Interview with #MarchMeetTheMaker founder, Joanne Hawker

Joanne Hawker is a a designer and maker based in Somerset in the south west of England. She creates/designs a range of illustrated and typographic greeting cards and more recently, some accessories. We wanted to hear from her about her online store and her #MarchMeetTheMaker on Instagram.

How did you decide what products to put on your store?
It's a lot of trial and error and just giving things a go! I started with only prints because I was pulling ideas out my sketchbooks and trying to make good use of them! It took me a while to get into cards because I listened to rumour rather than giving it my all! But once I'd given it ago it was the best thing I could have done for my business. Printing my cards to order also means that I'm not tied to big print runs of stock that might not sell. If it sells, then brilliant! It gets to stay. But if it doesn't sell, then it hasn't cost me any/much money and I can just pull it from my store, not worry about it and learn from the mistake.

As a small creative business owner, do you have any tips for people who want to start their own creative business?
Yes! I know a lot of people say it but really just go for it! Find something that you are passionate about. Not just something that you think you should do or because it's 'trendy' or because other people are doing it. Do it because you love it. If you're passionate about it, it will show. Also make your own mistakes, and don't let people steer you with their own opinions on what you should or shouldn't do. I made that mistake by listening to rumours that the card industry was really hard to get into which meant that I put off trying for so long!

Can you speak a little about your #MarchMeetTheMaker? What is it and how did you come up with the idea?
#MarchMeetTheMaker came along when I was in bit of a rut with Instagram in late January of 2016. I looked for challenges but couldn't quite the sort of thing I was looking for. So I decided to make one! I wanted a challenge that would give me an excuse to talk about all the different aspects of my business with the added challenge of trying to show them visually too! Essentially, #MarchMeetTheMaker is a month long Instagram challenge that happens in March every year and encourages small businesses and creatives to tell the world their story! It highlights things that are sometimes over looked or not shown too often on our feeds and it's a great excuse to find some incredibly talented new makers to follow!

How do you think owning a creative business has changed over time?
Since it became my full time job I feel like I have a lot more responsibility in terms of, if I don't do the work then I don't make any money! When I was working full time on a pepper farm, it didn't really matter if I didn't get as many orders because I still had the security of a weekly pay cheque. Time management has become much more of an important aspect too and getting a bullet journal has definitely helped! Especially when it comes to ordering stock, organizing my tasks on a day to day basis and for jotting down sparks of inspiration!

Your work focuses a lot on being inspirational to others (failure isn't as scary as it sounds, don't be afraid to try, etc.) Why have you chosen this route of communication in your work?
I enjoy creating these posts not only because it allows me to practise my digital lettering (something that I don't always have time to do these days!) but also because they're topics that aren't always talked about. I don't want to create a glossy feed that only shows the very best of my business and pretend that everything is always sunshine and roses. Things go wrong, and that's normal, and I think that should be shown too. It's unrealistic to pretend that I live in a perfect little bubble because I definitely don't and I think it can help others who might be having the same struggles within their creative businesses to see others talk about them in an open, friendly environment!

And of course...what does creativity mean to you?

- Creativity is endless possibilities.
- Creativity is being able to create what I want and when I want and then being able to share it with the world.
- Creativity is the reason I have the freedom to work for and support myself.

Connect with Joanne:
Online store
Instagram