I want to post a SHOUT OUT this week of some people I know who have small businesses. I love to encourage creativity and entrepreneurship. I counted up the other day how many of my friends have either their own businesses or are spending time honing their crafts - and it was impressive!
Here I am show casing a few of my friend’s and will do more in the following weeks.

Firstly I want to mention a quote from a book I am reading by musician Jamie Grace “Finding Quiet”. She and her sister are both creatives - they are musicians and songwriters. They have been hugely successful. She writes about how the media loves to pitch others success against each other's successes or failures. She talks about how the media will be comparing her and her sister's work, and who is the MOST successful etc) She and others work hard to change the flow of that thought.. She writes about how we can celebrate each others success without having to be negative about each other's work. These phrases below really struck a cord with me. I had had in mind several months ago to do a SHOUT out page, and I wasnt sure if it sounded cheesy? or twee.. but I can see that its something that is resounding with Jamie and her sister in their creative fields too.

So, here is my beginning list:
Firstly is lovely Raya who runs a fantastic little restaurant, Raya’s Kitchen in Oswestry’s Indoor market in Shropshire. Here is a super friendly place for a meal. She does a brilliant all day Breakfast special on Fridays!
In the little time she has between running this great place - she manages to squeeze in creativity with some beautiful paintings. She hopes to finsh off 2 paintings of Winter scenes soon, ready for the Christmas season. She's a busy woman! If you like her artwork - take a trip to Raya's Kitchen in Oswestry, and you can talk to the artist herself about prices!

Kingdom Crafting is a super little business run by my daughter and son in law.
Amy makes ethically sourced hand made jewellery and Jacob does beautiful ethically sourced woodwork, and the dog is included for incredible cuteness! They bravely took the plunge to ditch their barista jobs a few weeks before the lockdown was announced in 2020 - so missed out on any furlough. They have done incredibly well with their first year of business.
They do local craft fairs, sell to local craft boutiques and sell through their online store, and do bespoke commissions.
See their work at www.kingdomcrafting.co.uk

Kim started her Online Aromatherapy store this year. She has a personal interest in this type of product which you can read about.
I have bought several lovely products from her; oils, soaps and an essential oil diffuser.
She also sells beautiful print on demand faith based products, that she designs,at Zazzle

Kate - Offers English as a Foreign language - Conversation or workplace English from beginner to advanced levels and preparation for Exams. English language lessons.

So, that is just 5 poeple I know who have their own business locally and I look forward to sharing about some more in a few weeks time.
My next project I am working on is Eco Printing (which happened as I went down a bunny trail looking into natural plant dyes, a few blog posts back! ) - here is a taster video, something I hope to be able to try in the near future. - watch this space. I am excited about this project for many reasons. It's using what nature gives us, beautiful shapes and colours. The designs have already been made - so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel and its more eco friendly than the industrial way of printing and dyeing. Watch Video

Thanks for reading the SHOUT OUT, I look forward to producing another one soon!
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