We caught up with mum, business owner and crafty lady Silkie Lloyd to talk about the beginning and ongoing success of one of favourite online stationery stores, Rosehip…
It was the imminent arrival of Silkie Lloyd’s eldest son into the world in 2004 that encouraged her to start her own paper products business, Rosehip. “I wanted to be able to work from home,” explains Silkie. In her case, starting a business from scratch was a steep learning curve. “My degree was in photography and all my business skills are self-taught as I had no previous experience of running a company at all!”
Cash flow was the hardest hurdle to overcome for Silkie in the early days of Rosehip. “Luckily, the company has been around long enough now that this is no longer such an issue. I do still struggle with time management,” says Silkie. “My working day is squeezed into the time between dropping the kids off at school and picking them up. There never seems enough time to get everything done. However, over the years I’ve learnt that I produce better work under a little pressure – I still meet creative deadlines at the very last minute!”
Ten years on from its initial conception, Rosehip now specialises in illustrated stationery, gift wrap and greeting cards, all with a vintage twist. Silkie puts her love of retro down to her childhood experiences. “I think it all probably stems from time spent at my grandmother’s house,” she says. “It was full of the most wonderful treasures such as old toys and books from when my dad and aunts were little, plus vintage wallpapers and fabrics. My grandmother was a great collector of things. Wandering around her house as a child was always a great adventure!”
Silkie’s products are manufactured in the UK and supporting local printers and producers is a cause close to her heart. ”I want to produce things with integrity and feeling,” she explains. “I struggle with the idea of mass production where financial gain is the highest priority at the expense of quality or craftsmenship.” She continues, “Having a great relationship with my suppliers is more important to me than getting my products made for the cheapest rate.”
Reflecting over the last decade, Silkie has seen both her business skills and design work progress. “Employing someone to manage most of the ‘business’ side has allowed me to concentrate on the creative aspects of Rosehip. That has made such a huge difference to my productivity and design output!” Another highlight in Silkie’s Rosehip career was producing commissions for prestigious brands such as the V&A and Harrods.
Silkie is keen to encourage crafters as well as stationery lovers to shop at Rosehip. “As a small, homegrown UK business, I consider crafters a very important part of my community,” she says. “What’s going on in the craft world right now is very inspirational and I love it when I hear back from customers who have upcycled items into things using my gift wrap.”
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