I grew up in Southwest London, where I was raised by my nan (although I didn't know it at the time). Taught that I should follow my dreams, and go out and get what I want from life, I became the first person in my family to go to university. I graduated with a BA and MA in Design Management in the late 1990s from The Surrey Institute of Art and Design (now The University for the Creative Arts), in Farnham Surrey - where I still live.
Although I loved studying this subject, working in the marketing industry didn't live up to my hopes, and I spent most of the next 20 yrs in the off and on trade, running pubs, a student bar, and finally a social club. It was while working at the social club I decided I needed a new hobby, and ordered my first resin starter kit on Christmas Day 2018. I began making resin jewellery items and customers at work asked to buy them. I decided I would turn my hobby into ResinExpectations, booked my first market and started my Facebook page.
Since then, my commitment to my business has continued to grow. I booked in more craft markets, attended school and local village fetes, and started to sell in the Camberley branch of the Craft Coop. Then Covid caused the first lockdown, and I realised I had an opportunity to grow my business further. I spent hours watching business and crafting help videos, found Heartizan and opened my online shop with them. Just a couple of weeks before the second lockdown I was offered a space in the gift shop of the towns museum, and I jumped at the chance.
Bringing my story up to date, I am now a madmin on the Heartizan team, a group of supportive crafting entrepreneurs. I have decided to focus on my gothic/steampunk/fantasy themed ranges. Having now won 2 awards on Twitter - a platform I really didn't understand - and with sales beginning to improve, I am more determined than ever to grow my business, and myself.
