mum who makes :: soop design

mum who makes :: soop design
madeit.com.au/Soopdesign

Tell us a bit about yourself?
I live in Perth. I am married to a Scotsman and we have 2 children. We spent a great deal of our lives travelling and living overseas but we decided that Perth was going to be the easiest city in which to raise children. We love it here!


Can you explain your craft/art and the materials you like to use?
I love the tactile and organic qualities of handmade papers. I do try to divert myself from this obsession from time to time by introducing other aesthetics and focal materials into my store but I always find myself drawn back to the paper – especially Japanese handmade paper. I just LOVE it and I spend way too much money importing it from around the world.

How long have you been creating and how did you get into making handmade goodies?
I have been working in a creative capacity since 1998. I came back to Perth from a long stint overseas and worked in publicity at the University of WA. I worked mainly in the areas of desktop publishing and graphic design and when I left to have children I started up my own business freelancing in these areas. An old neck injury pretty much put that to a stop so I then started branching out into other areas of design that were not going to require being hunched over a computer all day. That was around 7 years ago and I have been honing my skills since then.

How do you juggle motherhood & crafting/managing your business?
With great difficulty! I love crafting so much that I sometimes find it hard to drag myself away. It’s a constant battle for me implement timeframes and make sure I’m spending enough time with the kiddies and the husband and also taking care of all the domestic chores. I do a lot of work after the kids have gone to bed but I do make sure that it’s tools down for a few hours after school. On saying that, I think mother’s always have a little guilt thing going on. I do feel though, that I am a better mother because I get to do something just for me that I love with a passion.

Do you have any advice to other Mothers who are wanting to start creating handmade goodies?
I would just say to other mum’s that it is important to believe in yourself. As mother’s it’s not unusual for people to look upon what we do as a hobby at best or a time-waster at worst. You have to power through this and not give up. My business has finally become profitable so my peers now take me seriously but it wasn’t always that way. If I had have given up in the beginning I would never have realised my dream of being self-employed in a capacity that I am passionate about.

I would also say to mum’s if you are new at crafting, try to experiment with lots of different genres. The more diverse your experiences, the more likely it will be that you stumble across an aspect of crafting that you thoroughly enjoy and can possibly take to the next level. What better way to spend life than turning your hobby into a business. As the quote says “Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love”.