Our businesses thrive at Easter
Meet the ladies who’ve hit the big time with their successful new enterprises
‘My workplace is a crafter’s dream!’
Paula Milner, 34, runs craft workshops from her home studio in Lower Boddington, Northamptonshire. She lives with her husband Dan, 32, and their son Freddie, 18 months.
‘This Easter, my craft studio is going to be bustling with clients making paper flowers, decorative eggs and spring wreaths, and I can hardly wait. Interest in craft has never been higher, and I’m loving being a part of it.
I’ve always enjoyed doing crafts, entering every category I could at Girl Guides competitions as a child. I became the go-to person for handmade gifts and was never happier than when I was surrounded by paper and sequins.
After graduating in printed textile design, I worked as a buyer and as a forecaster for a chocolate company. It taught me a lot about how businesses worked, but I was becoming frustrated with my job and wanted to work for myself, doing something with crafts.
After one particularly bad day at work, and with my husband Dan’s blessing, I decided to resign. I started a craft blog while I worked my notice, calling myself The Crafty Lass. I also ran a few mobile workshops for employees of companies.
Then, in 2015, I saw that a new TV channel, The Craft Channel, was launching, and tweeted to ask how I could get involved. I was invited for a meeting and, before I knew it, I was doing an off-the-cuff screen test! My workshop experience kicked in and I grabbed a polystyrene ball and turned it into a bauble with colourful sequins. I was offered a part-time job as a buyer and presenting hour-long workshops.
Soon after, we moved to a house that had an outbuilding, perfect to be turned into a craft studio, allowing me to run workshops from home.
‘I was frustrated with my job and wanted to work for myself ’
The building already had a small kitchen and toilet, so we spent £2,000 updating the electrics, painting and putting up shelves to hold my craft jars. When the first client who came through the door said, “It’s like a crafter’s dream” I was thrilled!
I advertised locally and on social media via the website I’d designed myself, and in November last year I held my first wreath-making workshop with
eight people. I’d timed myself so
I knew how long it would take me to demonstrate the process and for clients to make theirs. I wanted the workshops to be a social event, too, where clients could connect with like-minded people. I spent £25 on my food safety certificate so I could offer “Crafternoon Teas” or lunches, including locally made soup and bread.
At busy times, such as Mother’s Day, I run four workshops a week for up to 10 people. Workshops cost from around £21.50 for two hours, to £56.50 for half a day. For Valentine’s Day, we made crepe paper roses complete with cellophane and ribbons. My woodblock painting for scarves is also popular.
I’ve got lots of bookings for my Easter workshops. I’ll be doing needle-felt
decorative eggs to hang on Easter trees and rag wreaths, which are on trend in America. They’re created by tying lots of pieces of pastel-coloured fabric on to a metal frame and they look beautiful hanging on the door or as a centrepiece.
As well as friends attending together, people come on their own and I also run hen parties. It’s wonderful to see how happy people are when they leave my workshops with something they have made themselves.’