In this new series called Creator Spotlight, I feature some of my favourite artists and designers. I’ll shine a light on their work, and they’ll tell you a little bit about themselves and their businesses. I hope this will introduce you to some new great artists that you’ll love as much as I do! You can find the first post in the series here.
This week’s artist is Fiona at Felfira Moon Designs. At first, I heard about Fiona because she’s a mutual friend of my fellow book blogging (and real life) pal, Sarah. Then I found out she makes bookish pins, and I love them! I think I’ve backed almost every project Fiona has funded through Kickstarter, and bought a few others too.
Over to Fiona to tell her more about herself and her bookish business!
What do you do? What is your business all about?
Felfira Moon Designs is all about making fun bookish and nerdy items. I predominantly make enamel pins but I also dabble in bookmarks and stickers too!
Tell us a bit about you, the person behind the business.
My name is Fiona and I am the sole driving force behind Felfira Moon Designs. I have always been an arty kind of person and after graduating from my Animation degree I fell into bookselling. (I quit 6 and a bit years later.) Besides books I really love anime and cats! I’ve also become pretty passionate about the environment so not only am I working hard to make my business eco-friendly but I decided to go vegetarian a few months ago too!
When did you start, and what made you want to start it?
In August 2018, I launched my first Kickstarter to help fund my first round of pins and thanks to all my bookish friends I was able to make all those pins into a reality! I had quit my bookselling job in January of that year so it took me a while to find myself and what I really wanted to do! It was a risk I decided I was finally ready to take and I don’t regret it for a second.
What made you decide to sell your pins on Kickstarter before setting up a shop?
Kickstarter is great platform to help you figure out if your designs have a possible market. It is also good for the backers as they don’t have to put money forward straight away like with a regular pre-order and have to wait for a refund sometime after if it doesn’t work out. I could not upfront the cost of getting all the pins made myself as it was over £1,000 to make what I ended up needing for the first KS. Since then I have used Kickstarter with every big enamel pin campaign and my most recent one was a huge success. I don’t think it would have been as successful if I had done it any other way.
If you could have a stall at any event in the world, where would it be?
Oh wow. That is a big question. I have only had a table at one event with my business so far and it was wonderful (NYA Lit Fest for anyone wondering) but I would love to get a table/stall at something like the Pin & Patch Expo they do in Canada. It just looks so fun and right up my street, haha.
On your pictures you post on social media, your work space looks so organised! What’s your favourite thing about your work space and how long has it taken to find a system that works?
When I started Felfira Moon Designs I had a tiny desk I borrowed off a friend and everything was stored in tiny drawers that were not really the best. After selling a bunch of pins around Christmas I was able to rearrange my office to fit in my big white IKEA desk. I love this desk, I think it has to be my favourite thing about my work space now. It meant I had a proper space to work with extra storage underneath and I couldn’t imagine not having it now!
I’ve had to sacrifice a lot of books for the rest of my storage solutions eek! I recently gutted and removed all my manga out of my office and filled a whole bookcase with little storage bins for my pins. I love the organisation and how easy it makes to find anything. It isn’t the prettiest to look at but it certainly does the job! I don’t think I’ve solved all my organisation issues but I think I’m certainly on the way to doing so.
What other creators are you inspired by?
Oh man SO MANY! I am inspired by bookish businesses like Iron and Ink Designs and Chiqui Creates. I have also been super inspired by a couple of other pin makers who don’t necessarily do bookish things. Evy Benita makes the most adorable animal themed pins and is such a super kind person. She was one of the first people I started talking to on Insta after setting up my business. And I’d like to throw a shout out to Tea No Sugar who used to work with my husband at their old job and it was actually seeing her making pins and working hard to do what she loved that really got me going for it with my business!
What are your goals for the next year?
Next year I want to table at least 2 events. Hopefully NYA Lit Fest (and fingers crossed I should be bringing Book Hooked Box with me!) as well as MCM Manchester. They are two very different events but I feel I will get so much out of both the experiences! I also want to create more things that aren’t just pins! I am working on making more storage space possible in my house to maybe start making tote bags, mugs etc. I’m excited to try new things!
What’s been one highlight in your creative career so far?
I think that highlight would have to be NYA Lit Fest. I met so many people who had supported my business online, was able to put faces to names and it was the positive boost I needed to keep going (especially as I ended up with a chest infection afterwards! Whoops!). I love meeting my customers and Instagram followers. I seriously so grateful for all the kindness shown to me.
Where can people find you online?
You can follow me on Instagram where I share shop updates, information on Kickstarters and the occasional discount code or sale! You can find my shop here. You can even find me on Patreon where I share loads of behind the scene design ideas and exclusive studio vlogs.
Thanks, Fiona! Next week, I’ll be featuring Jemma at Dorkface, an illustrator whose work I just adore. If you have a creative business and want to be featured in this series, feel free to get in touch!
