Craftpod was founded by Jo from Bristol who is a self-taught embroiderer with a passion for textiles and stitching. Jo designs and makes contemporary, high-quality embroidery and soft sculpture kits.
Who or what inspires you and your products?
I love textiles and stitching, art and the natural world. I started making kits so I could share my passion and self-taught skills with others.
How did you start your business?
I started Craftpod in 2015. Initially I was making and selling hand-sewn felt animals on Etsy. After requests for classes, it made sense for the next step to be to make kits from carefully thought-through patterns, enabling people to learn how to embroider designs and create soft sculpture animals.
How did you choose the name of your business?
Craftpod – a little capsule of crafting, and an antidote to technology. Pod also had a natural world feel to it.
What do you enjoy most about the creative process?
I love the initial spark of a project where you’re gathering all the colours, textures and ideas together and just have a feeling of where a project might be heading, rather than an absolute vision of what it will look like. I like the space in the process for playing and exploration. I also love assembling the kits and seeing all the components sitting together in the Craftpod boxes.
What is the biggest challenge you've faced as a small business owner?
Oversaturated market after Lockdown/Covid.
Higher cost of supplies these days, and loss of EU customers since Brexit.
What is your hero product or one that means the most to you and why?
The Owl Craftpod is my hero product. It contains a lovely wintry barn owl embroidery project, and an owl scissors case project, which includes scissors. The handles of the scissors fit into the case to perfectly create the eyes of the owl. I’m very proud of this design! These projects are also available as single kits, and both have been bestsellers for a few years now.
What does a typical working day look like?
Because I currently work from home, I often start with a quick walk to the harbour or around the park. After lots of tea, I check emails and orders. I make up any kits needed and then pack the orders ready for the post office.
Then I place orders from suppliers to keep on top of stock levels. The afternoon is usually kept for designing new kits, photographing new products, working on promotions and updating the website.
What tip (or tips) would you give anyone looking to start a small creative business?
Make sure you’re passionate about and proud of what you’re selling. It’s much easier to sell products that you love and know will genuinely enhance people’s lives.
Pay attention to packaging. People often comment on how important it is to them, and how much they like the extra added personal touches.
Make sure you know how long you spend making your product and how much your margins are. Is it really going to be profitable if your product takes a long time to make or the supplies are very costly?
Be prepared to wear a lot of different hats! Running a small business will have you covering a lot of different skills, including designing, photography, marketing, bookkeeping, IT, packing and ordering stock. There aren’t enough hours in the day!
Shop Craftpod at the Country Living Christmas Market this November for a thoughtful gift, or to treat yourself!