Small But Big; GRL MADE.
15 January 2020 • GRL MADE, small businesses, small but big, vegan
I
am thrilled to have interviewed the lovely Hannah, of GRL
MADE,
for this instalment in the series. She and I connected on Instagram a
while ago, and I’ve been obsessed with her content ever since. GRL
MADE is
a collection of the loveliest embroidered clothing, with the perfect
twist – everything is vegan, feminist and fun.
Hey,
Hannah! Thanks so much for taking part in ‘Small
But Big’.
I absolutely love what you do, and the messages you put out there for
all to see, on tees. When did you start the business up?
Thanks
Grace! I
started GRL MADE officially in August this year, but it’s something
that has been in the pipeline for a few years. I’ve always sewn and
I started to teach myself how to hand embroider around 3 years ago
and I made a few t-shirt designs, but it never really felt exactly
right. It took me a bit of time to figure out the brand and exactly
what I wanted to do with it and eventually I found machine
embroidery. I bought myself a second hand machine from Ebay back in
February and it took me 4- 5 months of researching and testing (and
breaking many needles) to learn how to use it properly and start
making designs I could actually sell!
What
has been the biggest surprise you’ve encountered since you
started GRL MADE?
I
guess it would be how much there is to learn about machine
embroidery. There are so many different elements that go with it.
What backing to use with what material. What size needle to use with
what thread. What tension to use with which design. I’m learning as
I go and I’ve wanted to throw my machine out the window sometimes,
but when I look back at the fact that at the beginning of the year,
I’d never even seen an embroidery machine, to the progress I’ve
made, I feel pretty darn proud!
It’s
hard to choose, but my favourite product might just be the
simple ‘Vegan
Pizza’ tee. Closely followed by the
plant milks tee – oh and the
tote bag, of course. Do you have a favourite item in your Etsy
shop?!
The
milks list seems to be one of the most popular designs actually,
which I didn’t predict at all! My favourite would have to be one of
my new designs, the ‘I really like animals’ tee. It’s so
simple, but so true! Coming in second, would be the ‘Serial Plant
Killer’ tee. It seems like a lot of people can relate to that
design!
Photo:
GRL MADE
What
is one of your biggest dreams for this shop?
My
biggest dream would be that one day I can work on this as my full
time job. It seems crazy in my head and I have to make myself believe
that it could happen, but only if I really work at it. I dream of
having my own studio space (or even a space that isn’t a desk in my
bedroom, which is the current situation) to create all day long!
Anything
else you want to share? The floor is yours!
I
have lots of ideas for GRL
MADE in 2020. I would like to sell at a vegan festival or market so I
can meet customers in person, create my own website and start to
offer an up-cycling service where I can embroider pre-loved garments
and give them a new lease of life. I just want to get really creative
and see where it takes me.
Photo:
GRL MADE
*
Thank
you so much for answering my questions, Hannah. You are an absolute boss queen. Readers, you can
follow this brilliant woman and her work at @grl.made on
Instagram, or visit etsy.com/uk/shop/GRLmade!
You
can check out the previous Small But Big posts HERE. Are you enjoying
them so far? It’s still early days, but I have high hopes for this
project-within-a-project. Tweet me or comment with any feedback,
please!
2020; started with some bangs.
12 January 2020 • 2020, chats
Oh,
hello you. (oops, did you read that in your head in a certain
kinda-hot psycho's voice? My bad)
Welcome
to 2020, my friends. How are we all doing? Is anyone else kinda hyped for
this new year? (notice I didn’t terrify you by saying ‘new
decade’, as everyone on social media seems to be doing recently. You’re welcome)
So,
ermm, here’s what I have achieved so far this year:
- I’ve moved out and am now renting a place all by myself, for the first time.
- I started the year with a new contract at work – an extra few juicy hours.
- I recorded my first episode of my new podcast (more on this soon!)
- I've spoken on a panel at the launch party of a book I contributed to.
You
could say it’s all downhill from here, but honestly, I’m only
just getting started. Yes, I know that sounds horrendously like a
‘new year new me’ spiel, but in all honesty, I feel like while 2019 was
the year the universe finally stopped messing with me, 2020 is going to be the year it properly gets behind me and pushes forward.
It’s
going to be hard, though. For starters, I’ve only just moved into
the new place and my excitement for fulfilling a
lifelong dream of
living alone has quickly been replaced by a
sh*t ton of stress about money. I’m also finding it hard to settle
into the beautiful little flat, because it doesn’t quite feel
‘mine’ yet. I need to properly
fill the empty space with my
unique, bonkers
energy – and a few bits of
quirky second hand furniture
– and that’s hard to do
when you’re so busy with work, and trying to keep an eye on
(/straight up avoid) all expenses. I
know the place will feel right eventually, and I can’t wait for
that day. In the meantime, I am really enjoying bringing friends
round and hearing their excitement when they see the space, and me
in it.
I’m
also worried about keeping on top of my freelance work – and
hopefully getting much
more of it – with all my other obligations, and with all the
changes that are happening around me right now. That
being said I did tweet recently, with the aim of magically
manifesting, that I’d love to do more speaking/hosting and stuff
like that. So yes, please hit me up if you can think of any events
I’d be good for!? Also,
writing. I want to actually finish
writing
something* this year, and be proud of it, and make it into something.
I want to master the art of pitching, developing, editing –
everything. I’m actually hoping to start up an informal writing
group
with a few of my local writer friends,
too
(looking at you, Salisbury and Johnson).
*I
actually just closed this document because I was getting frustrated
with how rambly and word-vomit-ish it was, but made myself reopen it
so I don’t have to pick it up again tomorrow when I’m out of this
mindset. C’mon, Grace. WORK AT IT.
Right,
manifesting/shameless plugging over. For
now. I’m
not quite done stressing, though. Because there is suddenly so much
to
stress about. I have gone from living rent-free (full transparency
here; I didn’t even contribute towards bills or food when I was living at Latter HQ. I know,
I was very lucky) to suddenly being completely self-sufficient and so damn
responsible!? For
everything!? I hope I get over this horrible ‘frantic paddling in
deep water’ feeling soon, because honestly my skin is really
suffering with it, and my bowels aren’t happy either.
Time
for some brightness: I was so happy to have such a lovely response to
my tweet about living alone, and my slight fear of feeling lonely
and/or becoming a hermit. Thank
you, my gang.
I am always open to receiving any tips you readers may have when it
comes to living independently – and of course, sustainably; I got
so much joy from filling up glass jars in my local zero waste shop
with lentils, rice, muesli and apricots, oh my. So
yeah, comments and tweets are always welcome. I’m also going to be
taking some sexy photos of my place when it’s properly come
together, so keep an eye on my Instagram for that maybe. And on here,
of course. Because that’s another aim for 2020, to write more
openly and freely on this blog, and hopefully get that same feeling I
got when I created this space at just 17 years old – that my
feelings were being well
and truly
let out through
writing.
Travel more stylishly! *
10 January 2020
(This
post was written by a contributor, not me.)
While
you may be a seasoned traveller,
you may find that from time to time, travelling
can get a bit
stale.
You may be one that likes to frequent the same destination each year,
or perhaps
you
choose a new place with every vacation. It
doesn’t really matter which
category
you
fall into; sometimes
we just need something
new.
This
post will provide you with a
few ways you can add a
bit of
style to your travel. By simply incorporating
a few of the things we are going to talk about today into
your next vacation, you will find that you are seeing the world in a
brand new way before you know it!
Image from Pexels
MIX
IT UP!
If
you, like many people, are a creature of habit, then this will often
start to show when you are on vacation too. If you love nothing more
than finding a beautiful beach and staying on it for the duration of
your holiday,
there’s nothing wrong with that, but
if that’s the case then
you probably shouldn’t spend too much on the
trip.
The
truth is, if you do the same thing for every destination that you
visit, then you aren’t necessarily
getting the most from your trip, and you are missing out on some of
the amazing things the world has to offer!
SHOP
AROUND!
Some
years back, luxurious travel was so expensive; it was exclusively
reserved
for those who
could afford it. In today’s world, things have changed quite
dramatically, and believe
it or not you
can now enjoy the luxury of some of the world’s best destinations
for quite a low price.
While
the price of the trip isn’t going to fall into a budget category,
it can be a lot cheaper than it once was, and these trips are now far
more accessible than they ever have been before.
In
order to find a great deal on a luxury vacation, maybe
don’t just
search
for package holidays. While there are thousands of websites out there
that claim they’ll
get you
the best price available, that price only
represents the package deal.
If
you really want to see a massive saving, it’s time to look at
booking things separately. The first thing you will need to do is
look at flights. Now, when it comes to flights, the best thing you
can do is book in the days that follow Christmas.
While
this may sound crazy, most airlines will offer stupidly low prices
around this time of year as they sell their seats
by allocation.
If you are unsure of what this means, you should really look into it
– it’s
quite fascinating.
The
final thing you will need is a hotel (obvs). Surely you should visit
a comparison site, right? Well, no, the best thing you can do here is
use a comparison site to see which hotel you would prefer, but then
you should ring the hotel directly. You will find that this
way you will get the best possible price.
GET
THINGS DONE FOR YOU!
When
it comes to luxury travel, nothing is better than taking a trip where
everything gets done for you. Whether you visit a 5-star hotel or
even opt for a cruise
& stay,
you will find that you are granted one of the best ways to forget
your
everyday worries,
and you can truly relax without a care in the world.
What
may be surprising is that yet again, while all-inclusive trips used
to be incredibly expensive, you can now book these trips for a
fraction
of the price they once
were.
If you really want to get your all-inclusive break at a low cost,
then one of the best things you can do is to go during the ‘low
season’.
The
‘low season’ will often also mean that there are fewer people
around, you will get more attentive service – and you will also be
able to get next to the pool, as those pesky towel reservers won’t
be around for some time.
Okay,
those are our tips! Happy travels, folks!
Patronise me.
24 December 2019 • almost amazing pod, patreon, support me
I
have some exciting news. Well, I hope you’ll all find it exciting.
I’ve
been starting some new projects recently. Yes, I’m starting them at
the end of the year, not the best timing really… or is it? Actually
it kind of feels like good timing, because I can let the ideas sit
and percolate a little in the last few weeks of the year (that
is, mind you, after they’ve followed me around
for a lot longer) and then properly dive into them at the
beginning of 2020. I’ll be going into more detail about them then,
too – rather than what I’m doing right now, which is really just
me being like ‘I have stuff happening, STUFF’ and not giving you
much more than that, oops…
Photo
by Grace at UNOA.
Anyway,
to help me fund these new projects, I’ve
started a Patreon. Yep,
I did that thing. So if you’re a friend, follower, or
even someone who feels completely indifferent about me but needs a
good place to get rid of some loose change every month, please
do check it out and consider supporting me and my mad endeavours.
I’ll take whatever you can spare! No amount is too little.
Alternatively, you’re welcome to help me via Ko-Fi,
which is a one-off, non-committal thing, so you can just pop
something over to me now and again but not sign up for £? per month.
I’m
not asking for mad moolah here, I just wanna have a lovely little
community of supporters who (hopefully) appreciate what I’m making…
and enjoy exclusive, behind-the-scenes action AND get priority
on ~*things*~.
Yes,
so, that brings me onto what supporters can get by contributing
whatever they can each month… the truth is, I haven’t quite
worked it out. I know what I will be able to give as perks and
extras, but I haven’t formulated the ‘tiers’ of rewards just
yet. And of course, if I told you now what you’d be getting,
it might spoil the surprise I have planned to announce in the new
year! I’m trying to build up excitement and suspense, here.
Geeezzz. Also, I'm open to ideas. What do YOU want
in exchange for your spare pennies each month? Hugs? Kisses?
Giveaways? Exclusive newsletters and good old BTS #content? Let me
know via comment, tweet, email,
smoke signals, anything.
So here’s
my link – oh, and if you follow it, you’ll see what
one of my new projects is because I refer to it briefly in my bio!
That was clever of me, innit.
Happy
Christmas, folks. And bring on 2020, I say.
2020 visions.
17 December 2019 • 2020, new year, no pressure
To
begin with, I really liked the tweets that were circulating a few
weeks back saying things like ‘the decade is nearly over, what are
you most proud of?’ It made me reflect (although that’s something
I do way too much anyway, tbh) and yeah, feel proud of my
accomplishments, big and small. I made myself remember the work
struggles, and feel relieved that I now do something I truly love; I
thought about my worst moments of loneliness, and then appreciated
the wonderful close friends I can rely on these days. And of course
it hit me hard when I looked back on how ill I’ve been, and how
much better I am now. It was all very positive, yes.
But
then I saw the tweets become A Bit Much; friends of mine were quote
tweeting saying things like ‘eekk who are you my mum, lol’, ‘wow,
I can’t think of anything’ and, most heartbreakingly, ‘I
survived, and that’s enough’. I realised not everyone wants
to look back on the past ten years – and that’s okay. I mean
really, right now, with all the sh*t that’s going on, we should
really be looking toward the future. And thinking about the good can
do, for ourselves and others. But then, we also mustn’t put too
much pressure on ourselves. I know I do;
I’m constantly obsessing over my carbon footprint, recycling
effectively, the interest rates on my savings, and what big moves
I should be making in my career (HA, okay so that last one
was a joke). Sometimes, just the littlest aims and targets are
enough.
coffee
and world domination plans with Erin.
So,
with that in mind, here are my goals for 2020:
- become more independent (whether that means moving out, or just taking more responsibilities in the family home)
- cook more (I seem to have nearly forgotten how since uni, and I miss it a bit)
- don’t scrape or dent the car (harder than it sounds, for me)
- be a little less scrappy with timings
- be kinder to my brain (it’s been through a lot)
- only buy stuff from charity shops, and/or invest in essentials from better and more ethical brands (e.g. Organic Basics, what a bunch of babes)
- book reviews in at work (no matter how terrifying that may be)
- enjoy the freedom of trips away, rather than planning activities for every second of them
- volunteer more
- find the perfect vegan milk chocolate (still haven’t tried the new Galaxy range; I feel like that will be a game changer)
- stop referring to groups of people as ‘guys’, ffs
- watch more films, and less of the same old TV series
- learn more fun facts
- go on more exciting car/train journeys to new places
- Don’t look back, you’re not going that way. (who said that, please? It’s a quote that’s on my mind a lot, these days)
And that’s it… at least, until I think of a couple dozen more when I get into bed and try to go to sleep tonight. Luckily, there’s always the edit button.
I
feel like we’ve got to the point in the year when everyone’s
saying ‘if I don’t see you before, have a happy Christmas/New
Year’. So, yeah, that.
Small But Big; Miga Swimwear.
12 December 2019 • Miga Swimwear, small but big
Hey,
lovely readers. Welcome to the second instalment in my ‘Small But Big’ series! This
is a new project within a project (wait, is this blog a project, though? If
so, sh*t, it’s been going on a while hasn't it?) that’s designed to
shout-out small
businesses; take a closer look behind the Etsy pages, into the
stock cupboards and under the pristine front desk, and give a good insight into the minds of creators.
Ooofftt,
I’ve got myself all excited about it after that little spiel! Well,
this interview is with the lovely Marialuisa at MIGA Swimwear; a
brand celebrating womxn
with visible differences, disabilities
and chronic illnesses, by
selling
swimwear
specifically
designed
to boost
their confidence and help them love their bodies.
Hey,
Marialuisa. Thank you so much for taking the time to e-answer my
questions! To start with, tell us a little about yourself, please?
How
did MIGA Swimwear come
to be?
MIGA
starts from my experience with disfigurement: I have
brachymetatarsia, which means that I have shortened 4th toes on both
of my feet. A couple of years back, a friend asked me, “what’s
wrong with your toes?” I got very uncomfortable and quickly changed
the subject. I remember thinking: 'How is it possible that I am 25
years old and I still react like this when someone asks me about my
feet?'
It
dawned on me that this question was always going to come up, no
matter how old I got. So I decided to focus my master’s at Central
Saint Martins, UK, on figuring out ways to lower stigma in the
disfigurement community. To my surprise, I found that swimwear design
coupled with storytelling could help women feel more comfortable with
their bodies. One of the first women that I worked with, a burn
survivor, was able to go back to swimming because of the bathing suit
I designed for her. At this point, I realized I could not only change
my perceptions toward disfigurement but that of others too.
Your
website says ‘Disfigurement Inspired’. Can you expand on that a
little?
Our
tagline, Disfigurement Inspired, comes from the belief that
disfigurement, as many things in life, can be a source of
inspiration. Our aim is to contest the negative stigma surrounding
the word disfigurement. Many times I have been told that we shouldn’t
use the word disfigurement in our branding, that we should opt for
the words visual or physical differences. My concern with using words other than disfigurement is that they wouldn't be clear enough.
A physical difference can be having brown hair, as opposed to black,
for example. If we are not clear about what we are referring to or if
there is any confusion as to what we are trying to do, we will fail
to break the stigma that surrounds not only the word in question, but
the community it seeks to represent. Instead of being constricted by
the word’s literal meaning, we should feel empowered to give new
definitions to the words that make us uncomfortable or that cause us
pain. By taking ownership of the language, we can change not only our
perceptions but the perceptions of others. And that is powerful.
What
do you think is your biggest achievement thus far in your business
journey? And what is one of your biggest dreams for this brand?
My
biggest achievement thus far has been to find the right production
team. After a year of many challenges trying to do it all on my own,
I realized I needed to pivot. I needed to hire people that were
smarter and more skilled than me, especially in the skill sets that I
do not have myself, in order to scale our business. After a lot of
asking around and really putting it out there that I needed help, I
found these two highly detailed-oriented and professional, overall
badass ladies I hired for this collection and I couldn’t be happier
with the results.
My
biggest dream is to challenge the established beauty standard so that
more women feel comfortable in their own bodies. I believe I can do
this by creating stigma-breaking, self-esteem boosting swimsuits. My
professional goal is to make MIGA Swimwear profitable. If we don’t
get sales, we won’t be able to continue to raise awareness about
the experience of having disfigurement, disabilities or chronic
illnesses and thus, break the stigma. A study recently conducted
found that more than a third of people with visible differences are
discriminated against at work. I believe that fashion, specifically
swimwear design, can change that.
Anything
else you want to share? The floor is yours!
It
is important for others to know that our brand is not only for women
living with disfigurement, disabilities and/or chronic illnesses. We
do not seek inclusion at the expense of excluding other groups. We
believe non-disfigured and able-bodied people can re-frame how they
look at their own bodies and ultimately, learn how to accept and love
themselves through the lessons of the disfigurement, disability and
chronic illness community.
Thank
you so much for answering my questions, Marialuisa. I personally am
so inspired by what you’ve created with this business. Readers, you
can find MIGA at migaswimwear on
Instagram, or at migaswimwear.com!
Oh, and in case you missed it, here’s the first 'Small But Big' post – an interview with the wicked Renee at Sh! Womens Erotic Emporium. You’re welcome.
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