The drive: what challenges have you overcome?
My biggest obstacle has always been myself and my lack of self-belief. I think I’m not getting sales because people either don’t like me or think my work is rubbish. I have shed so many tears feeling like a failure – feeling like I’ve failed Poppy, which is my biggest fear. It has taken a lot of therapy for me to see that I’m not a failure and Poppy doesn’t think that I’ve let her down. There’s no overnight fix – I’ve felt like this throughout most of my life. But occasionally I need to let the rational side of my brain take over, and that’s not easy.
For better or worse: what are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I’ll start with the cons! Sleepless nights worrying about sales and not actually ever being able to switch off from it. I have been self employed before, so I’m used to reading and replying to messages straight away – but now I’m having to do it whilst wrangling a toddler! It’s also expensive. I have bought so many items that have been put in the bin because I’ve tried a new supplier or product, and the quality hasn’t been up to scratch.
The biggest pro is creating things that I love, that I know others love too. It’s a very time-consuming process as each element is prepped, painted, and fixed by me. Each wall plaque takes approximately 4 hours to complete from start to finish. BUT I love watching it transform from plain wood to an explosion of colour. I mix my own pastel colour palette, so I can get the colours exactly how I want them. I love the process – time consuming as it is!
Hopes and dreams: what’s next?
For now, I’m content working away quietly using the collection I already have. I’ve got a great group of small, family-run suppliers who are able to create custom pieces as well as their other gorgeous designs. Ideally, I’d love to have my own workshop as I’m overstaying my welcome in my kitchen! But once Poppy starts nursery, I want to add personalised educational toys to the range. It’s something that I haven’t seen much of, so it would be fun to do it myself.
I think The Poppy Patch will grow up with Poppy herself, which makes sense as it was born out of my love for her in the first place.
Visit The Poppy Patch website to find out more, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
