Ex clerk hoping to play cards right

AN ex-town clerk has forged a new career in greetings cards and art prints.

Karen Douglas, 45, launched Comfy Marmalade in September, selling colourful digital designs via her own website and also via Etsy.com.

The mum-of-two lives in Helmshore, but was clerk of Whitworth town council for eight years.

Karen, who is mum to Orla, 12, and Andrew, six, and whose husband Alan runs his own dog walking business, was originally from Whitworth.

She said when she became clerk in 2007 she fully expected to only last about six months.

She said: “It was a lovely job. The people in Whitworth are lovely and really friendly and helpful and there are some real characters. But I felt that I’d done everything I could do with it.”

Karen says her products have been described as colourful, fun, simple and bold and with a retro feel.

Early sales have been promising and she is eyeing an uplift with Christmas just round the corner.

She said: “I take my inspiration from my childhood books, such as Dick Bruna’s Miffy series. Some of my work is more geared towards children and young people and some is more mature in design.

“We have got the ‘C’ word coming up - although I’m not allowed to say that in my house until Halloween is over. I have Christmas-specific designs - cards and wrapping paper.”

Karen, of Helmshore Road, first started the business as a lifestyle blog and its name is a nod to her nickname ‘Paddington Bear’ owing to her weakness for marmalade sandwiches, while she said oranges and browns also evoke a certain 1970s nostalgia which fits with some of her retro work.

She has made a conscious effort to make her products and packaging as eco friendly as possible, while she is also supported by a network of local businesswomen.

She added: “I’ve been trained in digital illustration and mentored by my good friend, Irwell Valebased Caroline Ogden from Five Red Hens. My product photography is by another friend, Summer Johnston of Summer Johnston Photography, also based in Irwell Vale.

“And Hannah Wells from Ramsbottom-based Amongst The Trees design has advised me in my quest to make my products as environmentally-friendly as possible. All packaging except one item is recyclable, recycled or biodegradable, and all products are recyclable.”