I have decided to learn a new skill and make a business out of it.  Printing!  Having no particular skills or experience in the field, it somehow feels like completely the right thing to do.  Here’s how I arrived at this...

Background

I’ve always considered myself creative at heart though it’s only in the last few years that I’ve actually taken it on as a hobby - sewing mainly, simple household items like cushion covers.  Other ventures have included making a goblet out of a coconut shell that my son Toby won at a village fete, and various DIY experimentations around the house.  Last Christmas I became interested in bag making and my sister came up with the idea of making it into a business.  I’m not normally the business-minded type, but the fact that she thought it a good idea got me thinking...  After completing a short bag making course at Morley College, London, and being quite pleased with the outcome, I felt that this might be the way forward.  But when I factored in the time it takes me to produce a bag of a quality fit for sale, and the cost of the materials, I did not feel confident that I would be able to make a viable business out of it.

 Coconut Shell Goblet

    Leather handbag which I designed and made

                     
                                       
Last summer, Toby and I took a trip of a lifetime..... to Thailand, 6 weeks (one of the highlights of working in education!).  Actually we had already lived there before, but Toby, now aged 7, remembered very little of it.  The main purpose was for Toby to visit his Dad who had been back there for nearly a year.  

Toby (aged 2) and myself at Lok Moli Temple, Chiang Mai

Toby (aged 7) and Dad, Kanchanburi

While Toby and Dad spent quality time together, I took to browsing the local markets and temples of Chiang Mai. I had always loved the Sunday Walking Street (I thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in hand crafted products) but this time, with my new design aspirations, I found myself looking at the products with an eye to adapting them and making them myself. I particularly like the Buddha image – so peaceful and elegant, not unlike the Thai people themselves (I’m talking Thai style Buddha, not the Chinese one!).

Sunday Walking Street, Chiang Mai

        

Multiple Buddhas, Chiang Mai

Now back in the UK, I feel inspired to incorporate some of these images of Thailand and novel designs into a range of products.  In short this involves learning a whole new set of skills related to printing, and creating products fit for sale at online market places such as Etsy, as well as at local craft fairs.  And to ensure that I remain true to my intentions, I have decided to commit myself in writing by starting up this blog! 

Any tips and recommendations as I chart my progress from complete beginner to professional crafter will be gratefully received, although I don’t mind if I end up writing this blog for myself.  It will serve as a useful tool for keeping me focused and it somehow makes my project feel more official.  So here goes.

Goal

To create hand printed products (decorative cards, hanging pockets, cushion covers, duvet covers…) to a professional standard for sale online and at craft fairs using a range of printing techniques.

How I will get there

• I will practise printing techniques by making Christmas cards.
•  I will focus on one new technique at a time.
• My son Toby will help me come up with designs.
• These cards will be offered up for sale, thus giving me experience in setting up an online business. 
• Since I am only a novice in this field, any profits will be donated to Children in Need.
• I will record my progress in this weekly blog for the benefit of myself, but also for those who might have similar ideas about starting out from scratch.

So far

• I bought Craftseller magazine (issue no.28) and followed up useful leads.  Discoveries include information about online market places, Pinterest, and how to start up a blog!
• I’ve bought two self-study books introducing the main printing techniques :- "Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils and Silk Screens" by Lena Corwin; and "Print Workshop" by Christine Schmidt.
• Toby and I have come up with some rudimentary designs for Christmas cards.

Targets  for this week

• To read the relevant chapters on block printing in my self-study books – EVENINGS.
• To supplement this by viewing you tube videos (time permitting).
• To go shopping for starter materials for block printing – DAY OFF/THURSDAY.
• To convert Toby’s bedroom into a studio.  (This might seem mean, but he is more than happy to have a good reason to come and sleep in my room).
• To start printing! – WEEKEND.

Request for advice:

Can anyone recommend good and reasonably priced suppliers of paper/printing equipment within the London area?  My only thought at the moment is Paperchase in Tottenham Court Road.