The Birth of Flourish & Fly

“Let's start at the very beginning, a very good to start….” So in launching my blog I thought it might be good to fill you in on where Flourish & Fly came from and how I started my business.

I trained as an art teacher but my artwork went on the back burner while I raised 3 gorgeous girls. I turned 40 a few years ago and I felt it was time for me to flex my creative muscles again and reach for some dreams.
The name Flourish and Fly was inspired by butterflies. They only reach their full potential (and fly) in the second half of their lives. I realised I was entering the second half of my life and it was time for me to 'flourish and fly'.

I found a photography course (£10 for 8 weeks on the only morning I was free – truly a gift from God!) and quickly got drawn into the wonders of the abstract, getting up close and personal with things using a macro lens or dancing with my camera using slow exposure to capture light trails as I worshipped God at various praise events.

I actually learnt to crochet, not long before I started selling it! I'd taught myself to make a flower so I could teach others at a Creative Arts cafe, at a Newday youth camp I help at each year. I found I really enjoyed it and decided to learn properly. I researched patterns, different types of yarn and hook sizes, and developed the designs I wanted to perfect. I decided on a select, colourful palette, so all my pieces could be mixed and matched. I use 100 % cotton yarn which gives neat and vibrant results, it's this I believe that takes crochet from looking 'granny-ish' to becoming 'contemporary craft'. I found that crochet fitted well round family life (which was useful as when I started my youngest was still 2), it's not messy and it's small, I carry it in my handbag (stashed ready for use in the toddler group, the postoffice queue or the doctor's waiting room).

I founded my business in autumn 2013. My husband gave me a mini break - a couple of days off being a mum, where I registered myself as self-employed, created a website, business card and started taking my work round to local retailers. Not long after that, I created my Etsy and Folksy shops online. I found the shops I approached really wanted to support me as a local artist and gave me invaluable help with pricing and packaging suggestions when I was getting started.

All sorts of unexpected doors have opened to me along the way. Last Christmas I was invited to exhibit in the Cambridge Showcase (alongside a group of 15 artists), I’ve signed a contract with Li & Fung (a large manufacturing company in Hong Kong, selling in stores across USA), I’ve had a three-page interview in Cambridge Magazine (p54-56), had my work in the gallery pages of a Milners Craft crochet book,  been featured in Simply Crochet magazine & been the 'featured maker' for Folksy, as well as my work being showcased on various blogs. It’s great to be asked to share my story and work, as I hope it inspires others to reach for their dreams and embrace their own creativity.

Flourish and Fly has been going for nearly 3 years now. Crochet was always my first step towards further creative plans once I had more time and space, and my success has surprised me. Now my youngest daughter has started school and time is opening up I'm seeking to develop as a fine artist. I am currently turning our garden shed into an art studio and getting weekly painting coaching sessions by Skype with Pattie Ann Hale, an artist in America. I've started this blog so people can join me on this next chapter – the one where I learn to paint!

So what about crochet? I love crochetting pretty things! I find it relaxes me at the end of the day, so I'm not stopping (however successful I become as a fine artist!!) I've reduced the number of ranges and colour choices I offer, to make things easier, honing in on my best sellers. In the future I also hope to experiment with how to combine my love of crochet and paint in mixed media pieces.

There’s an expression ‘GOD IS IN THE DETAIL’, and I literally believe that. When you look at Creation, you find colours and patterns and structures that can be nothing other than expressions of pure joyfulness in the act of creating; I want to try to reflect that in my own work, whether it's using yarn or acrylic.