The thought of actively pitching yourself and your handmade business to the big wide world can be downright terrifying – but it is so vital to the growth of your business.

In this episode I chat with the super-inspiring Stacie Bloomfield, the woman behind the successful indie brand gingiber – a stationery and homewares business built upon her own illustrations.

Stacie and I have known each other online for a few years – in fact, she was one of the team of regular contributors here on C&T when it first started in 2013!

Stacie is full of passion and drive, and has built a successful business that has multiple facets: an online store and Etsy shop with over 13,000 sales; collaborations with Moda Fabric and The Land of Nod; and, her creations are stocked in over 300 stores around the US.

She discusses the growth of her business, how she and her husband manage their respective careers while also raising three small children, and how putting herself out there (even when it’s scary!) has contributed hugely to her current success, and how she is confident that it is going to help her business grow in the future.

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Quotes and highlights from this Episode:

* Over the years of running gingiber Stacie has learnt that she really needs to put herself out there and pitch herself.

* Stacie now has a few employees but she still does all of the artwork and runs most of the day to day business tasks.

* The business has certainly had it’s ups and downs in the 8 years it has been running.

* Being a mum has been a challenge learning to juggle both a family (3 kids) and a small biz!

* Stacie attempted to open a retail store when the building was sold from under her which brought it to a sudden halt only 6 months in.

* It was hard for Stacie to not be discouraged by the challenges she faced but she knew she had to shake it off and move on.

* Stacie designs for Land of Nod and has been for a few years which has been a great achievement for her.

* She also designs for Moda Fabrics which is now starting to pay off.

* Stacie admits she doesn’t get a lot of spare time but loves spending time with her kids.

* Instagram has been a wonderful way for Stacie to be part of a community, to build relationships with customers and a great way to stay present.

* ‘You can never stop marketing yourself and that’s the hard part’ {Stacie}

* There is still plenty of hard work to be done despite the success of gingiber.

* Stacie has big plans for the future of ginigber and is focusing on making sure she has the skills needed to get there.

* One of her biggest inspirations is Emily McDowell who has paved a new way forward for creatives.

* ‘The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.’ {Eleanor Roosevelt}