Welcome to our new feature, a monthly slot on the NCM blog, featuring one of our designers/makers/ artists.

This month we are featuring Kate Broughton, who will have her own designated area in the shop, where you can find a selection of her beautiful crafted brooches, purses, and tote bags, and has also been interviewed for the NCM blog. See below what she had to say for herself…..

What do you make or design?
I make hand and machine stitched felt brooches and cotton and felt purses. I also make cards and badges with my drawings as well as putting my drawings onto cotton shopping bags.

Where can I find your products?
I sell my work at ‘Get Made’ (the Nottingham Craft Mafia shop on St James’ St.) and Le Chien Et Moi (Derby Road) in Nottingham, I have different items in each shop. Outside of Nottingham the only shop I sell my work in is, quite randomly, in ‘White Elephant’ in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada! I’m currently working on small collections for a shop in Sheffield and another in Portland, Oregon in the US of A!

How did you come up with your name for your company?
That’s an easy one, it is just my name.

Why did you decide to start?
Like a lot of craftspeople I started making brooches by doing a few for friends and then I just carried on making them. The rest of the products just came along quite naturally, as I have always loved drawing, it made sense to introduce illustrations to the range.

Why did you decided to start blogging and what do you get out of the blogging process?
I do have a blog which is part of my website but I mainly use it as a sort of news section as I am not disciplined enough to keep a proper blog! When I started it I had craft and design book reviews and things but I just didn’t have the time to keep that up.

What kind of advice you would give to someone thinking of starting up a creative business?
I think it’s something you have to really want to do as there’s no doubt that it is hard work, at times it can be exhausting if like me you have to try and start it up alongside a full time job. Of course, you need to find out whether people are going to want to buy your work, but once you think you have found a niche for yourself then it’s really up to you to promote yourself and get yourself noticed. I’d recommend that as early on as possible you have a good think about your prices. So many people set their prices so low (particularly online) that it’s tempting to try and compete with them when you start out. But you need to consider the time it takes to make your items, the cost of the materials and all sorts of things like time spent designing, sourcing materials, marketing etc. It’s really important not to sell yourself short.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I grew up in a town called Otley in West Yorkshire where I did a lot of walking in woods, paddling in rivers, and birdwatching. This is where my love for wildlife began and since then it seems to have been a prevailing influence on my work. I start all of my designs by drawing, either from life or from photographs, and then it could develop into either a brooch or a card or the drawing might end up on a cotton bag or apron.

What would your ideal collaboration project be?
I would like to work with someone on a range of clothes. I love making clothes for myself but as of yet I can only make things in my own size. Also, I can’t follow patterns too well, I sort of make things up as I go along, which sometimes ends in disaster but sometimes works out great.

How would you describe your work?
My work is fun and a bit quirky, what I think sets my work aside from similar things is that the animals are fairly realistic (I try not to make them too ‘cute’) and I try and use more muted and realistic colours than you would normally find in things made out of felt

How are you finding being involved in the Nottingham Craft Mafia?
The Craft Mafia has been really useful if I need advice on any aspect of my business or just another opinion, it’s a sort of support network. Working by yourself can sometimes be quite insular and it’s great to be able to meet up and hear other peoples perspectives, see other peoples work, and talk to them about your latest creations!

What are your goals for the coming year?
For the moment I’m giving the brooches a little break and not adding any more animals for a little while. Instead I will keep working on my range of cards and cotton bags. The purses are the latest addition and I want to work on making more of those and then I plan to make my own shoulder bags. I would like to start making my own books and stationary too…so much to do, so little time…

www.katebroughton.co.uk
katebroughton.etsy.com

Thank you Kate!!