About Handmade Card Studio

Visit the Shop

Owner, Designer, Maker, Dispatcher & Customer Service

Claire Fitzpatrick

Manchester, United Kingdom

How I Began...

My name is Claire and I began as an Etsy seller during the first lock down of 2020.

I have always designed, made and created throughout my life and I had wanted to start an Etsy shop for my hobby for some time. So whilst on maternity leave with my third child, then seemed like the perfect time while we were all stuck in doors during the pandemic.

I began making button artwork at my kitchen table and listed them in my Etsy shop which I initially called The Button Art Workshop.

My first listing and first sale was a felt rainbow with white button clouds in a white box frame which I made for a care home in Hunstanton. This listing proved to be popular at the time due to the hard work of the NHS during the pandemic.

Etsy Shop

A friend then contacted me and asked if I could help by making 100 rainbow cards for a covid-19 support group to give members of a community in Stockport in Greater Manchester a boost during the difficult time. The cards had a rainbow drawn with felt pens (before I invested in a printer!) with white button clouds. I got lots of positive feedback for them and it felt lovely to know that a little card I had made by hand, may have brightened somebody's day and brought a smile during a very worrying time.

From then on, I started to come up with more and more designs for cards than I was doing for frames so I changed my shop name to suit and named it the Handmade Card Studio in 2021.

From Etsy to Shop...

After some wonderful reviews from my Etsy customers, it really gave me a great feeling so I felt I wanted to take it a step further and grow my online presence through my own platform. You can see what some of my lovely customers have said about my shop below.

Reviews

★★★★★

Wonderful handmade card by this seller, I highly recommend her. The card is of the highest quality and the design is so clever.

★★★★★

Beautifully made card! It was carefully packaged and communication was brilliant too.
Thank you so much, can’t wait to give to my husband-to-be on our wedding day!

★★★★★

My friend was delighted with this card. It was lovely to find a scooter card that could be personalised. Thank you.

★★★★★

Absolutely fantastic card made by Claire... much more than I expected, and she made my card so personal from just a few words.. the quality of the card to the packaging, everything I wanted! Thank you...

★★★★★

I am so happy with the card I purchased, such great quality and the personalisation was lovely. My daughter absolutely loved it. Great communication throughout too. Thank you.

What Motivates Me?

If I was to tell you I do this purely for the money then that would not be the truth! I would have given up on it a long time ago if that was the case and chosen a field much easier to make money from rather than in the creative business.

The truth is I do this for the fun! It is my hobby and something I love to do during my evenings and weekends. I couldn't imagine my life without crafting and making things, It has always been in me and it always will.

What I have enjoyed most so far about running my hobby business is the feedback that i have been receiving from my orders! When I send a preview to a customer of their finished card, there is nothing better than when they reply to tell you how much they love it and how excited they are to give it to the recipient, it's just the best thing ever and really makes my day!

That alone is the main reason I do this and what makes it all so worth while! It gives me an enormous sense of welbeing to know that a little card has made someone happy and will hopefully make whoever they give it to happy as well.

What I'd Like to Achieve...

I am excited to be starting a new role in January 2023 which will also utilise my creative skills! It will have a fantastic worklife balance which will allow me to carry on with the Handmade Card Studio in my spare time and also spend time with my family!