GUEST INTERVIEW - WOMENFOLK JUNIOR.SENIOR JUNIOR SPEAKER MAJA SZOTKIEWICZ OWNER OF MAJUKOOO

We have another great special guest interview ahead of Saturday’s JUNIOR.SENIOR event this time with Maja our junior speaker!

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Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your business? 

Hello! I am Maja Szotkiewicz, I am 22 and I have just finished my Illustration & Graphic Design degree at Ulster University (I specialised in Illustration).  

I started my business, Majukooo, when I was 18, in lockdown with £60 to my name. At the start, my business was centered around illustrating plants and nature, and selling a range of stationery, jewellery and art prints. My social media pages focused on talking about plant care and not necessarily illustration. 

This year, I realigned my brand purpose, as I felt like I was restricting myself with just illustrating plants (during my final year of illustration I started finding joy in illustrating fashion, buildings and furniture, and it felt frustrating not being able to share this side of my work for a while, while I was rebranding). Now, my brand purpose is to bring you joy from the little things, as I believe true happiness is found from every day, imperfect, moments. I have just introduced a new range of prints, bookmarks and made to order giclee archival quality prints in larger formats. I also take on client projects from businesses who also find joy from the little things (I have been working on a few new projects already and I cannot wait to talk about them soon!). 

Maja Szotkiewicz

Why did you decide to start your own business? 

In high school, I completed 2 work placements and volunteered at a care home for a year, but none of this felt right to me, I knew I wanted to pursue art (at this point, I did not know if this would be illustration, or a different specialism). When covid came around and I was 18 (final year of A-Levels) I decided to just go for it and start selling my art online.  

Going to be 100% real – I did not get a single order for the first 3 months! My first order was someone who found my Instagram page and really loved my work, which really motivated me to keep going. Resilience and perseverance always pays off.  

What do you love most about working for yourself? 

I am a bit of an introverted-extrovert so I love the days I can sit and work on client projects all day or have a day of doing admin work in my sunroom, with my cat Lucy by my side! But at the same time, on other days I can head up to Belfast, see an art exhibition and meet up with my friends and still call it work! Working for yourself is so versatile, and I love being able to plan out my days / working hours myself.  

What do you find most challenging about working for yourself? 

I have found that working for yourself involves a lot of high highs and low lows, which all happen unexpectedly!  Some weeks you can be shortlisted for an award but also have a massive wholesale order go missing – both involve intense feelings which are tricky to navigate! 

Any advice for other women starting their own creative business? 

1. Trust your gut!! If you have a good/ bad gut feeling about a situation, or a potential opportunity – trust yourself.  

2. Be curious & ask questions all the time! Remember, nothing is a silly question, and acquiring new knowledge will get you further than you may think.  

3. Have integrity, be honest with your customers and if something goes wrong, own up to your mistakes. 

Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years? 

I can see myself having my own studio (lots of plants & massive windows), selling a wide range of products with my illustrations on them (I would love to have my products stocked in Oliver Bonas and Anthropologie), and working on exciting client projects for businesses who also find joy from the little things. 

What do you enjoy outside your creative work? 

I love going outside – on nature walks, to lovely cafes, to art exhibitions. I believe that to find inspiration, you have to step away from your phone! 

I also love cooking and find it quite relaxing, and it is a great way to completely step away from work. My favourite meals to cook are thai green curry and harissa prawn with rice and chickpeas! 

Where can people find you online? 

Website- Bringing You Joy From The Little Things – Majukooo 

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/majukooo/?hl=en  

Email- info@majukooo.co.uk 

GUEST INTERVIEW - WOMENFOLK JUNIOR.SENIOR SENIOR SPEAKER NUALA CONVERY AKA WEE NULS

We are very excited to bring you this special guest interview with Nuala Convery aka Wee Nuls our senior speaker at our next JUNIOR.SENIOR event on Saturday 15th June!

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Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your business?

Hi! I'm Nuala, aka Wee Nuls. I'm currently juggling my business around being a mum to my 1.5 year old daughter. My business is currently just myself working as a sole trader, working on various creative projects including graphic design, illustration, street art / mural painting, facilitating art workshops, speaking at conferences and lectures, managing events and more!

Nuala Convery aka Wee Nuls

Why did you decide to start your own business?

I've worked freelance most of my working life, it basically came down to the fact that I couldn't find a job that allowed me to do all the things I wanted to do. I was interested in gaining experience in a variety of creative areas and working project to project. The lack of stability can be a bit scary but if you're proactive and get talking to the right people you'd be surprised by what kind of work you can do!

Can you tell us about a typical day in your business? Are there any routines you follow each day?

So obviously this is all a bit different now that I have a daughter. My work is so varied as well so some days are much more exciting than others, for example one day I'll be live painting street art, another day im just making phone calls, replying to emails and researching the cost of different paint brands. I'm only working a few mornings a week at the moment at most while my daughter goes to crèche, and I'm arranging family childcare for any bigger projects like murals. On a typical day when she's going to creche, I'll get up around 8am, make us both a yoghurt bowl to start the day right, strip her inevitably yoghurty jammies off her and get her ready for the day. She'll bumble around the house pulling things out of cupboards, throwing her toys around and babbling to herself while I get ready. I bundle us both into the car, drop her to crèche at 9:45 and then if I'm doing 'desk' type work I'll often go to my mum's as I have a computer set up there and it's near the crèche. If it's a creative day I'll either go to my studio in Vault in town, or whatever site I'm working at that day. On desk days I usually like to start by looking through my 'business to do' list on my phone which I constantly use to remind myself of priorities. I'll then often look through any emails / projects that need chased up and plan zoom calls or phone calls to happen during this time.  I'm religious about using Google calendar to plan my life. A typical desk work day might include phoning clients and talking through project ideas for custom murals, workshops etc. I'll then take their ideas and draft a budget breakdown for them and a pitch doc or even just some example images to help me sell the project and get it locked down! Creative days like when I'm painting a mural I'll be up early loading the car with spray paint, my iPad, painting clothes, my spray mask and my step ladder.  I'll get down to the site and get stuck in to making a doodle grid on the wall, I'll use my iPad to get my design plan in proportion, and I'll spray paint until the suns going down or til it starts raining haha.  

I'm just starting to get bigger projects booked over the summer which will take up more time, and I'm looking into further childcare options for that!

Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently when you were first starting out? Are there any particular challenges you had to overcome?

I was really confused about how to actually set up a business, do taxes etc it honestly scared me so much. I really think we should be taught that in school but that's probably another whole conversation to have! Once I actually reached out for business support from mentorship programmes like Go For It NI, everything became much easier to understand! There were times near the start of my freelance time where I was really burning myself out and I was taking on way too much, and also taking on projects that I didn't enjoy. But I don't regret it as you have to try these things to learn what you like and what suits you!

What do you love most about working for yourself?

The freedom! The flexibility! It's really empowering knowing that you can make projects come together and earn money from projects that you choose, rather than feeling frustrated in a role that you've had to squeeze yourself into to fit / to make a living.

What do you find most challenging about working for yourself?  

Having a slow period is something that happens to us all at some stage and it can be stressful and scary, and can cause you to doubt yourself and your abilities. 

Any advice for other women starting their own creative business?

Finding mentors throughout my career has been like a secret weapon for me.  In a mentor/mentee relationship you can both get so much out of it.  If there are any local businesses or creatives you admire - reach out to them! Offer to shadow them for a day, or offer to volunteer with them for a few hours. You don't ask you don't get, so start asking!

To hear Nuala’s story in person join us on Saturday 15th June in our Hill Street studios at 11.3oam, book your ticket below!