This week’s Friday Feature is the wonderful Joanne Hawker. Joanne’s design and illustration style is so uplifting and cheerful. Her products (from cards to gifts) always aim to celebrate and encourage people – and this feel-good positivity carries through to her social media, where she is the founder of the incredibly popular creative hashtag challenge #MarchMeetTheMaker
Let’s get to know more about the creative woman behind the small business…
Yes! I’ve been creative since I can first remember. One of my earliest memories is of me in the bath with my teenage mutant ninja turtle bath pens and again in pre-school where I got told off for painting pieces of paper black.
To an extent yes, but sometimes it can also feel challenging if you’ve turned your creative outlet into a business. But generally I’d say yes. There’s something satisfying about something you’ve made coming together; or sitting on the sofa under a blanket, bingeing a series whilst drawing on the ipad can be really calming.
It wasn’t really intentional! When I left university, I took a job working on a pepper farm because I didn’t want to move to any of the big cities. So I spent my evenings drawing and eventually didn’t know what to do with them. So on a whim I made a few prints and put them up on Etsy as a bit of a side hustle. And then I saw people were joining Not on the High Street at the time and got a serious case of FOMO so joined that too and the rest is history!
I’m not entirely sure how to answer this because, to be honest, after some big life changes in the last few years, I’m still in a bit of an inbetweeny stage in my business. I’m trying to experiment and find things that I love to make again, and remember why I started.
Ohh that’s a tough one! But I think it’s been seeing my cards in places like Clintons, Ryman Design and on Moonpig which was all thanks to my publisher @thelondonstudio. That was a proper pinch me moment!
I think that from the outside, it looks like all I do all day is draw and make (from a non creative’s point of view). But a lot of us creatives who don’t have staff, have to do all of the other jobs too. So I spend a lot of time doing admin. If you’re solo like me then you have to send things to your accountant (if you have one), write all the copy for listings, create social media content, ensure you have enough stock of everything, reply to emails, ensure you’re actually making a profit, and lots more. I wouldn’t trade this job for anything but there is a lot that people don’t see.
I’ve been trying my best to not minimise what I do. I noticed that I have an awful habit of saying ‘my little business’, when actually it’s more than that. It’s not just a hobby. It pays my bills, helps to keep a roof over my head and feeds my family. Would a man describe his business as that? Probably not. So why am I? So that’s definitely something that I’m working on!
When I first started out I made prints, wooden magnets and earrings. Then as I progressed I got sucked into making cards which I absolutely loved and that became my bread and butter! And now funnily enough, I am starting to look back to where I started, to see if I can take inspiration from where I began!
Oh yes!! An ongoing wobble which I’m trying to get under control.
In 2022, I had my daughter and had to go from workaholic to looking after a baby on maternity leave. It was a huge adjustment and I closed my shops for 9 months. When I came back in 2023, I had lost my really good google rankings and sales never really recovered. I spent the next 2 years making new products and trying my best to right the situation but it seemed like people’s spending habits had changed or maybe what I was offering was not quite hitting the mark anymore. Anyway fast forward to March 2025 and I get my accounts back from my accountant and it sent me into a downward spiral. It was beginning to feel like my business was becoming a very expensive hobby. I then feel like I kind of stood frozen for a bit in 2025. There was a mad scramble to put the odd thing out to try and fix it but nothing really seemed to work or stick.
But one visit to my mum’s house a little while ago, my daughter was playing with something that I had made when I first started out and it made me look back to where I began and if I could find something else to make that I just kind of ‘forgot about’. Now I have a plan for 2026 and I’m feeling much more positive but it’s still a long way to go to stop the wobble. But slow progress is still progress and that’s all that matters.
What wouldn’t I like to have a go at! I would LOVE a pottery business! I couldn’t throw pots for toffee but it’s such a fun and relaxing environment. It feels good to do something with your hands. It’s probably best that one is kept as an occasional hobby!
Joanne’s honesty is so refreshing (thank you Joanne!). It’s so easy to see a creative with a large following on social media and just assume they have everything figured out. But they’re still human like the rest of us, and dealing with the ups and downs of business and day-to-day life.
2025 was a tough year for so many small businesses (the number that had to close down was heartbreaking!). So, it’s brilliant to hear that Joanne now has a plan for the year ahead and is taking steps forward. The world needs more thoughtful and uplifting creatives… it’s so important we keep inspiring and encouraging each other!
To find out more about Joanne’s products, head to her website: joannehawker.co.uk – or for behind the scenes content, take a look at her Instagram: @joannehawker
If you haven’t already found us over on Instagram – why not come say hi and give us a follow. We would love for you to join the conversation and help spread the movement by liking and sharing our content.
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