It only seems like yesterday that Maggie was born and we were embarking on our Blue Ticking journey. I feel enormously proud that we're still here and still have the same passion and enthusiasm to reuse, restore and fill your homes with wonderful pieces of furniture. A lot has happened over the last ten years so I thought it would be nice to reflect on some key moments and learnings. Obviously there's ten of them!!!
1. Working with John
I know it sounds a bit soppy but I really wouldn't be here without John. He plays such a pivotal role in Blue Ticking; restoring your furniture, buying stock, being the pro van loader and packing king and providing moral boosting moments and never-ending creative ideas. He is my number one champion and believes wholeheartedly in what we stand for. If I ever feel unsure or want to pack it all in, John is there to reassure and tell me not to give up! I think everyone should have a John in their life!
Working with your other half is no ride in the park and I know it wouldn't work for everyone, but we seem to tick along nicely and have lots of giggles!
2. The Maggie and The Edith
Sadly I can't take the credit for this ingenious creation, it was all John's idea and boy am I pleased it came to him one night! For the last seven years our much-loved enamel seat and storage combo has been a firm favourite with customers. We love this product so much and I'm super proud that hundreds are now in homes up and down the country.
More recently we have added the option of a birch ply top so that it can be used as a mini side table. A great addition to the Maggie family! If you fancy your own Maggie click here to see what's currently available.
Watch this space for a limited edition version next week!
The Edith was an idea that came to us about three years ago. It was based on a vintage product we had adapted but couldn't source anymore so we set about making our own version. It felt right to name it after our eldest daughter Edith who was very cross that the enamel pot was called Maggie!!! We now have three different versions available and we love the fact that it's made by us in our West Sussex studio and it's such a versatile product that can be adapted.
3. Our studio space
When we first started we rented a small unit in a cowshed for a very minimal rent. It was perfect to get us started but we knew if Blue Ticking was to grow it wouldn't work forever. There was no heating and so in the winter the paint would freeze as would we! There also wasn't a proper water supply which made washing furniture impossible. My office was at home which meant I was constantly back and forth which was logistically quite challenging.
After three years of making it work we knew we had to find something which could accommodate both the workshop and office. Luckily ten minutes from home we found the perfect space and we've now been here for seven years!
It's constantly evolving but we love it and I'm pleased to report it's a bit warmer and more comfortable than the cowshed! It was a big jump for us at the time, but most definitely the right one. We've been able to grow at our pace and in a manageable way which for two fairly risk averse people has been a bonus!
4. Lovely reviews and customers coming back
This has to be one of the best things about running your own business. We are forever indebted to those who buy from us and then come back again and trust us with their hard earned money. We have some customers who have Blue Ticking pieces in every room and have been with us since the beginning, how cool is that?!
I am never not bowled over by peoples kind words and lovely reviews and we love getting pictures of our goods in situ. They particularly come into their own when you're having a bit of a tricky day or week!
5. The landscape is always changing. Don't be afraid to fail and don't become complacent!
I have learnt so much over the last ten years, but one of the biggest takeaways is the above. This has been especially the case over the last four years in particular, with Covid, The war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis. You cannot be complacent. What might work one week won't necessarily the next and you never really know what's on the horizon and how it might affect your business.
You have to be prepared to change, adapt and deal with the highs and lows. You also have to take a few risks, which for two risk averse people is a little scary, but is necessary to keep moving forward. Nothing is perfect and if you wait until it is you will never get it done or out into the public domain. Take chances and be prepared to get it wrong. We have got it wrong many times but hopefully we've learnt from our mistakes and done it better the next time!
6. Reusing brilliant pieces of furniture
One of the absolutely highlights has been being able to bring pieces of furniture back to life so they aren't added to landfill. The sustainable element of our business is key and it brings us so much joy to know our goods are being re loved and used. I love thinking in particular about the 100s of desks that we've restored and how much creativity and work is happening up and down the country on them!
7. Don't compare yourself to others
This is a biggy and again not always easy to achieve especially in this day and age with social media being such a big part of running a business. I have had many moments during this journey of playing the fatal comparison game and it doesn't end well. It can be so hard not to compare yourself with others or to feel that we should be further on or achieved more. The truth is, we are still going which over the last few years has been no mean feat. We're a small family run business, not a big corporation and that's absolutely fine with us!
8. Meeting so many wonderful people from all over the world
Both John and I are people people and we've been incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with folk from all walks of life and from all over the world. Our network of furniture suppliers is far and wide and our interactions are always fun and interesting. There's never a dull moment when you're out and about sourcing furniture and haggling over prices! We've managed to source some amazing and unique pieces because of the wonderful people we have met over the last ten years. Long may it continue.
9. Lockdown
I remember the evening of 22nd March 2020 so clearly and our mild panic about what was about to hit. As a small business owner I had no idea what the future held and whether we would still be allowed to trade. I also wasn't sure that even if we could sell, people would continue to buy or we would be able to get the stock to sell. John was still very much doing his own carpentry work at this point as well and like other tradespeople had to stop working completely. The future seemed very uncertain and it was a scary time.
Amazingly the orders kept coming and we were able to supply desks for home schooling and working and help people really focus on their homes. We were so busy John was at the studio every day working on goods and getting orders out. It was a crazy juggle with me trying to home school and run the business from home, but somehow we made it work.
It's not a time I would like to repeat, but I do feel proud that we weathered the storm and made it work!
I don't really have any photos of John working or John and I together at the studio during that period because we were hardly ever there at the same time! The one photo I do have however, makes me chuckle because it shows what a state our hair was in due to not being able to go to the hairdressers! John's looked wild and I had to wear a headband so as to cover all the grey!!! A photo of the time for sure!
10. Running
You may wonder why running is in my top 10, but it's actually been a really big part of my Blue Ticking journey. I wrote a blog a year or so ago about how running helps me to switch off and decompress. Whenever work gets a bit stressful it allows me the time to breathe and think about something else. On the flip side it also provides great thinking time and some of my better ideas were born when out for a run!
There's actually so much more I could say in this blog, including all the different skills I've learnt, but I think if I keep going I will never stop! What a privilege it's been to start our own business and nurture it from the beginning.
Thank you for all your support, we're beyond grateful.
Love Helen and John xx
