Creating A Successful Business By Selling Unique Handmade Shadow Boxes - Meet Meagan Gardiner
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| My guest today is Meagan Gardiner. Meagan runs a successful business called - ‘Cards With A View’. She started out selling handmade cards. Her designs were quite unique. The cards had wildflowers and seeds. On her website this is how she describes her handmade cards - “The front of the card had 2 layers with plastic windows. When the two layers were glued down the wildflowers and seeds were trapped between the plastic windows“.Today, Meagan has moved away from cards and specialises in the production of handmade shadow boxes. Her business has also outgrown her home and she now works from an external business office. | |
| Meagan is a great example of someone who created a successful business out of her hobby craft. Read and Be Inspired…. | |
| How did you come up with the idea of placing wildflowers and seeds in cards? | |
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I think it initially came about while I was teaching in the Pilbara region. The students wanted to raise funds for art supplies. From there I moved to Kalgoorlie and I sold some of the cards to staff members. One of the girls framed a card in one of those glass & clip frames, which got me thinking about doing a series of pieces in actual picture frames. |
| You have now moved on to making miniature shadow boxes. You have got branches in USA and UK. This success could not have been easy. What are some of the toughest challenges you faced on your road to success? | |
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I think the success has been very incremental. Nothing massively ground breaking happened overnight, just little bits at a time. Had a lot of assistance from Craft Australia, Austrade, SBDC, the W.A. office in Kobe, Japan. I think the toughest challenge was feeling like I never had any money! |
| What is the most rewarding thing about your business? | |
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I guess the most rewarding thing about the business is that it’s still going. I’ve moved several times, married and had a child (who is now a very active toddler) and I can still earn my own money. Cards With A View has very much helped me avoid PND I’d say because I have kept alive something that was a very important part of my identity before these changes. |
| What’s your number one stress relief tactic? | |
| Swimming in the ocean. I love the silence that comes from being under the water. It’s so incredibly calming. | |
| What do you believe is your greatest business achievement so far? | |
| Being invited by Craft Australia to participate in the San Francisco International Gift Fair. | |
| If you could give us one time management tip what would that be? | |
| Finish tasks through to the end and try not to be distracted by little side distractions. | |
| Finally, your five keys to success? | |
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1) Make your bed in the morning (I’m not kidding! Get the day off to a good start) 2) Exercise 3) Write up a plan for the day and stick to it as much as possible 4) Set aside time to “play” with new ideas. Have some creative fun inside your business 5) Be prepared to work hard for quite a few years |
| Sites Of Interest | |
| http://www.cardswithaview.com/ | |
| Visit Meagan’s business website to get more information about her unique handmade shadow boxes… | |
| This interview was published on 13th April 2008 To read more stories about women who sell various kinds of crafts click How To Sell Crafts. |
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