Joyful Selling for Creatives

If you squint hard enough in the Yorkshire Moors you might just see a bright haired beauty glued to their desk thinking up the most delightful chunky drawings of sassy cats, cussing ducks and delightful thicc legged beauties. It’s the home of Steven from The Happy Chappo, who, along with their top ‘wifo’ Becky, celebrate the joy of being an oddball and helping everybody embrace their inner weirdo, one greetings card at a time. 

See Steven's Insta - www.instagram.com/thehappychappo

Steven's Website - www.thehappychappo.co.uk

Indie Roller - www.indieroller.com

Having worked in the animation industry for around 6 years, Emily left her job working as a character designer to have her baby in February 2019. With no career plans or job to go back to, Emily started following other illustrators on Youtube who were sharing their process of creating and selling their own work. It lit a fire inside her and when her little boy was around 12 weeks old, she decided to clean the back bedroom and set up a camera to start documenting the journey of navigating life as a new working mum and illustrator. Emily's journey has been a rollercoaster this past year, but so proud to share the highs and lows of what really happens behind the Instagram Grid and how it's not all productive when working with children! 

Emily's Instagram - www.instagram.com/eharveyart

Emily's Website - www.eharveyart.com

Indie Roller - www.indieroller.com

Ebony Newton is a Northumberland based freelance graphic designer specialising in gifting and greetings card design and she works primarily on white label products for publishing companies. Ebony also works for local businesses on hand lettering and illustrative branding projects. Establishing the business in 2014 after becoming a mother, where flexibility and working around her little boy’s complex needs became paramount. 

After welcoming her second son, Ebony set up a second business, Dotty Black. An online gift shop for little people (and big people too), celebrating the journey of parenthood through unique products, cards and prints. Not only does Dotty Black bring products to the market which you may have never seen before, but it also creates an outlet to explore her own personal style. Most importantly, it supports Ebony through the time’s she's unable to work for clients due to ups and downs of being a parent to a child with disabilities. 

Find Ebony on Insta https://www.instagram.com/dottyblackgifts/

Ebony's website https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/dottyblack

Indie Roller www.indieroller.com

Katie Abey is an illustrator committed to the idea that she might just be able to make a positive difference to the world by drawing llamas and rainbows for a living.

Katie and her husband Jeff have so much fun growing their positivity-spreading company enjoy seeing what unexpected opportunities present themselves along the way.

When they are not taking over the world with rainbows Katie and Jeff will probably be hanging out with their baby human-potato, Violet, and their cat-fluff, Frank.

Katie's website -  www.katieabey.co.uk

Find Katie on Instagram - www.instagram.com/katieabey

Indie Roller - www.indieroller.com

I'm joined by fellow In Colourful Company colour walker and illustrator Beth from Doodlebot. Beth shares how she's running her Indie Biz during lockdown and we discuss community, Instagram challenges, commissions and the intricate workings of DMs when you don't have a website. I love following Beth on Instagram because she cheers me up with Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake one day and tells me it's ok to cry with a mental health post another day. Enjoy today's episode!

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Beth (Bot to some friends) doodler, psychotherapist, mum, procrastinator, over thinker and exceptionally bad at writing bios!

Follow Beth on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/doodlebotillustration

Sign-up to hear more about Indie Roller's Digital Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/AdaptCovid-19

Amanda Perry is a straight talking marketing expert from Sheffield and today she shares how she's navigated Covid-19 so far. Amanda breaks down how you can run a buoyant business during this time that isn't profiting from the situation but has adjusted to remain relevant, provides what your customers want and most importantly suits the situation that you now find yourself in. We also tangent off into a discussion dissecting the different forms of FOMO marketing which I enjoyed immensely. 

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Having been in business for 15 years and  started, scaled and sold 3 brands, Amanda has a wealth of knowledge to share. She now uses her experience to help others’ grow their brands through her agency SOUP and the E-com Growth Hub where she coaches small businesses on how to use ads to grow their own business.

Find Amanda on Insta: www.instagram.com/amandaperry

Amanda's Website: www.amandaperry.co.uk

Indie Roller: www.indieroller.com

In today's episode Hazel Gardiner joins us to share how she's managing her Indie Biz and mental health through Covid-19 by drawing upon her experience with Cancer. She's loosening her need for a routine-based day to day and shares her feelings around pausing or pivoting at this time. A wonderful episode full of heart felt insight and a shared love of Monty Don!

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Hazel is an East London based floral artist whose work focuses on the synergy between colour and texture, playing with shape and form to create the unexpected. She produces innovative designs for weddings, events and editorials. With an experienced background in fashion production and event styling she is a multi-faceted creative.

Hazel regularly teaches foam-free techniques through creative workshops and 1:1 tuition.

Her passion and signature use of mixed materials has led to work with celebrated clients including Nike, Boots, Liberty, SpaceNK and an appearance on Channel 4's, Kirstie's Handmade Christmas. 

Find Hazel on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hazelgardinerdesign/

Hazel's Website - https://www.hazelgardinerdesign.com/

Hazel's Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/HGardinerdesign

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

Today's episode is with Indie Biz legend Nikki McWilliams who shares with us how production in the biscuit factory has adapted, her tips for working from home and how her partner Michael who is an artist has slowed down during the process.  Nikki has also found great solace in her newer business Nikki's Supply Store in which she's recently run a live BuJo workshop where she teaches how to reflect through bullet journalling. An uplifting and positive episode during this emotional and challenging time. Enjoy!  

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Nikki is a small business owner and all round creative based in Scotland, UK. She runs two successful online stores full time from her home studio office space.

Also known as The Biscuit Lady, Nikki launched her first store in 2009 after creating a range of homeware and accessories inspired by her favourite snacks. Always a little nostalgic, her work has been described as bright & playful with an attention to detail that’s made to last. Nikki’s textiles are proudly designed and made from start to finish in the UK.

Nikki’s Supply Store opened its virtual doors in 2017 after Nikki discovered bullet journaling. Fuelled by her love of cute and colourful stationery, she designs and curates products from across the globe. You can often find her live streaming her own journal setups on instagram.com/nikkissupplystore.

Find Nikki on Instagram  - https://www.instagram.com/nikkimcwilliams

Nikki's websites -https://nikkimcwilliams.com/

https://www.nikkissupplystore.com

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

After a short break we're back with Season Two and for this batch of episodes we'll record/edit/publish as we go to share up-to-the-moment stories from Indie Biz owners and industry experts responding to Covid-19. The intention is to share positive experiences that are real, relatable and useful during this surreal and turbulent time. I'm delighted to launch this season with Rosie Johnson who is single-handedly lifting the spirits of so many of us over on Instagram with her insightful, personal and uplifting posts. In today's episode Rosie shares how she is currently running her business, home-educating her children and being in the moment with her career and family choices. 

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After leaving a 15 year teaching career, Rosie opted for the much more stable and well- remunerated profession of freelance illustrator in 2016. As well as creating illustrations for her prints, products and for businesses such as The Blurt Foundation, she has written several pantomimes and has 3 manuscripts which she hopes to turn into proper children’s books soon. She is a Just a Card team member and a big fan of the Indie Business community. 

Find Rosie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosiejohnsonillustrates

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosiejohnsonillustration

Website: http://www.rosiejohnsonillustrates.com

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

Our final episode of season one is a jam-packed session with Indie Biz owner and PR professional Nerrisa who tells us why press releases are dead and how we can gain exposure for our brands.  If PR feels like a 'dark art' then this episode will ensure it feels so much easier than you thought with actionable tips so you can start gaining press for your business.

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Nerrisa Pratt is the founder of PR, Marketing and Social media agency Untld Project. A creative herself, it was clear after she started working on projects with crafty brands that she admired that someone was really missing a trick and thus Untld Project was born. 

Founded on the idea that there isn’t an obvious ‘go-to’ full-service agency out there for small, independent, crafty or creative brands, Untld Project uses the core skills and experiences that the team has gained over the years working with names like IKEA, Debenhams and Kodak to name a few and uses their own creative knowledge and experience, translating this into campaigns and projects for brands within the craft and creative industries.

Find Nerrisa on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/untldproject

Website: https://www.untldproject.com

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