The truth about working in the craft industry (and the people in it)

I often find myself in conversations with customers in my shop and online with fellow creatives about life working in the craft and design industry. I often  get told 'you are so lucky to be doing this job' when i am out demonstrating...i wouldn't call myself lucky, i didn't get my roles through luck, i got them through hard work and determination.

Working in the craft and design industry is viewed in a variety of ways and different people find it effects them in different ways. Personally I found it a very lonely career at first, i designed from home in my studio (this is going back 7-8 years) and would spend a lot of time alone listening to music and not talking to people very often, this was through choice at the time. When I opened my first craft shop (in 2012 with my young sons in tow)  I started spending more time in my shop working and less time alone designing in my studio I started to find I became more social and confident around others. I reduced the amount of time I worked on designing and switched to working in the shop more, this helped me to build up my confidence, I'm happy to openly admit I have mental health conditions and anxiety is something I struggle a lot with, as well as making friends and trusting people. Slowly I built up my confidence dealing directly with customers and making creative friends who have the same interests as me.

When I progressed to demonstrating and designing products / finished samples for companies I remember the real challenges starting. The industry is very competitive and the trends and styles change fast. There will be times you apply for jobs / DT roles that you get turned down, you can feel deflated but it is important not to give up, just remember there will always be other opportunities. I remember the feeling of pride and excitement for every design that got taken on and for every DT role I got, it really does give you a boost.

I will admit that the industry can be tough and you will find that some people can be very rude / nasty online to each other but it is best to ignore that and focus on the kind and friendly people. I have also been in the situation when demonstrating in stores around the South West where passers by have made hurtful comments like 'I've been crafting for over 30years, longer than you have been alive. I bet I could do a better job than you' that is without even looking at my creations i may add. I may well be young, especially for someone in this industry but I've been in it now for over 10 years and I've had experience in many different roles so I think I have a lot to offer and I hope that I can inspire others to take up arts & crafts or try something new. 

As I mentioned I don't trust easily or open up and make close friends so for me to find not one but two ladies I would consider 'best friends' has meant a lot to me. I met one of the ladies called Sam via my son's school, she is a talented crafter who enjoys all things creative so we get on very well and both having young children we understand the challenges of getting time to craft without little hands trying to steal everything.

The other lady, Claire I met at a designers conference. I knew of Claire before meeting her in person as I had seen her beautiful work in magazines. When we met we got on straight away and kept in contact after the event, even though we live miles apart (England and Ireland) months of us chatting online passed and then I decided to ask Claire if she wanted to join me at Imagine Design Create, luckily she said yes and the rest is history! We spent around 6 - 8 months planning and then In April 2017 we launched our first range of own brand products and things have been crazy busy ever since.

Years on and I have found a good designing and shop working balance as well home life with my two young sons. I still design and demonstrate for other companies as well as my own, I enjoy the variety. 

So the truth about the industry is that it isn't all roses and sunshine, it can be tough and it can get upsetting but in it you will find the most amazing people and if you love to design and create then you will definitely enjoy it so keep at it!


*Disclaimer: I wrote this whilst being stuck at home poorly with what i think is flu and feeling very rough so i do hope it makes sense and please note that this is all personal opinion.