Jamillah Knowles, Etsy & Eleanor Young, Fun Makes Good on Craft Business

Posted on by Nicola Balkind

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Jamillah Knowles, PR and Communication, ETSY is a multimedia communicator and broadcaster. Eleanor Young is the founder of Fun Makes Good, a craft business which specialises in re-working previously unloved items of furniture with stunning bespoke upholstery, blending traditional techniques with a distinctive graphic aesthetic. They discussed Eleanor's route to market and running a creative business.


Starting out – Eleanor is a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, and started out on her own to shape her business into what it is today. After defining that for herself, she sought advice in Cultural Enterprise Office's Starter for 6 programme. Her business began on ETSY, but she also works with businesses on direct commissions. She began by approaching boutiques to carry her goods, but using on ETSY has allowed her to get the best of both words: private commissions locally, and selling to individuals internationally. 


ETSY as a marketplace – Compared to other online marketplaces, Eleanor says that individual users are encouraged to contact makers directly and request bespoke designs based on current offerings. Eleanor remarked that she enjoys this exchange, and that it feeds back into her business, giving her more designs and processes to work with.


Pursuing work you love – Eleanor reckons she always wanted to do her own thing. Initially she did what a lot of people do on the trade fair route. She also briefly worked with an agency to license goods, but didn't find success there. 


Collaboration & Creative Freedom – Eleanor uses directories like Make Works to find other makers who she can work with. Having the 2 tracks of interest: being able to send off a design to be made, as well as being able to do hands-on work, makes the difference. "It's good to know what your limits are. I can't physically possibly make everything."


On Being Micro – Dogged determination is key – contacting buyers over a couple of years and gaining contacts has led to bigger things for Eleanor – "you've got to have a bit of that." On getting advice: "at a basic level, I just spoke to other people." Ask people for advice, and you'll find they are very generous with their time and their help. If you're then at a stage where you can go into something more official, try to find something that is right for you.


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Watch their conversation in full:




Jamilla Knowles & Eleanor Young from Small is Beautiful on Vimeo.

 

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Here's more from Jamillah and Eleanor's conversation through our Twitter live feed!