7 years ago I started designing funny greeting cards as a little side hustle in my last year of Uni. I was pretty broke and needed some extra money, and although selling 1 or 2 cards a week didn’t help me financially, knowing someone other than my mum liked my work filled me with so much joy.  This gave me the confidence to keep putting my work out there and shortly after I was approached by a greeting card company called Tigerprint. They asked me to do a 2 week placement designing cards for Marks and Spencers which was an absolute dream come true! At the end of my placement they offered me a full time job. I now had a difficult choice to make, I could either take the job and stay in England or move to Berlin and try and make it as an illustrator on my own. 

I chose the latter…

The first year was tough 😭 I was working late nights and weekends finishing commissions I hated all while juggling 3 part time jobs. I was still broke and constantly felt burned out. I kept asking myself if I made the right decision turning down the security of a full time job. But I kept reminding myself that I didn’t want to work for other people, my dream was to create my own products to sell. So I stopped wasting time looking for commissions and I put all my energy into creating greeting cards to sell on Etsy. I made 100 sales in those first few months and knowing someone other than my mum wanted my work filled me with so much joy 😂

In 2014 my hard work finally paid off 🎉

I was approached by two amazing greeting card companies Whaleandbird and Brainboxcandy who wanted to license out my designs. They got my cards stocked in shops like Urban Outfitters, Scribbler and even Sainsburys. Say whattt? 

After 3 years I managed to build up a good client base and had my work licensed with several brands. This gave me the confidence and financial freedom to leave my part time jobs to pursue my passion full time. So in 2016 I finally made the leap…

I sold all my belongings, invested in an iPad Pro and booked a 1 way ticket to South East Asia and it was the best decision I’ve ever made! Since then I’ve lived in several countries around the world, working full time on my business through my laptop and iPad. I now teach classes on Skillshare, work with dream clients and create work I’m truly passionate about all while on a mission to empower others to do the same!

I hope this inspires you to follow your dreams 💕 It may be a struggle in the beginning but making money doing something you love makes it all worth while. Promise 😘