Welcome to the 6th edition of Portraits of Home Made - coming to you from Quebec this month! You can start dreaming of the perfect theme for your little one's next birthday party while you read this month's feature - I just love her cute Camping Birthday Party Pack!
Valerie Pullam is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator specializing in custom designed party invitations, decorations and greeting cards as well as fun, affordable and unique prints for the home. She is Mom to 6 year old Alex and 2 year old Ryan and lives in Montreal, Quebec.
Q: In 3 words, describe your business.
A: Unique, Custom and Affordable.
Q: Did you start your business before or after becoming a Mom? If after, did having children inspire the birth of your business?
A: I started my business after having my 2 boys. It definitely inspired the birth of my business! I never really found what I was looking for in party stores and I found them to be very expensive. So I tried my hand at designing again! The 1st party invitation I designed was for my youngest son's 1st birthday! I just kept going and realized that I really loved it!
Valerie likes to put up the designs she has printed and shipped
to customers on her samples board.
Q: Mixing business and motherhood can be a balancing act! What is your approach to making it through the day accomplishing growth in your business alongside nurturing your little ones?
A: I try to start my day before my little guys wake up in the morning (doesn't always happen). I get the boys breakfast, my oldest heads off to school and my little guy hangs with me for a bit. I have some toys, crayons and markers set up in my office so he can play there or in their room, which is right down the hall. The playroom is a short flight of stairs away, so he plays down there as well. He will be starting pre-school in September so I will have a few hours a day with no kiddies to get some work done. I try to plan some kind of activity for them daily, whether it is just going to the park, a playdate or lessons of some kind (swimming, skating, etc.). After the boys go to sleep I like to get back to work for a bit, depending on how busy I am. I definitely don't have a standard 9-5 workday. :)
check out the Camping Birthday Party Pack!
Q: What do you consider the biggest perk to having your business in your home? What is the biggest challenge?
A: The biggest perk to working for myself is that I get to decide what I want to design! My biggest challenge is leaving the office behind for a day or the weekend. There is always something more that I want to do!
a peek at Valerie's work space
Q: What is your favourite social media platform to share and connect with your customers and why?
A: Facebook and Pinterest are my favourite social media platforms to connect with my customers. They are great platforms for advertising my products! They can reach people from all over the world and they are very inexpensive!
check out the Circus Birthday Party Pack!
Q: If you were able to add another element/extension to your business, what would it be?
A: I would love to add some different paper product designs, like note pads, journals, wrapping paper, gift bags and things like that. I would love to work with fabrics as well, designing images to print on tote bags, t-shirts, etc.
Q: Please name an inspirational artisan you would like to collaborate with on a project/product if anything was possible!
A: There are so many artisans on Etsy that I absolutely LOVE right now! Here are a few shops I adore and would love to collaborate with in some way:
Q: If you had an unexpected afternoon of free time, how would you spend it?
A: Read a good book, go for a nice walk and enjoy a nice, big cup of coffee! :)
Quick 3:
1. Coffee or Tea?
Coffee!
2. Music, Movies or Podcasts while you work?
Movies and TV Shows.
3. What is your current favourite party theme?
The Lil' Man Mustache Bash! We used that theme for my youngest son's 2nd birthday and It was soooo adorable!
Q: What is next for your business?
A: I am designing some Halloween party invitations and decorations, as well as starting on some new Holiday cards and decorations.
Thank you Valerie for the great interview and glimpse into your business! You can keep in touch with Valerie online:
As always please feel free to like, comment & share this Portrait of Home Made. See you in September for the next edition!
Are you or someone you know a work from home Mom creating an amazing product or offering an awesome service? I want to meet you - contact me to find out how you could be featured!
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