestered the very lovely Mitty of Witty Hearts and her table-mate Claire (of Love and Embellish) for an afternoon at Liverpool One. I continued with Boot Camp - which is exhausting but enjoyable; did a bit of swimming and Pilates and got really cross with my stupid camera which is refusing to work at all. I've had a few Etsy sales but am struggling to put anything new on there until I have a working camera, grrr. I even seem to have broken the one which a kind friend generously lent me.
Well that's me for now, I'll be back sooner next time and will endeavour to have a camera sorted out and therefore some better photos! Bye for now!
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I swear I did try to post a blog last week, but there was something wrong with the website and it would not post, very frustrating. It's still not letting me post photos for some reason (but drawings are fine). I'm sure no-one's sitting in front of their computer desperately waiting for me to post though, so not a major disaster!
Anyway, my Australian visitors have been and gone. I had a lovely time being a tourist for a few days - we did the Yellow Duckmarine, if you have not been on it yet then you are missing out, it is a hugely entertaining and interesting fifty minutes and is worth the £10 ticket price (that's saying a lot coming from a cheapskate like me)! While we were at the docks we called into the Tate - I loved Robert Therrien's huge Table and Four Chairs. We also enjoyed some delicious meals at my friend Joe's restaurant the Clove Hitch and the always-a-hit Moon and Pea. I then went up to stay with my brother later in the Lake District later the following week, and met up with my uncle and cousin again there. Somehow they all convinced me to climb Catbells. Now I'm not adverse to a bit of exercise, and I loved the views from the top when we finally got there, but I have to say apart from that I got no enjoyment out of it at all! I truly am a city girl at heart. I said a tearful goodbye to Alice and Pete; it'll be ages til I see them again but at least next time I will probably (hopefully) be visiting them in Sydney!
 I got back to Liverpool in time for my craft fair at Lark Lane last weekend; I was accompanied by my lovely friend Sarah who came over from Leeds to help out. Had a few enquiries about wedding invites and bespoke babygrows which will be great if they come through. I met a fellow Etsian, Eiglas, which was lovely (thanks for coming if you're reading this), and I also attempted to recruit more of my fellow stallholders to Etsy - the more the merrier! We spent the evening at the docks to see the impressive light show at the museum and the Liver Building. It was really good, and I came away once more feeling really proud of the city I live in. I've not been to the museum yet, I am going to make a day of it after the school holidays I think.
My Etsy shop is going well. Yesterday I sold one of my Cheese Alphabet Prints to a lady in America named Brie, which made my day! Have had a few more sales and have made some lovely contacts too.
A few people left my work this week. I made a card for my Team Leader who's off on maternity leave; it went down really well and I was really pleased with it - here's the picture I did of her. I am enjoying experimenting with combining scanned textures and drawn images at the moment, I think it looks really effective and people seem to like it! One of my very good friends and colleagues, Michael, also finished work for a year. He's going to Australia. I am going to miss him loads but I'm also immensely jealous!
In other news I have - in a moment of madness - signed up for a fit camp (boot camp style thing) starting next week. Goodness only knows how I will fit this in too, but I'd really like to get a bit fitter! I'm also starting volunteering with a young people's project in a few weeks. I suppose at least no-one can ever accuse me of being lazy!
Okay so that is me for now, I'm off to Pilates. I have a stall at the National Wildflower Centre (with my lovely Mum) next Sunday for the Knowsley Flower Show so if you are there please look for me and say hi!
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Ah, a few days off work. Lovely. And for once, I won't be filling them with drawing. I'm waiting for my Uncle Pete and cousin Alice to arrive - they are visiting from Sydney. I'm really looking forward to seeing them as it's been about three and a half years since I was over there.
This week has been so busy, I have been working on a project for Cuthbert's Bakehouse which is a lovely little cake shop on Mount Pleasant in Liverpool. The owners, a lovely couple called Elaine and Matt, have asked me to come up with a new menu design among other things. They have also started stocking a range of my cards in the shop which is great news. Here is a little sneak preview of the shop front which is the first part of the project...
I'm also working on some wedding invites for a colleague (and friend) who is getting married in Vegas in October. I got ever so carried away and worked on a Vegas sign - which was massively off-brief - which I really love. Here's a sneak preview of that! It's different to anything I have done before as it is primarily text-based with no hand drawn illustrations, but I really enjoyed it! Now back to the brief!
Right, off now to continue preperations for my visitors... don't forget to check out my Etsy shop as I have added a few extra bits this week! |
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So... everyone's doing it, or so I'm told. Sharing their lives with the world by keeping an online diary, visible to all at the click of a button.
Hmm, not sure if it's for me to be honest. But then when I think about it properly, I'm not an intensely private person (in fact many may say the exact opposite about me, often I can be a little too, erm, "public"). I'm on facebook and twitter, and obviously I have the website too. If someone wanted to know what I was up to at any given time they'd be able to find out pretty easily. So, blogging... it's just a wordier status update really, isn't it?
Then there's the time thing. As well as juggling full time work and self-employment, each week I have several Pilates lessons and a swimming session or two. I also try to shoehorn in a bit of a social life (more often now it's a quick cup of tea with friends before rushing off to the next thing). I've also just signed myself up for a volunteering project - more about that to follow. But then, thinking about it, I probably do have a spare ten minutes every few days, and if I don't, it's not like anyone's life depends on it, is it?
So, amid my current projects - Las Vegas themed wedding invites for Alex and Kev; rebranding of Cuthbert's Bakehouse; a 22nd birthday card for Adam's girlfriend and logo design for Victoria (RubyandTom) - among other things... I'm going to attempt starting a blog.
Wish me luck; and please don't hold it against me if my updates are sporadic at best!
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