A Little Introduction…. Feather & Hare
“A little introduction” is our way to put members of the little makers market family in the spotlight. To give them the opportunity to shine and talk about their products and processes, likes, dislikes and to capture a glimpse of their personality, which unless you’ve met them at a market you would be unaware of.
So with our second blog of the series, fitting so perfectly in with ‘March Meet the Maker’ it only makes sense to introduce you to the ray of sunshine that is Lauren from ‘Feather & Hare’. Lauren is a new member of our little creative family and we cannot wait to have her on board. ‘Feather & Hare’ is a Suffolk-based artist, known for creating an adorable collection of watercolour characters & creations.
Learn more about Lauren & her processes below.
Tell us about yourself
Hi, I'm Lauren, I'm an illustrator based in beautiful Suffolk. I spend my days dreaming up quirky & endearing little animal characters to create our range of greetings cards & stationery.
How do you do it?
I spend a lot of time sketching, once an idea has formed & I'm happy with the finished piece, I ink & finish in watercolour. The designs are then digitally composited & printed to become a finished card. Materials are incredibly important to the process & I spent a lot of time sourcing exactly the right card stock. All our materials are sustainably sourced or recycled & we only use suppliers who share our ethos of environmentally responsible working practices.
Describe your business in 3 words?
Spreading some smiles!
Where did it all begin? Why did you start your business?
I've always been creative & artistic. As a child I was always drawing & art class was firmly my favourite at school. I went on to study for a degree, but never really knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my art, I fell in to another career path & left it all behind.
I'm famously my own harshest critic so it took some life experience & a few miles on the clock to find my confidence to take a leap of faith & start Feather & Hare in 2019. The following couple of years didn't quite plan out as the world expected so all my carefully laid plans went slightly out the window, but I learned a lot & realized I could adapt & be flexible & finally took the, slightly terrifying, but very exciting final step to make Feather & Hare full time this year!
What’s your biggest achievement?
Finding the confidence to trust my own instincts & believe in myself enough to bring Feather & Hare to life. There are still days where I wobble & am filled with doubt, or feel like I should compromise my ideas to tow the line. But I've found peace in the fact that I'm doing it! Whatever happens, I know now I'd always have regretted not trying, I do my best every day, even if some days that just means getting up without snoozing my alarm.
What’s your goal/dream?
For Feather & Hare to support me, my husband Andy (responsible entirely for all the IT & technical side of things) & our two cats, Winky & Moo, full time. To start travelling again, the pandemic & starting a new business put a pause on our adventures & to be able to touch my toes, I'm incredibly inflexible!
What’s next for you & your business?
Well, since taking the plunge to make it full time, I've got lots more time to create so I'll be expanding the range & also looking to source lots of lovely stockists. We've already got our cards in a number of beautiful independent shops across East Anglia so it'd be lovely to establish relationships with many more...it's also a good excuse to pop out for tea & cake & drop off some samples!
If you could time travel, where would you go & why?
I'd go back & visit my younger self & tell her to believe in herself now, she can, & will, do all those things she thinks are someone else’s dreams.
Favourite place?
North Norfolk, as a child we holidayed in Blakeney every year before the rest of the world discovered its secret. It's so inexorably steeped in memory & nostalgia, even now I go back at least once a year. It's got such a resonance for me, it feels like coming home every time I step out into that sea air.
If you could be an animal what would you be, and why?
A little owl, they've got a wonderful little scowl but they're just too small & cute to take it all too seriously!
What’s your most listened to song, podcast or audiobook?
I love a podcast, I'm very lucky to be surrounded by the beautiful Suffolk countryside, so every time I walk to the postbox I've got my headphones on. I listen to all sorts of music too but my favourite has to be the "Off Menu" podcast, such a giggle & it's all about my other great obsession in life...food!
What’s your workspace/studio like?
Horribly tidy! We recently converted our garage into a studio so I could spread out & have the space to create...previously I'd spent several years working from the old airing cupboard & the dining room table! So I was really looking forward to being able to leave everything out so I could come back to a project the following day, but I don't have it in me!
I'm obsessively neat for an artist so it all gets tidied away at the end of every day...it feels quite fraudulent, perhaps I need to fling some paint around!
What’s your life philosophy? A piece of advice you would pass on?
Learn what's really important in life. It takes a while but eventually I've come to appreciate that it's all the little unassuming things, the things no one else notices the ordinary things. It's easy to feel that life should look like an Instagram grid, but that's all the bits for show, the good stuff happens when no one's looking.
Any new projects coming up that you are excited about?
A few up my sleeve, now that I've got more time there are a few ideas I want to explore, they might not pan out but that's the exciting part, making a start & seeing where it leads you...it's rarely where you expected.
What does shopping small mean to you?
We're passionate about shopping small, & since starting F&H it's really opened my eyes to the incredible network of independent artists, makers & creatives all producing the most amazing work. The whole community is so supportive & inclusive & constantly seems to be striving to lift each other up, it's so refreshing. Whether we're buying something for ourselves, our home or a gift for a loved one, we'd always rather purchase something unusual or unique that's been truly made with love & know we're supporting someone’s dreams at the same time.
What’s your favourite small business? Why?
It's so hard to choose, there are so many, here are a couple drawn out of a hat...
Nowhere Bears - Jasmine creates the most utterly adorable bears, she is quite ridiculously talented. She undertook a very special commission for me & is just a wonderful human being!
Made in Cley - It's a beautiful pottery studio in Cley in Norfolk, I buy a new piece every time I go. They also make incredible jewellery, my husband Andy brought me a ring for our 10th anniversary & it makes me smile every day.
If you enjoyed reading about Lauren and her products, why not check out her website here or via Instagram at @featherandhare