About

I launched my Etsy store "HRMShopUK" shortly after finishing my postgraduate degree, as a place to share headpieces and other costume accessories that I had made for various photoshoots and theatre productions. I landed on the name 'HRM Shop' back when I thought my small business would be nothing more than an Etsy store I check in with every other month. I wanted something nice and simple so I decided to go with my initials 'HRMS' and see what variation of a username was available.

I even showcased a few of these headpieces at artisan markets and wedding fayres! After a little while I took a step back from Etsy and markets to start working on a commission only basis, which produced some incredible work that got featured in multiple magazines and even the Daily Echo newspaper!

I did miss taking part in art markets so I slowly returned with an ensemble of my latest crafts: flower crowns, scrunchies, clay keyrings, clay earrings and clay pins! The problem was I didn’t particularly enjoy making any of those enough to sustain regular markets :( I wasn't a big fan of making flower crowns, as it felt like a huge step down to the headpiece sculptures I was making beforehand, but I felt like I couldn't stray too far away from “my niche” of hair accessories. I suppose it was also nice to finally not get told my items weren’t *too* niche!

Scrunchies were also a way for me to stay within that hair accessories bubble, but I don’t like using a sewing machine very often. When I was in year 7 or 8, someone in my class caught her finger in a sewing machine and that still plays through my head every time I use one... However, I absolutely LOVED being able to make a giant rainbow out of scrunchies on my table display.

I just wished I could be making something that actually resonated with me. That’s where my polymer clay items came in!! I loved my clay pins, earrings and keyrings, they were beautifully weird and wonderful! I collect pins and keyrings so they have always been something I’ve wanted to make!! The only problem was I didn’t want to use resin to seal the clay due to the environmental factors and any alternatives were outside of my budget, so I made the decision to stop making items out of clay if I can’t promise they’ll last without a strong sealant.

At this point I had no idea what I was doing with my small business and any future plans or motivation for it were quickly fizzling. The thought of incorporating something I had drawn (instead of built) had always been at the back of my mind but it felt so daunting. I was just so desperate to feel a connection to what I was making, so after realising I had nothing to lose, I decided to go for it! No headpieces, no flower crowns, no scrunchies, no clay, just an assortment of my illlustrations. And I was so happy!! I felt so proud to be showcasing something I loved.

I used this as an opportunity to completely rebrand 'HRM Shop' to be more illustration focused. I didn't really know any other illustrators until I joined the artist alley at my first convention ~ Bristol Comic Con! I had so much anxiety going into it but I left feeling so inspired and confident that I was heading in the right direction. I spent the week before the convention frantically redesigning my table dispaly layout from black to pink! I wanted to trial having a black AND pink display but I couldn't figure out how to combine the two colours in a way I was happy with, so I stuck with solid pink.

I did a poll on my instagram stories on whether my new mascot logo should be my alien or clown cat art... and the winner was the clown cat! I ignored the poll lol

I created my iconic alien cat banner to make my table look like one of the square puppet theatres I used to always make while at university! It beautifully resembles ice cream shop awnings and those stalls you can customise in animal crossing!

Going into conventions as an artist, I didn't expect to meet so many queer artists and attendees! To this day it still feels so incredible to be able to surround myself with so many wonderful and friendly LGBT+ creatives. There is such a stong sense of community within the little artist bubble that I would have never experienced if I hadn't taken a chance on my own art.

At this point my small business was still called 'HRM Shop.' I started to feel like it was a little silly and on the nose to have the term 'shop' in my title. I suppose I did it for the same reason I used to create a new specific instagram account for every endevour that all HAD to have it's 'niche' as part of the username. There was a time I would split my art across multiple accounts called things like 'hsxmakeup', 'heathersmyphotography' and 'hrmstheatre' until I finally combined these into one beautifully messy account that fully represents me with just my name as the insta handle. (I do not own any of those account usernames anymore, so I don't know what would come up if you search them, you have been warned.)

There was also the problem where people just didn't know how to refer to me. I was known as the 'pink alien cat' person because that was a lot easier to remember than a random assortment of letters. You could argue that as either proof of strong or weak branding!! Even my mum often scared event organisers by accidentally saying she was with 'HMRC' instead of 'HRM Shop' ... Like I mentioned earlier, I landed on the name 'HRM Shop' because I wanted something nice and simple so I decided to go with my initials 'HRMS' and see what variation of a username was available on Etsy.

I think that having 'shop' in my title also allowed for there to be too much of a disconnect between me as an artist, my art and being seen as just a brand. I also feel like I had unintentionally adopted quite a squeaky clean, innocent, adorably pink look which is quite a seperation from my usual work. I think towards the beginning I did strive to be very family friendly due to starting out at markets that were very family oriented.

So did I accidentally back myself into a corner where it felt out of place to create art that is a little weird, queer, political or personal? Or was that just my own personal limitations and overthinking? Either way it was time for a change...

And so, DO NO HXRM was created!