I have to admit that getting this blog up and running has been on my to do list since February last year. But with one thing or another it just kept getting pushed further and further towards the bottom. I find that the first post on any blog is always the hardest to hit the publish button on, but here we are: published. This first post is just to say hello, welcome and thank you for taking the time to visit. Although right at this moment in time, the only two people reading this might be my husband and my bestie <waves>; but we all have to start somewhere. In my little corner of the blogosphere you can expect to find plenty of photos, blog posts about where I find my inspiration, sneaky peeks of my latest products and work in progress shots of what I’m up to. You can also catch my full bio over on my about me page (is there anything more painful to write?), but if you don’t have time for the long version, please keep reading for the shorter story of how my little shop was born.
Those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram know I make hand-printed products; mainly wrapping paper at the moment. What you probably don’t know, is that The Last Twinkie actually came about by accident. I’d love to be able to say that it had been years in the making or that it was something I’d been carefully nurturing, waiting until the time was right; unfortunately, it was neither of those things.
After spending a few years running my own photography business, I realised that I was missing the physical act of making something; of learning a new skill, seeing the end product and feeling an enormous sense of satisfaction. Don’t get me wrong, I love photography, but spending hours, sometimes days sat in front of a computer editing images, is the least favourite part of my job. I’m also too much of a perfectionist/control freak to let somebody else work on the images that I’ve put my heart and soul into creating.
Not one for sitting in front of the TV, I realised that I needed a hobby. I had a mooch around the internet to see what was inexpensive to experiment with and before I knew it I was surrounded by felties. As the hearts, zombies, farmyard animals and Christmas decorations slowly started to take over my office, I realised I needed to do something to lighten the load and reclaim my space. And so The Last Twinkie was born. After selling a few items on Etsy I left my virtual shelves empty for about a year before embarking upon my next product range.
I’d studied Printmaking at college many moons ago and after recently going on an upcycling mission, by printing my own wrapping paper, I realised how much I missed the ink stained fingers. I started playing around with a few different designs, and the next thing I knew, I’d bought some new carving tools, a big block of rubber, some ink pads and a stash of recycled kraft paper with gift tags. This is where The Last Twinkie really started to take off and I realised how enjoyable it was to be back in my printing zone. Along with hand-printed wrapping paper, I also introduced a range of lino-printed cards: skyline silhouettes inspired by places I’ve either already visited or would like to visit have been particularly popular.
I can honestly say that starting The Last Twinkie has been a very happy accident indeed and I love the time I spend not only printing, but connecting with other creatives too. I’m constantly finding people online who inspire me on a daily basis; sometimes I reach out and tell them how much I love their work and other times I silently stalk watch them from afar, too in awe or star struck to approach them. Either way, it’s inspiring to see what other people are creating.
I’d love to find some more lovely folk to follow and connect with, so please leave me a message in the comments below telling me what you do and where I can find you.