The stories behind 6 of my bestsellers

Behind every piece I create is a story, and I thought it might be fun to share these for a few of my bestsellers. I always love hearing a back story (maybe I'm just nosy!) so hopefully you might too! I'm going way back to the beginning with the first one...

img
Alphabet of Emotions print

The concept of an A to Z of emotions was the idea that kick started Fearless Flamingo into life! It was something I'd never seen before and it gave me a reason to get started. I had wanted to create children's prints and it coincided with my eldest starting school and being pretty monosyllabic about how it was all going and I was running out of ideas with how many different ways to rephrase the same question. I thought creating a prompt that might help her think and talk about how she was feeling and what she was experiencing might help. How were you curious today? Who was kind, or helpful? To think of her day a bit differently really helped her remember and share all sorts of other things that might otherwise have been forgotten in the daily after-school craziness.  

see more
img
The Little Pack of Positivity flashcards

Soon after came the flashcards - the same Alphabet of Emotions but in a handy format that opened up more ways you could use them. They are now a firm favourite at bedtime in our house.

 

One thing they love is to pick a card and ask me to share a time when they were that thing - helpful, imaginative, patient... Or to pick 3 emotions that best suit each person in the family. It's such a positive way to end the day. They've all got different things from the cards at different ages too, from recognising letters when they wer hung as bunting on the wall, to learning about the animals (there are fun facts about each) and even making up their own stories like how Bear became brave.

see more
img
Colouring postcards

The idea for the first set of these came not long after the first lockdown was announced in 2020. After a 2 week freak out where I thought this would mark the end for my biz I calmed down and had an idea!

 

I knew the coming months would spell a tough time apart from friends and family and I wanted to create something that could bring a bit of hope and positivity to that experience. I came up with the idea for a free letter template that could be downloaded for kids to colour and send to all those they were missing. There were writing prompts for them to share the 3 things they missed doing with them, what they couldn't wait to do again and new things they'd like to try when life returned to normal (albeit a little later than we'd all hoped at the time!).

 

This was a big hit and I decided to turn them into little postcard sets with a range of designs, from drawing portraits, to magical and ocean themed and then the bestselling Mixed theme pack. I LOVE making these!

see more
img
Sending a Hug keepsake

Another lockdown inspired creation! I remember being in the middle of a creative block on one of my one-hour wanders and listening to a podcast with someone senior at Not On The High Street. She was talking about shopping trends during the pandemic and mentioned that the most popular search term being used was 'Hug'.

 

I suddenly had a vision of a little hug you could send someone - a thing they could hold close and keep as a reminder of the special people in their lives. I played around with the design and materials and finally settled on this. I kept the backs blank so I could add any special messages - it was such an honour to write these (I frequently had a tear in the eye!). So many were going to grandparents or those who were ill and just hearing after how they went down, how they made people smile and feel special was unbelievably moving.

see more
img
Shine Bright decoration set

In the Summer of 2020 it became clear that Covid was going to be with us for a while and I was starting to think ahead to Christmas and how it might look very different to what we were used to.

 

I got thinking about trying something new and I kept coming back to decorations. I LOVE decorations and we have always picked up special ones on our travels over the years as little memories to hang on the tree.

 

I wanted to create something bright and positive. To focus on all the good we'd seen that year - the kindness, the clapping, the pulling together, the appreciation of what we had. And perhaps above all - the hope that this might all soon be over! And so these decorations came to be - a totally new avenue for me but it turned out to be by busiest Christmas ever and these decorations have now become a bit of a tradition and I'm already thinking about the next set!

see more
img
Garden Bird decoration set

During lockdown we bought a bird table and suddenly found ourselves becoming total bird nerds! Last Summer I was looking for something new to draw and thought I'd give the birds a go. I didn't have an end produc in mind, it felt much more experimental, so I thought I'd try using my Winsor & Newton brushmarkers (kind of fancy felt tips) for a change. And I fell in love!

 

I used them for the base colour and then added the detail with black pen (there are a couple of timelapses over on instagram if you're interested in seeing how they take shape). I absolutely loved doing these and plan to add more birds for a print. Would love any other ideas for using them you might have, or even suggestions for new birds to add.

see more

It's been fun looking back on how these all came to be - a good little reminder too that inspiration can come in all sorts of ways, especially when you least expect it! If you've enjoyed reading or if you have a question about the process do leave a comment or get in touch over email - contact@fearlessflamingo.com.

bestseller blog inspiration