Well Handmade world, you’ve done it again! This week, we cannot wait to introduce you to Maggie Ball, maker & creator of Lily Cole Designs. Not only is she talented, Maggie enables her craft to tell stories through creating customizable posters to handwriting memories into pieces of art. It is only fitting to share her story with you today on Memorial Day as her newest creative journey encompases love letters written during World War II.
Read more & be inspired by Maggie and her creativity! We absolutely were.
Meet the Maker
Do you have a favorite memory surrounding your craft, company, and customers?
Yes. My newer line of business is called “My Handwriting, My Heart.” I take a customer’s loved one’s handwriting, retrace it, and make it into a print that can be framed. I have extracted pieces of love letters written from Germany during World War II. Another was a mother’s last handwriting before tragically dying in a car accident. One recent piece is a mother’s handwritten message to her 3 children as she is passing from Stage IV colon cancer.
Through this service, I have connected with people on a deep level, knowing that this handwriting piece will be treasured and passed down through generations. I feel truly unique in the sense that my job and my life are so intertwined. And oh, I love it so!
What are a few benefits and challenges of being a handmade artisan?
First and foremost, the primary benefit of having a home-based, passion-driven business means that the minutes in my life are filled up with my favorite things: family + creativity. Each day, I am here for my husband and children, and my work fits in with our lifestyle. Specifically, I can get the kids ready for school, throw in a load of laundry, work at my computer while printing orders, paint that piece of wood, run the carpool, fold/cut the note cards, make dinner, ship out orders, etc. etc.
And the best piece of it all? None of it feels like “work.” Well, except for the laundry. 😉
I’d say the biggest challenge is managing the overstimulation. Here is what I mean. On a daily basis, I am managing the new Etsy emails that just came in, the influx of my new ideas, that DIY idea I found on Pinterest, filling new orders, commenting on that Instagram post, and so much more. It is so easy to get distracted, and then hours of actual creation time have faded away.
It’s like a cross between playing in a constant dodgeball tournament, and feeling like my brain has too many internet “tabs” open. I have found that the best medicine is to turn everything off and just sit quietly. Then, dive back in, attempting One. Thing. At. A. Time.
Do you have any advice for other artisans?
Try not to compare yourself to other shops and get discouraged.
There is a lot of talent out there, and it is to be celebrated. Social media has it’s positives – we all know how rewarding it can be to post a creation and get lots of instantaneous feedback! However, with the transparency of the sales, number of likes and number of followers, Etsy, Instagram, and Facebook can also feel like you are constantly competing in a popularity contest. Remind yourself why you started your business and just have fun with it. If you start to feel “unpopular” just go back to your roots and CREATE!
Also, it takes time to really get your sales rolling. Rome wasn’t built in a day! It took months – almost a full year, before I really started seeing a steady stream of sales. And that was after LOTS of hard work. Social media can make it look so easy, like this success just popped up in a day. Not true.
Keep at it! You’ll get there!
Keep In Touch
What a wonderful, inspiring piece!! Thank you so much for the advice, I love the line ‘Each day I am here for my husband and my kids, my work fits into our lifestyle’ a heart desire I try to run my business by.