Joyful Selling for Creatives

When you build a business through a hobby that once offered escapism, how do you take it to that next level so it becomes your thriving full time gig? Katy from Milk & Moon shares her story to show us how she did just this and in her first month going full time took 5 x her monthly salary. Her growth mindset and willingness to experiment ensure that her business and creative energy continue to prosper.

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Katy Lockey community organiser, founder and one woman show at Milk & Moon,  shiny thing for feminists.  

Check out Katy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milkandmoonuk

Website: https://www.milkandmoon.uk

Indie Roller: https://www.indieroller.com

The wonderful Lucy from CAKE by Lil's Parlour joins us today to discuss how she's overcome setbacks in her life to build an Indie Biz that she truly loves.  If the fear of rejection holds you back from going for it with your business then hear how Lucy has harnessed hearing no and turned it into a positive force that propels her forward. Enjoy

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Lucy says: 'After a being a child obsessed with food and dreaming of becoming a TV chef ... to a University drop out living in a squat... to serial job hopper it was always clear the 9-5 wasn’t going to suit me, after a life changing event in 2006 I decided to finally face “Adulting” and trained to be a teacher. It won’t be any surprise that despite loving the creativity the role allowed, the politics and hierarchy got me down. After taking up baking as a hobby and having a “narrow miss” with The Great British Bake Off and Kirsty’s Handmade Home I finally left teaching to go it alone as a self employed person after the profession was damaging my health and well being. I have been full time with CAKE by Lil’s Parlour since 2015 and have just celebrated 5 years of “winging it”, having never written a business plan or sat with a bank manager. 

I am grateful every day for my corner of a saturated market. In the past 12 months I have completely changed my business model to offer mostly postal treats, all invented by me and each one a piece of my own imagination inspired by my own food memories. From The Brownie Corndog to the Wagonish Wheel every product is a little part of my story. I always stand by my values of creativity, honesty and kindness and in the process have built an incredible group of loyal customers who cheerlead me into the next project.' 

Follow Lucy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilsparlour 

Website: https://www.lilsparlour.co.uk

Indie Roller: https://www.indieroller.com

Self-confessed 'shy guys' Yuk Fun stepped massively out of their comfort zone last year to build their audience and run a brilliant Kickstarter campaign. If the term 'lead magnet' makes you want to vomit or the thought of doing a talky-story makes you want to stick pins in your eyes then hear all about how Lucy & Patrick took ownership of these marketing activities to stay true to themselves and build a kick-ass brand.

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YUK FUN was founded in 2014 by design duo Lucy Cheung and Patrick Gildersleeves, who met at Leeds Met University studying art & design. They currently work from their home studio in Portslade-by-Sea screen printing, making clothes and drawing. 

Follow Yuk Fun's adventures: https://yukfun.shop/

Indie Roller: https://indieroller.com/

In today's episode we are joined by papercutting artist Charlotte Trimm from By Charlie's Hand and we delve into collaboration, selling platforms and how difficult times in our lives can sometimes lead to taking decisive action.

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I’m Charlotte a papercutting, rainbow making, tea drinking artist based in the valleys of South Wales. By Charlie’s Hand started in 2011 and I’ve been cutting holes in paper ever since. Making rainbow and colourful paper joy in my grandly titled ‘studio’ which is the box bedroom of the house I share with my boyfriend. I started papercutting after graduating from university with a Fine Art degree and moving back home with my parents. Wanting a way to keep my finger in the art pie when I couldn’t paint anymore due to a simple equation of carpets + paint = bad I had to find a new medium. Combined with a long held love for Rob Ryan’s work, a scalpel I found in my parents kitchen drawer and a very unfortunate year of death this all led to some terrible papercutting experiments, a Facebook page and eventually it becoming my job because I got a lot better at it and I’ve been a full-time self employed artist since 2012. 

Check out Charlie's work: https://folksy.com/shops/bycharlieshand

Indie Roller: https://indieroller.com/

A joyful and lively chat with Stacey Gray MacDonald on how she has brought her Indie Biz to life over the past few years and the moments that changed everything.

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Stacey is a creative illustrator and a DIY enthusiast but more than anything, she calls herself a maker of banners. What started out as an escapism from University deadlines back in 2012 organically grew with thanks to social media and going to market....but painting banners always remained a hobby and never a 'brand' until she took the leap into life as a full time creative at the end of 2018. Whilst she's still trying to suss out how to run a business, she's beyond grateful that she gets to create pieces on a daily basis that aim to inspire, motivate and raise a few smiles all from her little desk in Derbyshire.

Find Darwin & Gray on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darwinandgray

Darwin & Gray website: https://www.darwinandgray.com

Indie Roller: https://www.indieroller.com/

When Toby from I Like Cats launched his first Etsy shop he sold nothing at all but that didn't stop him having another go at it under a new name with a different product range. 7 years later and his shop has been favourited 32,549 times and has 24,628 sales under his belt. Today we peek behind the scenes to hear Toby's honest approach towards making art to sell, how he created his own book and his plans for 2020. 

Toby is an illustrator based in Brighton in the UK who spends a lot of time drawing cats, which you can find on a huge variety of products like t-shirts, prints, badges and jewellery. He's inspired by childhood pets, a love of colour, sassy attitude and all things cute and creepy.  

😍 Check out I Like Cats here: hthttps://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ilikeCATSshop

😍 Join Indie Roller: https://indieroller.com/indie-roller-annual-membership/ 

😍 Read the Indie Roller blog: https://indieroller.com/blog/  

😍 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indie_roller/

When Jo Want discovered she had a form of alopecia triggered through stress, it was time to stop trying to do it all and focus on what lit her up. When going full time with Hello Sunshine, Jo made the intentional decision to up her Insta-game by creating a more branded grid but still infused her own personal passions into the process. Jo takes us on her adventure from saying goodbye to her full time job at Boots to embracing one of her life long passions and making it part of her business in 2020.

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Jo is a 35 year young, cheese loving, cat and dog bothering, smiler who loves to adventure and explore the outdoors. Originally from Nottingham but currently based in Cambridge she creates fun, cheerful jewellery and accessories, as well as illustrating custom portraits of people, pets and campervans. Jo also travels to weddings and events to paint portraits from her Sunshine Van, Buddy!

😍 Check out Sunshine Jo here: https://hello-sunshine.co.uk/  

😍 Join Indie Roller: https://indieroller.com/indie-roller-annual-membership/ 

😍 Sign-up to the Indie Roller News: https://indieroller.com/shop/indie-roller-news/  

😍 Read the Indie Roller blog: https://indieroller.com/blog/  

😍 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indie_roller/

In today's episode, the founder of fine stationery brand Meticulous Ink, lets us peek behind the scenes of her Indie Biz journey. Athena shares so openly what motivated her to build her own business in the first place, the steps she's taken from business plan to buying her former partner out and how her decision making is often driven by one of her core values: being meticulous. 

Meticulous Ink creates utterly bespoke design, and stationery printed the old fashioned way - using 1960s presses, the finest papers, time, patience, and a deep rooted passion for being meticulous. The small, yet perfectly formed retail shop offers stationery, paper related goods, and calligraphy supplies. Behind the counter you'll see two enormous Heidelberg Windmill printing presses at work, printing all their stationery and greeting cards, along with bespoke private projects. At the very back of the studio they teach lettering and calligraphy workshops. The space is calm and friendly, full of creative inspiration and tactile, analogue trinkets.

😍 Check out Meticulous Ink here: https://meticulousink.com/  

😍 Join Indie Roller: https://indieroller.com/indie-roller-annual-membership/ 

😍 Sign-up to the Indie Roller News: https://indieroller.com/shop/indie-roller-news/  

😍 Read the Indie Roller blog: https://indieroller.com/blog/  

😍 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indie_roller/

In today's episode we are joined by Meg Kissack; a writer, coach podcaster and professional rebel-rouser living in Liverpool, who believes that everything changes when you believe you matter. Meg shares how and why she started her podcast The Couragemakers and the convo focuses on how mindset plays such an essential role in getting started with anything related to an Indie Biz. Listen along if you want to get going with something (not just podcasting) and learn tips to not take direction from your internal 'dreamshitter' and build your own confidence. Enjoy!

😍 Check out That Hummingbird Life: https://www.thathummingbirdlife.com/  

😍 Join Indie Roller: https://indieroller.com/indie-roller-annual-membership/ 

😍 Sign-up to the Indie Roller News: https://indieroller.com/shop/indie-roller-news/  

😍 Read the Indie Roller blog: https://indieroller.com/blog/  

😍 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indie_roller/

Cat from Cat Food Cakes is my Insta Stories FAVE! Today I'm delighted to ask her all about her approach to the platform, what works, what doesn't and how she's recently implemented habits to protect her mental and emotional health whilst being so visible online.

😍 Check out Cat Food Cakes: https://www.catfoodcakes.com/  

😍 Join Indie Roller: https://indieroller.com/indie-roller-annual-membership/ 

😍 Sign-up to the Indie Roller News: https://indieroller.com/shop/indie-roller-news/  

😍 Read the Indie Roller blog: https://indieroller.com/blog/  

😍 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indie_roller/