This month we’re focusing on Onneke Studio. We just started to stock her great cards and journals, which are quickly becoming popular.

To get to know Onneke a little bit more, here’s a little interview we did with her :

Tell me a little bit about yourselves & your company

My name is Onneke and I am an illustrator and designer and I own a gift shop with my design studio attached to it.

How did you get into doing what you’re doing?

I became a ‘proper’ greeting card designer in the first lockdown. My gift shop just turned two when we had to close the shop and with me and my husband both self-employed, panic set in and I came up with a plan to pull the shop through. I thought it would be a good idea to sell greeting cards of our local area to my lovely customers. I illustrated the cards as I went along and came up with a little campaign to target people online and it said: You can still send cards to your family, friends and neighbours. At first it was just my customers who bought the cards but as more and more people started to buy them and send them out my reach grew bigger and bigger. By the end of the first lockdown I had sold over 10000 cards and I had the first shops in Sussex request to sell my cards. After that I started to design cards that could be sold all over the UK with a focus on the coastal areas because I love the seaside and I live in a coastal town myself.

What does a ‘normal’ day look like?

I get to my studio/shop around 10 in the morning and always have a long to-do list. I do most of the things myself, though I do get help sometimes packing larger orders and I also have someone who helps me in the shop a couple of days a week. I pack wholesale and online orders every day, order stock, design new cards and prints and work on other products that sit well in the range and I also make sure the shop looks tip top and the studio doesn’t look like a bomb went off.

Biggest achievement to date (personally or business wise)?

I designed a whole new range of notebooks this year and I have been very pleased with how well they are doing. They are staple bound A5 notebooks that you can send out instead of a card (they come with an envelope and a little card to add a message). There is a wild swimming logbook, a running logbook, two different walking logbooks and there are two gratitude journals.

Where can we find your cards?

You can find my cards, prints and notebooks in independent shops all over the UK, though mostly in places closer to the sea.

Favourite card you’ve designed  / most popular card design?

All my wild swimming cards are very popular at the moment, along with the wild swimming logbook.

Why do you think sending cards is still so important?

Sending a card connects us on an emotional level with people that are important to us, much more than a text message or comment on social media can do. It can have such a big impact to send someone a card, or at the very least bring a smile to someone’s face.

Best thing about running your own business?

It’s hard work but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love all sides of my business. The shop gives me face to face interaction with customers and the studio gives me a place to be creative and turn my illustrations into cards that sell around the UK. It’s a dream!

Advice to someone looking to turn their hobby / talent into a business?

It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so don’t give up too quickly. We live in a great time where you can learn a lot just by looking them up online. I learned to design my own website, do my own marketing, and I still learn new things all the time.

Plans for the future?

I have lots of ideas for new card ranges. And I also want to add more notebooks to the new range. I am thinking of a cycling logbook and a travel journal to start with. Watch this space! 

You can find a range of Onneke cards and her Journals in Chirpy