This week on Meet The Makers we meet the amazing Heidi of Handmade by H. Her work is truly gorgeous - the patience and steady hand it takes to create these lovely papercuts is amazing! Happy reading!
Go on, introduce yourself!
Hello! I'm Heidi, I'm 32 and I'm addicted to to paper! He he :) I have 3 children who are 3,6 and 9 and are my biggest critics. I've been married to Andy for 10 years, he is also known as Mr HBH the frame cleaner. We have a cat called Pippy-Lou who is probably the grumpiest cat in the world, she does love to help me though especially when I have the ribbon out! We live in beautiful North Wales not far from Llandudno.
Hello! I'm Heidi, I'm 32 and I'm addicted to to paper! He he :) I have 3 children who are 3,6 and 9 and are my biggest critics. I've been married to Andy for 10 years, he is also known as Mr HBH the frame cleaner. We have a cat called Pippy-Lou who is probably the grumpiest cat in the world, she does love to help me though especially when I have the ribbon out! We live in beautiful North Wales not far from Llandudno.
When did your business launch?
Handmade by H came to life in the summer of 2013. My husband bought me a papercutting kit one Christmas and I was hooked from the minute I started. I just loved what you could make from a single sheet of paper and found it really therapeutic. I cut just as a hobby for around year. With lots of support from family and friends, I decided to set a Facebook page up and to be honest I have never looked back. I started very small as I still had little ones at home so I worked mainly in the evenings. As time has gone on it's grown and grown with a couple of pieces of my work flying all the way to Australia and New Zealand! My smallest small starts full time school in September so I feel like I'm really starting to run with my little biz now and I'm excited about the year ahead.
Handmade by H came to life in the summer of 2013. My husband bought me a papercutting kit one Christmas and I was hooked from the minute I started. I just loved what you could make from a single sheet of paper and found it really therapeutic. I cut just as a hobby for around year. With lots of support from family and friends, I decided to set a Facebook page up and to be honest I have never looked back. I started very small as I still had little ones at home so I worked mainly in the evenings. As time has gone on it's grown and grown with a couple of pieces of my work flying all the way to Australia and New Zealand! My smallest small starts full time school in September so I feel like I'm really starting to run with my little biz now and I'm excited about the year ahead.
Show us your workspace! Do you have a shop? Strictly from home?
I work from the corner of my lounge in my papercutting corner. My brilliant Dad kitted out the alcove with shelves and it's perfect for what I need. It's kitted out with lots of storage where I can hoard tons of pretty paper and stationery. I love stationery! I would absolutely love a craft room, maybe one day, we can all dream right?!
I work from the corner of my lounge in my papercutting corner. My brilliant Dad kitted out the alcove with shelves and it's perfect for what I need. It's kitted out with lots of storage where I can hoard tons of pretty paper and stationery. I love stationery! I would absolutely love a craft room, maybe one day, we can all dream right?!
What has been your favourite make so far? What has been your most popular?
My favourite make so far has been my foxy papercut. I made it for one of my lovely friends for her to give to her fox loving Mum. I enjoyed creating it from start to finish. Sometimes when I'm drawing I totally forget it needs to be cut which does make for some very intricate cutting. I really enjoy the challenge of an intricate one, although my eyes tend to disagree sometimes!
My favourite make so far has been my foxy papercut. I made it for one of my lovely friends for her to give to her fox loving Mum. I enjoyed creating it from start to finish. Sometimes when I'm drawing I totally forget it needs to be cut which does make for some very intricate cutting. I really enjoy the challenge of an intricate one, although my eyes tend to disagree sometimes!
My best sellers are my family trees. I never tire making them knowing the smiles they bring to other people. They can include anything the customer likes which makes them totally personal to them.
How do you generate new ideas for items?
I take inspiration from everywhere and everything. I have a sketchbook that I use for all my scribbles to keep them all in one place and then my ideas tend to just snowball from there. I'm forever taking pictures of leaves, trees, clouds and flowers - the list is endless. I think I'm naturally drawn to flora and fauna. I love drawing and cutting flowers, leaves and general pretty swirlyness. I also love cutting text, just one font can give me a million ideas. I would say half of my work is hand drawn and the other half is designed on the computer.
I take inspiration from everywhere and everything. I have a sketchbook that I use for all my scribbles to keep them all in one place and then my ideas tend to just snowball from there. I'm forever taking pictures of leaves, trees, clouds and flowers - the list is endless. I think I'm naturally drawn to flora and fauna. I love drawing and cutting flowers, leaves and general pretty swirlyness. I also love cutting text, just one font can give me a million ideas. I would say half of my work is hand drawn and the other half is designed on the computer.
Describe/outline your typical day?
My typical day obviously revolves around my children. After the morning school runs I have a couple of working hours. I usually rush round and do a bit of housework and get any admin done in the mornings. It's been a good morning if I manage to squeeze in a bit of cutting or designing! I can usually be seen rushing out the door with minutes to spare to run round to pick up smallest small from playgroup. We get an hour before afternoon school for a bit of a play and dinner. Once I've dropped him off and had a quick chinwag at the school gates it's home to get down to work for a couple of hours with Radio 2 to keep company. End of school flies round in the blink of an eye and then the craziness begins again. The usual reading/spellings/homework is attempted but not always accomplished! Teatime, bathtime and storytime and that's the end of the day for them and the next part of my day is just beginning again. 7pm is when I update all my social media accounts and then I cut until either my hand or my eyes give up. I always try and get a bit of downtime, it doesn't always happen but I don't mind because I LOVE what I do.
My typical day obviously revolves around my children. After the morning school runs I have a couple of working hours. I usually rush round and do a bit of housework and get any admin done in the mornings. It's been a good morning if I manage to squeeze in a bit of cutting or designing! I can usually be seen rushing out the door with minutes to spare to run round to pick up smallest small from playgroup. We get an hour before afternoon school for a bit of a play and dinner. Once I've dropped him off and had a quick chinwag at the school gates it's home to get down to work for a couple of hours with Radio 2 to keep company. End of school flies round in the blink of an eye and then the craziness begins again. The usual reading/spellings/homework is attempted but not always accomplished! Teatime, bathtime and storytime and that's the end of the day for them and the next part of my day is just beginning again. 7pm is when I update all my social media accounts and then I cut until either my hand or my eyes give up. I always try and get a bit of downtime, it doesn't always happen but I don't mind because I LOVE what I do.
What is your favourite social media platform to use for promoting your business?
My main social media platform is Facebook, that's the one I concentrate on the most. I've been on there a while now and know my way round it pretty well. It's always a challenge to find new ways to increase your reach and get your posts out to your likers. Thankfully there are lots of groups and pages for networking and these seem to help a lot. I have recently set up an Instagram account and I really like it over there, it's a really friendly place to be and unlike facebook it shows your followers everything you post but it does move very fast.
My main social media platform is Facebook, that's the one I concentrate on the most. I've been on there a while now and know my way round it pretty well. It's always a challenge to find new ways to increase your reach and get your posts out to your likers. Thankfully there are lots of groups and pages for networking and these seem to help a lot. I have recently set up an Instagram account and I really like it over there, it's a really friendly place to be and unlike facebook it shows your followers everything you post but it does move very fast.
I'm on Twitter too. Ummm, I don't know what to say about twitter apart from I don't get it! Oh oh and that Sarah Willingham from Dragons Den is following me! He he :) If there are any Twitter gurus out there feel free to try and teach me. I launched a little website this year and that is where I pop all my 'ready to post' cuts. Luckily for me, my Dad has been building websites for years and was/is a massive help and is more than used to the 11pm phone calls shouting for help...
What are your hobbies - other than crafting of course!
Nothing beats family time, sometimes finding a work/life balance is hard when you work for yourself. I very rarely work weekends and I enjoy the simple things - walks in the woods, playing on the beach and just making memories. When I do get time to myself which is a very rare occurrence, I love to cross stitch or colour. I always come back to cutting though, it never feels like work and I feel incredibly lucky to call it my job.
Nothing beats family time, sometimes finding a work/life balance is hard when you work for yourself. I very rarely work weekends and I enjoy the simple things - walks in the woods, playing on the beach and just making memories. When I do get time to myself which is a very rare occurrence, I love to cross stitch or colour. I always come back to cutting though, it never feels like work and I feel incredibly lucky to call it my job.
What three pieces of advice do you have for someone wanting to start their own small business (and maybe advice you wish you'd before starting)?
The first most important one (and probably the most boring) is to register with HMRC and keep records of all your incomings and outgoings and keep on top of your books. I don't think I'll ever get used to doing my accounts every month, I hate it with passion! Keep on top of them though, they may be a pain in the bum but they are much easier to cope with in short spurts.
The first most important one (and probably the most boring) is to register with HMRC and keep records of all your incomings and outgoings and keep on top of your books. I don't think I'll ever get used to doing my accounts every month, I hate it with passion! Keep on top of them though, they may be a pain in the bum but they are much easier to cope with in short spurts.
The second is clear sharp photos. When I look back now my photos weren't great at the beginning and it's still something I'm learning. There are tons of photo editing apps and websites to help you make your photos better. One of my favourite websites for editing is picmonkey.com
The third one is you have to love what you do I pour my heart and soul into everything I do and I hope it shines through in all my work.
What are you dreams/goals/aspirations for your business?
I feel like I'm already living my dream. When I set my page up I never dreamed in a million years I'd be where I am today. Who knows where my little business will go from here, at the moment it keeps growing month on month and I just thank my lucky stars that I have enough work to be able to be a work from home Mummy.
You can find Handmande By H here:
Facebook: Handmade By H
Instagram: @handmadebyh1
I feel like I'm already living my dream. When I set my page up I never dreamed in a million years I'd be where I am today. Who knows where my little business will go from here, at the moment it keeps growing month on month and I just thank my lucky stars that I have enough work to be able to be a work from home Mummy.
You can find Handmande By H here:
Facebook: Handmade By H
Instagram: @handmadebyh1
Personal website: Handmade By H
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