Hello Creators!
In our latest Creator Spotlight we wanted to turn our attention to the younger generation. We’re showcasing their talent and chatting about challenges, advice and what being a creator means to them.
So, grab a cuppa and let’s meet thortful’s rising stars.
Can you share the story behind your journey as a creator and how you discovered your passion?
I have always been creative. I loved art at school and started pursuing that direction early on at college studying fashion and textiles. From there I studied and gained my bachelor’s degree in Textiles & Surface Design at The Northern School of Art in Hartlepool where I really specialised into designing prints and designs for stationery and greeting cards. It wasn’t until I returned home to Essex, finishing my degree online due to Covid, where I set up my own small business on the side on Etsy, following joining thortful as a Creator to keep my creative juices flowing. I love coming up with card designs especially as there are so many options, themes, styles and more to explore, and I find so much joy in the drawing process. Being creative as an artist/designer really is a part of who I am, hence why it has always been there in the background along my journey as a Creator!
What inspires and motivates you to create, and how do you stay inspired during creative blocks?
Anything and everything inspires me! From flowers, animals and nature in general to things people say, everyday little things and concepts I suddenly have a lightbulb moment from. For example, for some of my anniversary cards I researched what was associated with each anniversary year to help inspire my ideas! I always find researching, taking notes and my own primary images all add up to help my ideas come to life.
How do you approach finding your niche or style as a young creator, and how has it evolved over time?
I would say, especially at university, we were always encouraged to just have fun finding our unique drawing styles/handwriting! By experimenting with using mixed media by hand and digitally with different materials, it’s all trial and error to find what feels natural to you. My style is still evolving even now. I would say my drawing style is quite delicate, detailed but very unique to me whether it’s a digital drawing or one I have done by hand and scanned in, I have always been told you can tell it’s very me.
How do you balance the demands of being a young creator with other aspects of your life, such as studying or work?
I try to balance being a young creator whilst working full-time Monday to Friday as a workwear assistant in the embroidery department for a family business. I love that as it’s also got creative elements and no two days are the same. Organisation and planning are key to setting time aside on the side of my full-time job in the evenings/weekends, and when creative ideas come to me and I feel inspired. You can’t force creativity for sure! Sometimes I will go through periods of time where I have a creative block or designs don’t quite work so then I try to come up with more commercial new ideas that work better.
Can you discuss any challenges you've faced as a young creator and how you overcame them?
Challenges I’ve faced as a young creator are balancing creating art designs when I am inspired against deadlines, whilst juggling finding spare time to create in-between full time work. Generally the biggest struggle is getting a work life balance and trying to still have a social life, self-care time and fun.
As a young creator, what advice would you give to others who are just starting their journey?
The advice I would give to other creators who are starting their journey is to not rush things and try to enjoy the process of building up your card collection slowly over time. It took me a few years to find my feet and get used to the process, seeing what was accepted in the main catalogue and being more particular with picking cards to create, based on researching gaps in categories to make cards for in my unique style.
Could you highlight a creation that you are particularly proud of and share the creative process behind it?
A creation I am particularly proud of is my bone china mug’s 20th anniversary card, as this was one of my first few cards to be accepted in the main catalogue on thortful and it is still one of my top earning bestseller cards to this day.
What are your long-term goals as a young creator?
My long-term goals as a creator are to build on cards that are accepted in the main catalogue, to gain more card slots and slowly expand my card range and to continue to develop my style and get my name out there/seen by more people. As I have had a bit of a bad run of card uploads not being accepted lately; so, I want to perfect my designs and work on this. Especially with photocards and go back to the drawing board to progress forward and grow as a creator on thortful.
Can you share the story behind your journey as a creator and how you discovered your passion?
From a young age I have always been creative, especially my passion for illustration! During lockdown, I wanted to make the most of my passion, creating greeting cards and prints to make people smile. Since then, I have made over 2,500 sales on thortful as well as 1,100 sales on my Etsy.
What inspires and motivates you to create, and how do you stay inspired during creative blocks?
I find that Pinterest is one of my go-to websites when I’m dealing with a creative block, it allows me to find so much inspiration, explore different styles and techniques. I try to not feel pressured to always create something new, sometimes redrawing/developing previous creations in a new art style really helps me feel motivated. Having a break from creating on my iPad is sometimes all that’s needed to reset!
How do you approach finding your niche or style as a young creator, and how has it evolved over time?
I’m still trying to find my particular niche/style, however over the last year I have tried to not put too much pressure on myself to have it all figured out. I think just by experimenting with different styles and techniques you’ll be able to find what you really enjoy creating!
How do you balance the demands of being a young creator with other aspects of your life, such as studying or work?
I find that sometimes it can be hard to balance working alongside being a young creator. Especially when there is added pressure that if you want to succeed on TikTok/Reels you need to be posting everyday which isn’t true or realistic. You’re better off producing quality over quantity and make sure you enjoy the content you put out. Being creative is something I enjoy so I am able to work on this in my spare time alongside any full-time work.
Can you discuss any challenges you've faced as a young creator and how you overcame them?
Similar to the above questions, I honestly think the biggest challenge I have faced is dealing with creative block, finding my style and comparing myself to others, who are also on their own creative journey. The way I have overcome this is to continue to stay creative, finding inspiration on Pinterest, eliminating any pressures to have my own ‘style’ as this will just develop over time.
As a young creator, what advice would you give to others who are just starting their journey?
You are on your own creative journey so don’t compare yourself to others on theirs! Take your time and enjoy the process!
Could you highlight a creation that you are particularly proud of and share the creative process behind it?
My proudest moment was signing a contract with Urban Outfitters for a selection on my astrology prints to be sold on their website. Since then these have been featured on gift guides on Cosmopolitan. The creative process behind these designs were from me being heavily inspired by astrology, with the idea of creating some wall art/prints for myself and from doing so, I realised I could sell these!
What are your long-term goals as a young creator?
My long-term goals as a young creator is to continue to grow my following on social media, develop my own style and hopefully work with some more amazing brands in the future!
Can you share the story behind your journey as a creator and how you discovered your passion?
Ever since I was a child, I have always loved drawing. I would always be doodling in the house or doing drawings in my workbooks in primary school. I did so much drawing from such a young age that it became a way for me to express myself, my thoughts and my imagination as I am a very creative person. I think the turning point for my passion was when I decided to not go to University for Psychology, but instead to do a Foundation Year in Art and Design. Although I loved art so much through school, GCSES and A-Levels, I didn’t think I would be able to get a career out of it, so I chose to do Psychology. Through doing that, I realised that I wanted to prove people wrong and get rid of the stigma around creative jobs and try become a successful artist.
What inspires and motivates you to create, and how do you stay inspired during creative blocks?
I take a lot of inspiration from a variety of things and through school it has taught me how to see the art in different things. My main inspiration is animals, I love being able to draw people’s pets and capture their personalities and character through a drawing and hearing their owner’s feedback and how much the drawing means to them, it inspires me to keep going. If I ever have a creative block, I tend to try and draw things from life, as they’re normally the things you don’t think about during the day like my shoes I wear, the makeup I put on or the ornaments around the house.
How do you approach finding your niche or style as a young creator, and how has it evolved over time?
I have two separate art accounts on Instagram, one is for my Pet Portraits and the other which I recently started is Dance Illustrations. In regards to my pet portraits, a lot of artists provide the same style as one another whereas I have created a couple of different styles and can draw the pet suited to their personality within that style. I think trying to look for a gap in the market does really help as dance illustrations don’t really exist and that’s why I decided to start doing them and they have proved popular. My style has evolved so much as 4 years ago I had never drawn a dog before, and it is continuing to grow as I have lots of plans for selling more cards on thortful as well as expanding the styles on both my pet and dance illustrations.
How do you balance the demands of being a young creator with other aspects of your life, such as studying or work?
I do find it difficult to balance the demands of being a student and wanting to create my own art. I find that with my university work, it pushes me out of my comfort zone and the workload is a lot so that takes most of my focus as I want to do well in my degree, so it takes priority over my other work. However, I do consider myself lucky as I also get to do art as my job, although I don’t earn lots of money off my art, it’s my part time job while in university and fits in perfectly with my course as I am studying illustration. I also find that after spending time doing uni work, it can feel like a chore so having my commissions to do afterwards is a nice way to unwind.
Can you discuss any challenges you've faced as a young creator and how you overcame them?
The one main challenge has been trying to balance my workload with university. I want to succeed with my university work but I also want to build up my portfolio for both art accounts, for example, over Christmas I have uni work to do for my deadlines in January but also all of my Christmas commissions of pet portraits and dance illustrations so it was difficult juggling those. To overcome this, I made a timetable and set time for each thing so that I didn’t fall behind and for next Christmas I will try and be more prepared!
As a young creator, what advice would you give to others who are just starting their journey?
I would say to just keep doing what you’re doing! Work hard and overcome the fallbacks as you never know what the future holds. I know a lot of my friends who study art struggle with motivation and the workload, but just think that you are doing all of this for yourself, and the outcome will be so worth it in the future. Try and find different opportunities in your local area, like designing a logo or a painting for a shop, as these opportunities will lead to other people finding your name and then could offer you more work!
Could you highlight a creation that you are particularly proud of and share the creative process behind it?
One of the pieces of art I am most proud of would be my portrait of Ann and Bob Kirk who are Holocaust survivors. As part of one of my first year University modules, we had to draw a holocaust survivor for the Extraordinary Portraits competition by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. We had to find someone to draw, and I came across Ann and Bob’s story and was totally inspired by them so chose to draw them. I did the portrait with ink and a dipping pen as this was something I had not used before! We didn’t have to submit them to the competition, but I decided to and wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but my portrait won alongside amazing artists! My work was displayed on the billboard in Piccadilly Circus in London and the most amazing part was that I was able to travel to London to go to Afternoon tea with lots of Holocaust survivors and the other artists who won, and got to meet Ann and Bob which was a totally surreal experience but one I will remember for the rest of my life.
What are your long-term goals as a young creator?
My long-term goal would be to finish my degree, do a masters and a PGCE to become an Art teacher or illustration Lecturer where I can also work on my own artwork on the side. I love the idea of becoming a teacher and sharing my passion with others but also being able to continue doing what I love on the side, possibly still doing pet portraits or maybe onto the next venture!
Can you share the story behind your journey as a creator and how you discovered your passion?
My love for illustration began back in 2019 when I bought an iPad to use while I studied graphic design at university. However, I ended up using the iPad outside of uni projects all the time, drawing portraits of celebrities and fun patterns or landscapes. It became a great creative outlet for me and drawing on my iPad almost felt like meditation. I could easily spend hours drawing and not even realise it.
When I was in my last year of University in 2020, the pandemic hit and therefore, I went back to my family home in Italy and finished my studies from there. However, I was really missing my uni friends and uni life in general so to show my friends I was missing them, and that I was looking forward to reuniting soon, I created an illustration of us all and printed these into small postcards which I then sent to each friend in the post. They all absolutely loved them and kept them as a lovely momentum from our uni days.
This is what really sparked my small business: Sophiprints. I realised that connection was something that we were all really missing at the time and a great way to maintain connection was to send each other thoughtful cards and personalised gifts. So I began designing custom illustrations for everyone then when it got closer to Christmas, I also made some Christmas cards that were funny and relatable. The aim was to make people laugh and smile during a time that was actually really tough fro everyone.
Once the lockdown was lifted and everyone began to hang out again in person, I wanted to continue creating designs that made people laugh so I opened a thortful account and began creating new designs. I’ve now been doing this for 2 years and I absolutely love thinking of new relatable cards that people will love.
What inspires and motivates you to create, and how do you stay inspired during creative blocks?
I’m usually inspired by iconic and funny moments that happen in pop culture. For example the new Beckham documentary has been a huge success and watching Posh & Becks together has really inspired me to make a super cute “couple goals” Valentine’s Day card featuring the iconic pair looking fabulous together. I also love a cheeky pun so if one comes to mind I’ll make sure to put it on a card with a matching illustration. Scrolling through social media, Pinterest and Dribble usually help me come up with new ideas but sometimes it’s in the moments when I’m not really forcing myself to think creatively that my best ideas come to mind.
How do you approach finding your niche or style as a young creator, and how has it evolved over time?
My illustration style is constantly changing and evolving. I like to experiment with different types of software like Procreate, Adobe Draw and Illustrator and I like to try out new brushes and textures to find new drawing techniques. I think I’m still finding my niche but I know that making people laugh and smile has always been at the forefront of what I do so I will always be looking for ways to do that creatively.
How do you balance the demands of being a young creator with other aspects of your life, such as studying or work?
It’s definitely hard to balance a 9-6 full time job with a side hustle but I think the key is to love what you do and treat it as a hobby. I try not to be too hard on myself about the time that I spend on my prints business and I don’t force myself to create new designs when I’m not in the creative flow but when I’m feeling inspired and I have a bit of free time, I will happily sit down and draw on my iPad. I do try to be disciplined with all the other parts of the business such as social media marketing, managing my website and sending out newsletters but I try to make it fun so I don’t get burnt out.
Can you discuss any challenges you've faced as a young creator and how you overcame them?
I think getting my brand out there and in front of as many people as possible has been the most challenging thing. What has been working out for me though is attending local makers markets and meeting new customers in person. Getting a physical product in front of people is what has worked really well for me and meeting the customers face to face allows you to establish that connection.
As a young creator, what advice would you give to others who are just starting their journey?
If you’re thinking of starting a business but you don’t think you’re ready yet, don’t wait until everything is perfect, just go for it and you can improve things as you go. The hardest part is starting but once you’ve done that, everything else is actually really fun. You just get to try loads of different things out like trying out a new style, make a new type of product, apply for markets or email stockists. If whatever you have tried doesn’t end up working out, it’s totally fine because it builds up your experience and helps you understand what works well for you. I know it sounds weird but my advice is to fail as much as you can because that is the best way to learn and grow.
Could you highlight a creation that you are particularly proud of and share the creative process behind it?
One of my cards that did really well is the SpongeBob graduation card. It was a bit of a joke about how those of us who finished university in 2020 had to wait two or three years for our graduation and loads of people could really relate to this which is what made the card so successful. I love celebrity memes and GIFs from tv shows so when I was scrolling through social media one day I saw the ‘an eternity later’ meme from SpongeBob and I had a light bulb moment. I thought it would be great to make a card that showed how graduation felt like an eternity later than when we actually finished our degrees.
What are your long-term goals as a young creator?
I am a full-time graphic designer so I can see myself eventually directing a team of designers in a creative company but I also don’t want to lose my love for illustration and card design so who knows what the future holds. I just know that I want to keep creating and keep putting a smile on people’s faces through design.
Thanks for joining us for another Creator Spotlight. See you next time!
Team thortful
