We are going to open
our own shop.
Our own shop, with real
shelves and a till and a window looking out to the high street. With
little paper bags with our name on and a bell that goes 'ping' when
someone comes in.
It is, without doubt,
the most excitingly-scary thing I have ever done. More scary than
walking on glass.
(That's me!)
But that's stepping
forward a little. Hello, my name is Rebecca and I am an Illustration
and Animation graduate from Coventry University. I graduated in 2010,
moved back home and then found that no-one really wanted an
illustration graduate with no work experience; but were very, very
happy to let me work for them for free in their offices in London or
Oslo or the US. With little savings and a big wodge of
student debt, moving out to live in London or Oslo and getting paid
nothing didn't seem like a great idea. So I got a job in my local pub
(which was lovely, actually) and spent many of my days pulling pints
and having a Really Good Think.
After a while of
thinking I realised I love making things and I really, really love
getting handmade things as gifts for people. I had heard of Etsy and
Folksy, but found the sites tricky to navigate and didn't like the
fact you ordered bits from each seller and they shipped out to you
(meaning big shipping prices) and the often really long wait for
items (crafters are fab people, but many juggle Real Jobs, so making
your item and shipping it fast takes a back seat) often put me off
from buying - especially for time sensitive presents like Christmas, Valentines and Birthdays.
I thought, why not make
my own shop sourcing the best in crafts made in the UK and locally to
me, put them in one place, list them online with lots of lovely
photos and ship them out from the one place with firm shipping times,
gift wrapping, etc?
A
selection of handmade gift and treats sourced for the website – we
have Oakwood Soaperie, Fyne Silver, The Mosaic Garden, Emporium
Candles and Birdie and Beau. All handmade in the UK and all very
lovely people who were hidden away on Etsy and Folksy, not getting
the attention they deserved.
I approached the
Princes Trust, went on a two-week course on running a business, then
was granted a loan to get things moving – but only just enough for
an on-line shop, no bank would touch me except to gently and kindly
shoo me out of the door.
The Handmade Emporium
was born -
http://www.thehandmadeemporium.com/
. Lots of really amazing artisans joined and we have gone from
strength to strength getting more and more lovely things, a fab
customer base, loads of support on social media and even a plug from
a BBC Dragon in July of 2011.
My
badge from Theo Paphitis, BBC Dragon. Very nice chap.
And now a local
shopkeeper in my lovely home town of Oundle is offering me to rent a
part of her shop, all for me, separated from hers with my own window
and doorway. And we open on the 1st of February. I've no
idea how this will go – will this be the start of bigger things –
a revolution in how we buy things made in the UK? I hope so! But,
until then I have a whole lot to do...
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