BEXI CARDS - THE JOURNEY SO FAR
BEXI CARD BEGINNINGS
As a kid I was obsessed with stationery. I remember my dad once telling me, when I was 8 or 9, about cases of frogs & fish falling from the sky, I remember thinking, ‘I wish it would rain cool stationery’, bloody ridiculous, there’d be casualties left, right and centre, that said a halibut to the face could do some damage.
I had a nomadic childhood, moving within the Uk and abroad, always the new girl, tough when you’re a shy kid. I'm sure a lot of you with wanderlust parents can relate. That all said, in hindsight I know it opened my eyes to the world early on & instilled a fascination in humanity.
Like most of us, people watching brings me great joy & I inject those observations into my art work. I spent 2 years in a studio as a conversational textile designer in NY, creating prints for kids wear, goofy medical scrubs & more. The key to success was in the details, like a bunny’s Nordic ear muffs, hamburgers attempting to ollie on a skateboard or a doggy art teacher’s giant necklace.
As a youngster I drew all the time & as a dyslexic child (See future blogs on the subject) struggling in the classroom, I developed humour as a distraction technique and became addicted to making classmates giggle. (Humour is a beautiful thing blog entry)
THE BIG APPLE
I spent 12 years designing graphics and textiles in the fashion Industry in New York, the creative side off the job never felt like a job at all.
As most of you who have visited the big apple know, its an amazing city, though like so many of our large metropolitan centres it's rapidly changing & becoming less accessible to those without bags & bags of money! I’m happy to be home in the UK, in the West Country, though do now & again pang for the big smoke.
The day I left corporate fashion it neither involved hiring a thundering one man band nor a spectacular pyrotechnic display, like so many of us fantasize about, but it did bring relief, combined with excitement and trepidation.
BUILDING BEXI CARDS
Building the Bexi Card Stationery business has been hard work, as all business owners would tell you, it's a constant learning curve. I feel like its all starting to pay of, the Bexi Card product has developed to a place where I feel proud, I’m currently stocked in 18 stores https://www.bexicards.com/stockists & I will be exhibiting at my first trade show, Progressive Live in July 2020, https://www.progressivegreetingslive.com maybe see you there.
The last two Decembers I’ve had a stall at the lovely Mustard Pot Christmas Faire https://themustardpot.com/events/christmas-markets/ ,in Leeds, visited by trendy professionals, students & people of all ages. It allows me to note consistency in what people are drawn to, which often reflects my sales in general, it's so useful. This year I was lucky enough to have a constant flow of customers to my stand, watching people smile or crack up over my silly whimsical creations is the biggest buzz ever!
If my greeting cards can spread a little warmth and make someone smile, well, thats bloomin’ marvellous!!