I still remember the moment I decided to take my art a little more seriously. Like many artists I have met, it all started during lockdown.
During that time I was a key worker, so I was still going to work, but the rest of life had basically come to a huge stand still... go for a walk, pop to the shops, then straight back home. No dinners out, no weekend plans… just a whole lot of indoors.
With all that free time, I finally started creating more. The funny part? I didn’t have fancy tools or the latest ipad, actually far from it. My iPad was so outdated that it wouldn’t even let me download Procreate (the go-to app for most digital artists). Instead, I found a free drawing app and used a combination of my finger and those rubber-tipped styluses that make you feel like you’re drawing with a carrot.
But somehow… it worked.
As a lifelong coffee lover, my first serious design had to be coffee themed. I drew a little coffee cup with the words “Joy in a Cup” written across it. At the time, it was just for fun, something to keep my creativity alive in such a dull time.
I kept wondering what my little design would look like as a physical product which made me came to a big decision... I got that design turned into enamel pins. My very first order was 50 pins. I still remember thinking:
“Fifty pins? That’s loads! There’s no way I’ll sell them all… but let’s just see what happens.”
What happened next was something I didn’t expect at all. People actually liked them. Like, really liked them. They started buying them. And with every pin that left my little bedroom, I felt this warm, proud feeling I’d never experienced before.
I had no idea at the time that this was the start of what would eventually become my small business. But that one little coffee cup pin sparked something in me, a love for creating, for designing, and for connecting with people through my work.
To be able to make something that someone else loves enough to spend their money on… well, that’s a whole new level of proud.
Looking back now, that “Joy in a Cup” pin will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s where it all began, proof that you don’t need the fanciest tools or the perfect timing to start something. Sometimes, all it takes is a wobbly old iPad, a rubber stylus, and an idea that makes you smile.
