Why I pivoted to Wedding Stationery
Read on to find out why and how I pivoted from greeting cards to sustainable wedding stationery & signage in 2022.
Beloved Creations 1.0
In January of this year, I had just finished my 2nd festive season as a business owner. Christmas is a strange time - on one hand it is jam packed with excitement because demand for creative goods is high and there is so much scope to create special, joyful products, but on the other hand, sales can be unpredictable, overheads are expensive and it can be so busy you can’t catch a breath!
It was at the end of the madness that I stopped and reflected on the last 2 years. I had been creating bespoke, bright, pun-filled watercolour cards and dabbling in other stationery items, and although I really enjoyed parts, it was an intense emotional and financial whirlwind. I had also been really undercharging for my time (it would take me up to 2 hours to create a card that I charged £5.95 for) and I found I was regularly burning out.
In July 2021 I launched my first wedding stationery items and it was my wildflower plantable ‘save the dates’ that really started to gain traction on Etsy. In the back of my mind, I was thinking more and more that I wanted to specialise in wedding stationery - I’m a sucker for love and beautifully curated weddings. Fast forward 6 months and I finally made the bold decision to pivot and niche down.
Beloved Creations 2.0
So, in January, I created my ‘Game Changer Plan’ - in a nutshell this was a big document of everything I wanted to change about my business. I thought long and hard about the changes I wanted to make, and knew I had to make decisions I’d still be happy with in 5 years. I wanted to;
∽ rebrand with the help of a professional (a whole new look and feel: romantic, unique, design-led, nature-inspired, rustic but still keeping that original handmade touch)
∽ build a completely new website (Squarespace is amazing by the way!)
∽ simplify what I offered (a pure focus on sustainable wedding stationery and signage)
∽ only attract my new key demographic
I had such a fire in my belly and couldn’t wait to get started!
I started taking action - I contacted a brand specialist I admired (we worked collaboratively together for months on the logos and branding), started building my new website, narrowed down my key audiences, dug into my key values, ordered new materials and started creating items.
My new aim is to to help busy couples design their own sustainable, memorable stationery (and enjoy the process), whilst also helping the planet by planting trees around the world.
This new direction allows me to build connections and rapport with my couples, work on new designs every day, work harmoniously alongside nature and become skilled in my craft. All of this brings me so much purpose and joy!
In May 2022 I finally released what I had been working on and hit the ground running with enquires and sales. It’s now been 3 months and I feel so grateful to have worked with over 35 couples since then. I still have so much I want to do and explore, but I couldn’t be happier with the path I’m now on - it just feels right in my gut.
My end piece of advice: even though it may be hard, sometimes letting go of what isn’t quite right can lead to incredible things. Always look at the bigger picture and know that bright things are ahead, you just have to commit and have faith in the process.
Love,
Amy