Introducing On The Nice List Designs

Sometimes when life throws you a curveball, you’ve just got to embrace it and hope you can catch it. This year has been a bit of a rubbish year for a lot of self-employed people and I am no exception. My usual workload has reduced and I’ve found myself wondering what to do to bring in some money to contribute with the household bills. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but with the support of my family, I decided to take the plunge and bought myself the equipment to set up my own little craft business; that’s when On the Nice List Designs was created.

Why On The Nice List 

When I was younger, my sister and I would love to buy goodies from days out. A pencil or notebook here, a silly snake or pack of cards there. Often in gift shops, you’d see the run of the mill products with a selection of personalised items. My name is Emma so finding something with my name on was really easy, it was a common name. My sister is called Toni, and she could never find anything with her name on it. I wanted to run a small business where, no matter what your name, I could personalise something for you and therefore you are always on the nice list. 

Embracing my passions for crafts

I have always been a little bit crafty. I am a Pinterest Mum. I love to put my hand to something and craft. We have boxes full of craft goodies at home which is always great when the boys tell me they’re bored and want to paint or do junk modelling. Before the boys were born, I turned my hand to quilting and I’ve always loved cross-stitch as it’s a craft I learned growing up with the encouragement of my very talented and skilled seamstress Mom.

I had always wanted to learn a new craft but never had the time. My youngest son is two years old and is quite full on some days but during the year I’ve had time to concentrate and make the time to learn the art of vinyl cutting and printing. It’s been a huge learning curve but it’s been one that has been really exciting. I have so many ideas and I’ve been so thrilled and really touched that many of my friends and online followers have embraced my passion and have bought some of the products from me that I have customised and sold.

On the Nice List Designs

On the Nice List Designs is a handmade and customised gift shop that sells personalised and customised mugs as well as seasonal gifts for all the family. I have set myself a little shop on Etsy as it’s a platform many folk identify with as being reputable and it reaches a national audience so I can reach lots of people. So far I’ve sold over sixty items to people all over the UK which is an incredible feeling. I do feel really proud and I hope people can see how much I care about the products I’m making and creating for them. They’re so much love and attention in each piece, I hope that comes across when customers receive them.

It’s in the mail

As part of my small business, I’ve had to consider packaging as I want to ensure all my gifts arrive at their new homes in once piece. Every time I hand a parcel over at the post office, my heart does a little flip and I pray it arrives safe and well! Where possible, I’ve already used recyclable postal packaging such as cardboard postal boxes and strong paper packaging tape but there are a few changes I need to make going forward. I want to ensure I’m doing my bit for the environment as best as I can.

Stocking up

I’ve had to buy many items of stock in advance that I think other people would love me to personalise and hope I can come up with some cute and quirky designs that people would love to buy. I hope that with the year we have had, many folk will look to help self-employed crafters this year when they’re looking for Christmas or birthday gifts for family and friends and will keep my products in mind for that special someone.

With Christmas coming up I want to embrace the gift market and then next year focus on a line of other products that people use around their homes and for special occasions. I want to create a range of gifts for children that I can personalise as everyone deserves something with their name on it! Growing up my sister had a name that she could never find on an item in a gift shop so I’d love to be able to make someone smile with an item made just for them. It’s an exciting future ahead of me and one that I will continue to work hard at in the hope I can make it work for me and my family.

You can hop on over to Etsy to see my range of personalised mugs and gifts at On The Nice List Designs.