Our Journey (so far)
I’d made cards for family & friends before but it was a lost earring & a chance conversation with a customer at work almost 20 years ago which led to the chance of exhibiting at a wedding fair – something I’d never considered but nervously accepted. Just a few short weeks later I was exhibiting the small selection of design samples I had created & was astonished by how much I enjoyed it, the positive feedback & most of all by making a sale!
Over the next few years, encouraged by family & friends & with an increasing number of word of mouth requests, I attended more wedding fairs (supported by Mum & Jasmin), started building relationships with Partner Venues & had a small permanent display at one. We collectively dared to dream.
Then, in 2014, completely out of the blue, life altering health issues within the family made it impossible to continue. Stock & equipment was sold. Samples were shredded. The dream was over.
We relocated. I changed jobs. Jasmin went to university. Alysha started secondary school. I changed jobs again. But with ever increasing travel time & costs I was disillusioned & unhappy. Attempts to adjust my working pattern were rejected. & when a suitable job closer to home presented itself, I grabbed it with both hands.
We eventually decided to start again, chose a hot air balloon as our logo, rebranded as Floating on Air Designs & tentatively relaunched. Launching our Instagram account at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta in 2018. I spotted a Start Up course on Facebook in September &, completely on a whim signed up. I could never have imagined what a difference it would make, how many connections & friends I would find or how much I would miss the regular check ins when it was over.
The relaunch gathered momentum, we had a website created & booked a School Christmas Fair & then the first wedding fair since relaunching – literally 2 weeks before the whole world was locked down for Covid19 in March 2020.
As the world started to come back to life I fractured my ankle & following a remarkably stubborn 19 month refusal to heal it required full reconstruction. I used the time to sketch ideas, plan the next shows, pore over colour charts for card & crystals.
We are super excited to FINALLY be in a full & ongoing development & looking forward to working on one of the most ambitious projects to date with hopes of flying high,
just like the hot air balloon in our logo.
