Starting a new business at the latter end of 2019 was exciting but it was always going to be a steep learning curve. This was added to, somewhat, by the developments that occurred in the early stages of the Spring last year. When the COVID-19 virus arrived and the resulting lockdown took away some of my usual, direct access to customers, it became necessary to rethink how I moved forward without losing the relationships I have worked so hard to establish, and in which direction I developed my product range.
Getting up to greater speed with social media channels and developing my confidence to interact with the public from both behind and in front of a screen has been an interesting journey. You might be forgiven for thinking that selling your brand or your products might be easier if you don’t have to meet the customer face to face. In fact, whilst I have found the whole on screen interaction far more enjoyable than I imagined, the technical side of it, has at times, left me frustrated beyond belief. Mastering the technical confidence to set up an online Zoom tutorial to accompany my new needle felt craft kits, was far more challenging than actually hosting the live session itself! What a relief my two teenage sons were both at home and on hand to help!
- Louise Hancox Textile Artist Zoom Call Tutorial
Working from home has become the norm for so many of us again this year, as we strive to maintain some semblance of our careers and businesses via a Zoom call or Teams meeting from the corner of our living rooms or spare bedrooms.
For those of us who have a creative business, the dining room table or the spare bedroom is often our office/studio/stockroom, amongst other uses, all year round. For me, a spare bedroom is now my studio. It is where I design, sew, pack and store my finished pieces. Over the past twelve months however, as I have explored new ideas and developed my business, I have found myself expanding further into the house!
- Louise Hancox Textile Artist’s Studio
Beyond my spare bedroom studio, I have acquired a number of shelves in the large cupboard in the garden room where I have transferred all of my wet felting supplies. Here I have a small kitchen area where I can slosh about with hot soapy water all day long. There is a long workbench, tiles on the floor and a great view of the garden. There are twinkly lights on the ceiling beams left over from New Years’ Eve parties and I often work here in the evenings. It’s peaceful then, and I like to have that time and space to think through new ideas.
- Louise Hancox Textile Artist Making Felt
During lockdown, one of those ideas was that of dying my own fibres, using natural plants dyes. I like the idea of local wool, hand dyed with locally foraged plants. It adds to the sustainability of my product and the unpredictable nature of the dye pot results, adds to thrill of being creative. I was fortunate to find a local farmer who was prepared to let me have a sheep fleece once restrictions were lifted and I set about scouring my first ever Cotswold x Romney fibres.
- Louise Hancox Textile Artist with Raw Fleece
Naturally, I needed a new space to dye in, one where I could have plenty of ventilation and generally make a mess! Luckily for me, the loft above the garage provided just that space and so I set about creating a little dye studio up there over the last few weeks of the summer. It’s nothing fancy, an old trestle table which was left behind by the previous occupants, a small portable camping stove, left from family holiday cook outs on the beach, and a few pots and pans acquired or kindly donated by family and friends.
- Louise Hancox Textile Artist Hand Dyed Fibres and Fabrics
I whiled away many a happy hour experimenting with different dye sources, fibres and fabrics over the Summer, before creating some really exciting shades to use in my work. It’s essentially chemistry, in simple form, and the unpredictable nature of the results affords me opportunities to create in ways I might have previously never imagined.
- Autumn Gold and Autumn Fruits Textile Art
As last year progressed and new pieces emerged, there was the issue of selling my work. What a relief that I had my online shop, here at The British Craft House, which unbeknownst to all of us, couldn’t have opened at a more fortuitous time, in November 2019, or provided such a steady and successful platform for my art. But in addition, like so many artisans, I also rely on markets and craft fairs to sell my work. It has been so disappointing to see so many of these wonderful events cancelled, month on month, and as Christmas approached, I found I had to adapt again.
So, one evening, I tidied all my wet felting supplies away into the big cupboard, and the garden room took on a new role. The next day, unpacking all my stock, I spent a happy afternoon setting up as if at a fair, staging my wares ready for the perusal of customers. Then, with every light, lamp and prop available, I armed myself with a video camera and began filming my ‘stall’ for the benefit of customers to my social media pages. Amidst the handmade meets QVC style studio, I even found myself being interviewed live on Instagram by Dottie who founded The British Craft House!
- Louise Hancox Textile Artist
From artist to online tutor, to pop up online shop keeper, lockdown has seen many of us reinvent ourselves in so many different ways. We are, if nothing else, in small business, more flexible and adaptable than many of us thought possible and whilst there will always be room for improvement, finding rooms for improvement may be an altogether new challenge as my business grows further!
You can find the link to my interview with Dottie from The British Craft House here:
If you would like to follow me on social media, please visit the links from my shop front.
Thank you.
