Tea & Chat with The Little Red Duck
Hello! Great to have you here, the kettle’s just boiled – what would you like to drink?
Definitely a nice cup of Coffee with frothy milk and sometimes a splash of Vanilla syrup delicious!
So, tell us a bit about yourself and your business.
I live in a village in the Warwickshire/Worcester countryside with my husband, we moved here a year ago to a bigger house as I was slowly taking over our old one with all my equipment. I got married two years ago next month, cant’ believe it, it has gone so quick. I design & hand make personalised gifts, including Map art, Scrabble art & picture mount pictures. The perfect gift for all occasions, such as wedding & anniversary gifts, new baby & Christening gifts as well as birthday gifts.
What inspired you to start your creative business? How did it all begin?
I setup TheLittle Red Duck about 4 years ago now, while working full time in the conference industry, which was very stressful so I wanted a more creative and flexible outlook on life thus The Little Red Duck was created.
How has your business changed and developed since it started?
I started with sewing cushions, bunting & door stops then started to create a line of personalised pictures and this is what I decided to take into the future as I really enjoyed the variety and providing a gift which is totally unique to each person. I now also work in partnership with ‘LifeTyped’ my friends company selling a line of personalised typography prints.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your designs and product range?
I mainly gain all my inspiration from my friends and family, they are always asking for new product ideas. For example, a close friend of mine was baptizing her little boy and wanted a gift to give to the Godparents. I came up with a Scrabble picture which she loved it’s now one of my best selling products.
So, where does all this takes place? What’s your workspace like?
I work from my spare room at home, it’s a very rustic setup but it does exactly what I need it to do at the present time. But we do have big plans, we are looking to reconfigure the house in the next year, the plan is I will be having my own flexible workshop area in the open plan kitchen.
What do you like most about running your own handmade business?
The flexibility it gives me, if I want to have time off during the day and work in the evening I can. My husband is a teacher so it’s great during the school holidays to be able to spend time with him during the day.
Thank you for taking the time to chat to us!