INSPIRE: The Road Less Travelled...Karen Davey

This week we meet the lovely Karen Davey of Just Bunting who is now infinitely happier now that she is running her own successful bunting business, after a career in business support.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Karen Davey and I have lived in a rural village in North Cornwall for all of my life. I set up my business called Just Bunting in April 2011 and I produce unique bunting from a range of vintage, recycled and new fabrics, for sale and hire across the UK.

Give a brief description of your career path up before you started your creative business.

I have spent most of my career in business support roles, as an administrator for a Local Authority and latterly a PA/Secretary for a national children’s charity. I have also had voluntary roles in schools and am currently Clerk to Governors for a local primary school. During my time as a PA/Secretary for a national children’s charity, I studied part time for six years to gain my BA (Hons) in Childhood & Youth Studies with the Open University. My graduation ceremony took place on the day after I left my job.

What prompted you to pursue a creative career? 

My decision to start up my own business was always in the background, always something that I wanted to do, ever since I had left school. What actually prompted the decision was a research project I undertook jointly for work and my OU study, looking at why young people living in rural areas such as Cornwall have a lack of aspirations when it comes to future work and life ambitions. This meant quite a bit of soul-searching for myself about why hadn’t I set up my own business. The turning point was my 40th birthday which was fast approaching and I hadn’t done anything about my own personal ambitions.

What was the most difficult thing about this decision? And what was the easiest?

The most difficult thing about this decision was the insecurity of a regular income, however, I am lucky that we are in quite a stable position financially and could afford to take the risk. The easiest decision was the fact that I am now working at home and don’t have to worry about childcare during the school holidays as my husband works irregular hours, day and night. My children are both at secondary school and I love the fact that I am around for them now.

How supportive of your decision were your family, friends and (former) colleagues?

My family, friends and former colleagues were quite surprised about my decision to make bunting for a living, quite a lot of them asked if I make anything apart from bunting, “No, just bunting” and that was how the business name came about. I wanted a name that reflected the true sense of the business, Just Bunting. One of the first things I did was get stuck into a business course run by Outset Cornwall, which was invaluable in terms of giving me the tools to start up on my own.

How has pursuing a creative career been compared with your previous career? What are the challenges, and what are the highlights?

Compared to my previous career, I am now a lot less stressed and I don’t dread going to work anymore. The one downside that I have found so far is motivating myself, working alone means that I haven’t got anyone looking over my shoulder, pushing me to do things that I felt uncomfortable with.

Have you had any regrets about choosing a creative career?

I have no regrets about choosing a creative career and only wished that I’d done it earlier in life; I also wish that I’d paid more attention at school to the creative subjects in the curriculum, rather than concentrating on subjects that my parents chose for me, such as physics and chemistry which have served no purpose in my career!

What has been the best thing about your decision?

The best thing about my decision to make bunting is the freedom to choose what I want to make, I love putting together a pallet of fabrics and choosing which colours go together to make a truly unique product. Being my own boss gives me immense satisfaction as I can choose when I work, and don’t work and if I make a mistake, I have nobody else to blame!

If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering taking up a creative career, what would that be?

My one piece of advice for someone considering taking up a creative career is to be prepared to be flexible in your approach to business, if something doesn’t work, always have a plan B as back up!

What are your plans for the future?

For the immediate future, I am planning to share my creative skills and am planning a series of workshops for making Christmas bunting and also making fabric pictures. In the longer term, when the children are less dependent, I would like to have my own workshop away from home and a gallery to sell my bunting from. I would also like to have stands at major trade shows, provide a wholesale service but still keeping with my very high standards, and roll out my bunting across the UK (literally!)

You can see more of Karen's lovely work at her website and her shop on Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous. You can also find her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.