It's been a while...!

It's been quite a long time since I posted on this blog and A LOT has happened in that time! I'm not sure why I stopped writing, especially as I spent almost all of 2020 and 2021 essentially locked up at home shielding from the Covid-19 pandemic because I have Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia and that made me clinically extremely vulnerable. It was a tricky time and I had lots of time on my hands to write something, but I think instead I threw myself into the escapism of designing. Did you know my licensing portfolio now contains well in excess of 3500 pieces of art?! So my time during the pandemic was not entirely wasted! 

I thought it was about time I got back to it, so in case you haven't been following me on instagram over this time, this is a little catch up blog to tell you what I've been up to since I last wrote. (Even if you do follow me, sometimes I forget to share stuff, so there might still be something you can learn below!) :-)

1) I opened an online store. 

During the pandemic I made lots of handmade items like ceramic ornaments, greeting cards, reusable stationery and locally manufactured pocket mirrors, and as I couldn't attend craft fayres, I sold these online alongside some of my licensed products. 

It was a great way for me to keep connected to the world and bring in some much needed income and I am so grateful for the support I received and continue to receive from my customers. The shop is currently re-open after a short holiday and I am stocking up ahead of Christmas 2022, so please pop over and take a look. I will be telling you more about some changes to the shop and my new exciting product launches in upcoming posts. 

2) I continued to collaborate with Camelot Fabrics launching a number of lovely new fabric collections including:

"Meadow Haze"

"Eternally Yours"

"Feelin' Fruity"

"Love Is In The Hair"

"Harvest Time"

... And I have two more collections that have recently launched, which I will be telling you all about in an upcoming post. 

3) Other notable licensing partnerships during this time include:

• Samuel Lamont across kitchen textiles.

• East West on mugs.

Yoosh on homeware such as mugs, cushions, lap trays and clocks.

• Heartfelt by Creative Brands on gift items like notebooks, pens, tote bags, magnets, paperweights, trinket dishes, LED candles, mugs, wall hangings and art blocks. 

• Scissortail Stitches / OESD across machine embroidery designs, so that you can now add embellishments to your fabric craft projects.

• And a wide variety of my designs have been turned into traditional cross-stitch / needlepoint craft kits for Colonial Needle / Lee's

4) Some of my products found their way into major retailers. 

Unfortunately I don't have a list of all, but they include: 

• This wall art in Bed Bath & Beyond

• This Father's Day card in Sainsbury's

• Lots and lots of my fabric in Walmart including these 

•  And more fabric in Michaels

• These Christmas dish towels in TJ Maxx

• These paper guest towels in HomeGoods 

These cool metal bathroom signs in Hobby Lobby 

And this cute metal cat sign, also in Hobby Lobby

My luggage collection ended up in Macy's, Bed Bath & Beyond, TJ Maxx, TK Maxx, Homesense and many more huge stores!

And there was so much more! 

5) I was shortlisted for an award

I was delighted to be shortlisted in the 'Sole To Sole' category of The Small Awards 2021. The Small Awards is a nationwide search for the smallest and greatest firms in the UK, across all sectors. It is organised annually by Small Business Britain, which champions, inspires and accelerates small businesses in the UK. I was selected as one of five finalists for the Sole to Sole Award for best self-employed small business owner, which recognises sole traders and celebrates the tenacity and drive it takes to go it alone.

6) I was featured in the press discussing how the pandemic impacted my mental health.

I also continue to discuss this regularly on my social media. 

7) I was interviewed LIVE on BBC Hereford and Worcester! 

As an introvert this was completely out of my comfort zone, but it helped me achieve an aim last year to push myself and also enabled me to bring wider awareness to my business. 

8) I continue to work with independent brands and major retailers across trend prediction and surface pattern design for their own label projects. 

I can't always show you this work, but it remains an important aspect of my business and I really enjoy working with companies to develop new and interesting product ideas. 

Wether you are looking for an illustrator or surface pattern designer to help you with a bespoke project, or you would like to license imagery from my existing licensing portfolio, you can find out more about my services here. Please email hello@vickyyorkedesigns.com to discuss your needs further.

That hopefully has given you a very quick look at what has been happening in my world since I last posted. It's impossible to cover everything, but I'm planning to post a lot more in the coming weeks and months. To keep up to date with my news you can follow me here, on Facebook, Instagram and / or sign up to my newsletter.