Ever wondered how you can turn your hobby into your business?
Meet Rachel Smith-Evans, a 41-year-old mum of three teenagers - Dylan, 19, and twins Sonny and Grace, aged 15. Rachel was working as a teaching assistant but always enjoyed upcycling furniture in her spare time.
Now, she's taking on huge commissions and boasts clients including Tyson and Paris Fury, influencers, online retail giant Boohoo, and more. The creative also occupies two studios in Make CIC, "a purpose driven, socially trading organisation", based on Regent Street, North Docks.
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Rachel said: "It was never my intention to start a business. Painting colourful chairs in my living room was a much-needed creative outlet after losing my mum. I just needed a task to help me unwind after a busy day as a teaching assistant, when the children were in bed.
"The more colourful the projects became the happier they made me; it really helped me deal with my grief. Playing around with colours became my therapy."
Rachel's designs became so popular, she now runs Quirky Design Co, a creative studio based in L3, where she paints everything from furniture, event props, boats, murals, vardos (traditional Romani wagons), and even Tuk-Tuks. Rachel also runs creative up-cycling workshops for community projects, both in schools and from her studio just outside the city centre at Make CIC, North Docks.
Surprised by the amount of people who wanted to learn similar skills to her, Rachel soon realised she needed more space. Rachel continued: "At the beginning of this year, I upgraded to a much larger studio and created a beautiful space for people to come and get creative and learn some of my unique colourful furniture painting techniques."
How did she do turn her hobby into a business?
Rachel said: "At first, I started a little Instagram page, just for myself really, and to see if people would like my quirky creations. I didn't tell any friends or family about it.
"To my absolute surprise, I had a couple of thousand followers and two independent shops wanting to stock my chairs within the first month - I couldn't believe it. The quirkier my pieces became, the quicker they would sell.
"I upgraded from painting in my living room to a summer house in the garden. Then, as my projects and commissions became larger, I moved into my first studio at Make. Each month, I would invest in a new piece of equipment or products to help the business grow, slowly and cautiously throughout the pandemic. I now have two large studios, one for workshops [and] creating Instagram content, and one for spraying and sanding furniture.
"My ombre rainbow chairs are my best-seller, along with my new luxury rainbow thrones. I hire the rainbow thrones for parties, corporate and influencer events. My clients include Tyson and Paris Fury, Boohoo and Hair Choice Extensions. They are also popular with event companies and beauty salons. They are the ultimate selfie chair."
She continued: "Most of my work is commission based now and some of my projects have been great fun. This year has been full of incredibly exciting projects - I painted a dining table based on a John Lennon Rolls Royce, a Tuk-Tuk, a traditional [Romani] wagon, a boat, several pianos, and I'm currently restoring and repainting a Lambanana."
Rachel's ability to personalise furniture has customers queuing up for her skills. She said: "I'm often asked to paint hidden details within furniture, animals that peek out as you open a drawer, feathers or lyrics that have special meaning to my clients.
"Pianos are one of my favourite things to paint, I usually have at least two surprise pianos commissioned in the run up to Christmas. What an incentive to keep up with those lessons - a personalised piano?
"My most exciting commission, so far, was restoring a traditional [Romani] wagon this summer. The wagon had been left outside for 30 years and was a full restoration job, inside and out. It was in awful condition when it arrived at my studio, but I still saw so much beauty in it.
"Once the rotten wood was replaced, and many, many layers of chipped paint removed, I could start adding fresh paint. And with intricate gold detailing added, it looked brand new. It is now used by a stable as a prop for pony photoshoots for children."
Of her hopes for the future, Rachel added: "I'm so excited to see what next year brings. I would love to do more large-scale projects, more community work, and workshops. I have loved the challenges and opportunities that have come my way so far. I can honestly say there is no project too big for me - I'm confident I can take on anything."
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