Birthday Blog Post No. 5

On today's blog post, I'm really happy to welcome yet another marvelous entrepreneur to help celebrate The Cool Rule Company's first birthday. It's Carrie Dennison from Press for Design and believe me, without her, you may not even have had any of the Cool Rule products in your life. I'll let her tell you all about it . . .



Hello! I’m Carrie and I’ve been running a graphic design business called Press for Design for nearly two years now.

Carrie - the brains and creativity behind Press for Design

There are two distinct sides to my business. One is the graphic and web design side, where I work with other businesses to create their websites, adverts, brochures, leaflets, business cards, etc.  I also train people in setting up their own Wordpress websites.

The other is the art side, where I create lino cut artwork and illustrations and sell them through my own site, Etsy and local craft markets. With all that going on, you can imagine that there’s never an uncreative moment in the Press for Design studio!

A selection of Press for Design's work

My aim behind Press for Design is to provide a friendly, approachable, yet professional, graphic design and web design service for local sole traders and small start up businesses.  I aim to make the design process easy and understandable and keep my clients updated with how their project is progressing.

When I was first starting out, I received plenty of help and advice from the lovely ladies at the Derwentside Enterprise Agency. And this was where I first met Abi.

I immediately spotted a kindred artistic spirit, and loved the idea of the Cool Rule Book.  At the time, Abi was in need of some scanning equipment so that she could get her fab products on the market, so I was happy to help her out and get all those gorgeous designs scanned and in digital form for her.  As well as business talk, over the year we’ve also had some lovely chats over a cuppa about life and where it take us.

These guys would never have been scanned without Carrie!

Although I don’t have children, I love the creative aspect of the Cool Rule Book. Now here is a book that children can engage with and customize to make it their own. The Cool Rule Poster and Reward Charts are especially fun - plenty of scope to get creative and also a wonderfully fun addition to any child’s wall.

The Cool Rule Poster and Reward Charts

 I’m a firm believer in displaying children’s creativity everywhere! I also love the fact that the book, charts and poster will be a wonderful reminder of all the fun things children got up to when they were young. With her Cool Rule range, Abi is creating plenty of wonderful memories for families to look back on.

I’m currently expanding my business offer and after having held successful Wordpress masterclasses at Derwentside Enterprise Agency I am now providing one-to-one Wordpress training for sole traders and small companies who would like to take advantage of Wordpress's free website hosting and have full control of their website content.

On the art side, I’m now creating downloadable digital stationery, where you can print out gorgeous letter paper and envelopes whenever you like.

Part of Press for Design's collection of downloadable stationery

It’s been fantastic seeing how much The Cool Rule Company has grown over the past year, and here’s to a very happy first birthday with many, many more to come!


Thanks so much Carrie. I'm so glad we've been able to work together and I'm sure I'll be knocking down your door again in the near future for yet more graphic design and technical expertise! And take it from me folks, working with Carrie is a dream.

If you want to check out Carrie's work, or get in touch with her, here are the links you need:

pressfordesign.co.uk
facebook.com/pressfordesign
twitter.com/pressfordesign
pressfordesign.etsy.com

And if you want to browse the Cool Rule range and see how you can transform the life you share with your toddler, skip on over to thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Birthday Blog Post No. 2

The fab business women I've met over the past year are just chomping at the bit to write celebratory birthday blog posts for The Cool Rule Company (we're one this month - did you know?). And the next person in line is Poppy Lee from Papaver Designs. I'll let her tell you all about her brilliant talent for papercrafts and how we've been linking up over the last year or so . . . 

 

My name is Poppy and I design and create Wedding Stationery and paper crafts for all kinds of occasions. I love to make tissue paper pom poms, confetti, orgami wishing stars, hand cut artworks and bespoke paper favours but my specialism is my handcrafted paper lanterns which make great gifts, wedding favours or decorations. My business is called Papaver Designs and I create work for people all over the world.

I started Papaver Designs in 2010 after I finished university where I studied Textiles and Surface Design. The business started organically from there, designing my first lanterns during the course.

Part of the Papaver Designs collection

I met Abi through a business support scheme called ‘Be Enterprising’ about a year ago. Both being very creative we hit it off and have worked with each other on numerous occasions, offering each other our support and services.


Most recently, we have worked together on promotional goodie bags which have proved very popular at trade and craft fairs. The goodie bags contain a DIY paper windmill kit from Papaver Designs which kids love (especially Abi's kids, who got to try it out first!).

The best goodie bags ever and Big Tot with his windmill

I'm proud of my product range because it is varied without compromising quality and craftsmanship. There really is something for all the family. I have a great following on my Wednesday Wonders blog, where I offer FREE makes and templates for all ages.

Although I don’t have kids yet, I am a proud auntie and a Godmother and from a creative perspective I can see exactly why the Cool Rule range grabs children's interest. The bright colours and quirky drawings are fun and the ‘Cool Rules’ are simple and easy to follow. It makes it all the more special that the children can add their own photos too.

My favourite products from the Cool Rule range have to be the reward charts. These are something all kids can work with and learn from. They come in fun designs for both boys and girls, but to be honest I love the rocket chart design for the boys the most. It's great fun and the little rocket with the child peeping out is so cool.

Cool Rule rocket chart

Abi has a great working philosophy and I think we share that. One philosophy that I try to stick to on a daily basis is: ‘whatever you get done today, you don’t have to do tomorrow.’ I used to constantly put things off until the next day (and the next day) but now I use this little phrase to encourage me to get things done.

And now I'm so productive, my range is expanding all the time! My website is currently getting a makeover but if you'd like to check out Papaver Design's exclusive handmade range, have a look at my Etsy store. I think you'll like what you find.


Thanks Poppy! If you'd like to contact Poppy or see how brilliant her work is for yourself, you can use the details below:

No. 07502332329
mail@papaver-designs.co.uk
papaver-designs.co.uk (currently having a makeover)
poppylee.blogspot.com
facebook.com/PapaverDesigns
http://pinterest.com/papaverdesigns

If you'd like to find out how The Cool Rule Company can transform the life you share with your toddler, skip on over to our website, thecoolrulecompany.co.uk