What inspired you to start working with felt?

From childhood I have always loved to make things and over the years I have dabbled in many crafts. I usually start with a book, I love craft books! I think I saw some handmade felt at the madeira show one year (this is before it became really popular), and I thought I'd give it a try, so I bought a book on how to make felt. I tried various felt projects with limited success, so abandoned it for a while. Then it became much more popular and inspired by seeing what others where doing with felt at the knitting and stitching and madeira shows, I began to experiment again. It wasn't long before I was hooked.

What is your background (previous career area?)

Before I had children I was a teacher. I began teaching Design and Technology at Secondary school level, however my last job was teaching Textiles at Henshaws arts and craft centre in Knaresborough. This is an amazing place where adults with visual impairment work in studios, making arts and crafts to sell or exhibit.

Did you have specialist training in working with felt? - if so what/where was your training?

I have a degree in Textile Design, but as far as felting goes I am self taught. I have read a lot of books, but once you understand the process of felting you can begin to experiment. There is no right or wrong way, and different felters will use different techniques. You just need to work out what works best for you through trial and error.

How did you go about setting your business up? (from a business perspective - initial funding etc) Did you have any professional help?

 

My business has just evolved over time. It really began as a hobby, progressed to a way of earning a bit of pocket money whilst the children are young and has ended up as a small business. I have always liked to do craft fairs, more for the buzz of people buying your work. A few people had asked about how I'd made things so I put together some silk paper making and felt making kits to sell along side my work. They were very popular so a friend suggested selling them on eBay. Ebay was great because I could work in the evenings when my children were asleep. As the children have become older I have managed to expand the business, stream lining the products and expanding the stock. I am fortunate that my Husband works in IT, so he has built my website for me. The plan is to move away from eBay and concentrate on building the website. As I started small, (selling 1 or 2 kits a week) and have just gradually expanded over the last 2 years, I have not needed to borrow any money.

Did you carry out any research you carried out to know your business would work?

As a keen crafter I have spent years buying kits and fibre materials. In other words I know the fibre craft market pretty well. I also spent some time looking at other fibre craft suppliers to see what range of products they sold. This has been invaluable in knowing what will sell. The advantage of ebay is there is no huge outlay so you can test which products are going to be more popular, this has helped me decide on the focus of the website.

Where do you carry out your work now?

Unfortunately I do not have a studio, so Fibrespace operates from our garage. However, we have plans to create a dedicated workshop in the roof space of our garage.

 

Do you need lots of specialist equipment?

To begin felting you do not need any specialist equipment. However, if you become a serious felter it is worth investing in a drum carder. These cost about £250 and they are used to blend colours.

Do you make all of the kits/bags and corsages you sell yourself?

I do make everything myself. Before Christmas I made some bags and brooches to sell at craft fairs, along side the kits. I also used these fairs as a way of letting people know about the felt making workshops I run. I loved making things to sell, but it was a real struggle to find the time. So for the time being I have decided to concentrate on the craft kits, then return to designing and making products when my youngest starts school. In the meantime I am playing around with ideas and working on designs. The design side will almost become a separate business.

What inspires your designs?

I pore over books and magazines as well as attend textile shows. As I live in Harrogate I am lucky enough to have the Madeira Show and the Knitting and Stitching Show right on my doorstep, (I never go without a sketch book and pencil). I also read a lot of craft blogs as well as looking at etsy.com and flickr.com . My main influence at the moment are my children. I recently felted a cloak for my daughter as she wanted to be the white witch of Narnia, when her school got dressed up on world book day. She is starting to make requests for certain toys, but I have to run the design past her for approval first. I love seeing how much she appreciates what I've made. This is spurring me on to design a range of items for children and babies.

How many hours do you work a week?

I've never added it up, in busy periods I work for about 3 hours each evening.

How does the job fit round your family life?

I squeeze the job around family life. I am a full time, stay at home Mum, so I work evenings and weekends, and sometimes during the day if the children are engrossed in play and don't need me. My youngest started pre-school after Christmas, so I now have 2 mornings a week to dedicate to Fibrespace.

How do you find clients - do you advertise?

Whilst on Ebay I have built up a customer base. I also list the website on felting and craft forums as well as online directories. I have also sponsored an online felting competition. The website has not been up and running long, and I still have some products I want to add. Once the shop is fully stocked I intend to advertise in magazines. I've booked a stall at the Woolfest, a two day show in the Lake District dedicated to anything wool related. As well as selling my kits, I'm hoping to give out a lot of business cards to potential customers.

What is the earning potential?

I would estimate that the turn over for the next financial year would be around £8,000. It's not a huge amount, but at the moment my family comes first. Everything is now in place so when both children are at school, and I have more time to dedicate to fibrespace, the business will grow. I have so many ideas, but I just don't have the time at present. .

Is the job/running the business rewarding?

I love running the business. It is a great focus for all my creativity and I get so much pleasure from taking a step back and thinking, I did that. It is also important for me to be doing something completely separate from my full time job as Mum.

Do you think it is a job that fits in well with being a Mum?

This is perfect for Mum's, selling from a website or auction site means you can easily work from home. If you can find the energy to do a little work each night after the children have gone to bed then you do not need to make childcare provisions. It is also something which you can evolve at your own pace, so whilst your children are very young you can keep the business small and just earn a little extra, then as your children begin school it is easy to expand.

Any advice for a Mum or Dad wanting to start training or running their own business?

If you are thinking of starting a business supplying craft materials, then pick a craft you know really well. I often get e-mails from people asking advice and it's important to know what you are talking about. You also need to keep up to date with new trends within your craft area. Crafts have fads and trends just like the fashion industry. Be prepared to trawl through internet sites looking for wholesale companies.

Auction sites are great way of starting a business, for a small fee you can easily set up a shop. When picking a name for your company, check whether the domain name is available. I would advise buying the domain name even if you are just setting up and haven't even thought about your own website. Some companies allow you to buy them for as little as £2 a year. Then if you ever want to set up your website, you already have the domain. Also consider spellings, fibre in the US has a different spelling, so we own fibrespace.co.uk and fiberspace.co.uk, they both direct to the same website, but may prevent missed customers.

If you are thinking of making items to sell rather than craft supplies, take a look at www.etsy.com. It's a great website based in the US. You are only allowed to sell items that are handmade, but when you list anything you automatically get a shop without paying extra, and the listing fees are very small. Many people who sell on etsy have a blog, as well as a flickr account. You can link between all three allowing more people to access your creations.

If after reading this you are intrigued to learn more about felting, I have just begun running felting workshops in Harrogate. Details of forth coming workshops are posted on the website.

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Useful Links

www.feltworld.co.uk

www.gilliangladrag.co.uk