INSPIRE: The Road Less Travelled...Heather Leavers

As part of our continuing series of inspiring interviews with people who have given up the day job and chosen to follow a creative career, we are delighted to introduce the Queen of Meerkats herself, Heather Leavers, better known to most of us as NiftyKnits! Read on for a very special offer exclusive to UK Handmade readers...

Give a brief description of your career path up before being creative.

It's been mixed! My working life started as a carer for disabled children, then office work. I've been a cleaner, shelf-stacker, road safety adviser and clerical officer whilst juggling bringing up three children and taking an Open University degree followed by teacher training. So, my "proper" career as a primary teacher didn't start until I was 40. I'd always wanted to teach and imagined I'd teach through to retirement age.

What prompted you to pursue a creative career?

It really came about by accident. Having waited so many years it turned out that teaching was very bad for my health. I'm a perfectionist and in my experience, headteachers are very keen to exploit that trait. By the time my doctor signed me off with stress I was working 80 hour weeks and still not feeling that I'd finished. To stop myself going to sleep every time I sat down at home I started knitting again and after a few months I discovered the joy of feeling creative again, making up my own designs. I'd sold bits and bobs on ebay for years, so as my house became over-run with tiny meerkats it seemed logical to start selling them.

What was the most difficult thing about this decision? And what was the easiest?

The most difficult thing was to stop calling myself an "ex teacher". I’ve actually just checked my online profiles, and it’s STILL there. I do now refer to myself (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) as a “professional meerkat knitter”. That title was first awarded by a customer, so she’d know!

The easiest part is the knitting, it just seems to flow. I have so many ideas in my head and online friends swamp me with more. I used to have trouble with understanding 3D diagrams but now it’s very much a case of “You name it, I’ll knit it”.

How supportive of your decision were your family, friends and (former) colleagues?

My family has always been supportive and the help and support of my online friends is quite remarkable, especially when you consider that we’re all competing for customers. I’ve learnt about tax, pricing, marketing and so much more – the virtual community is invaluable. I no longer see any teaching colleagues, it’s too tempting to fall back into complaining about educational issues and it was important for me to move on.

How has pursuing a creative career been compared with your previous career? What are the challenges, and what are the highlights?  

No stress! I get busy at peak times of course and it took me a while to remember I was in control. When Regretsy featured my Nativity Meerkats I sold them as quickly as I listed them – and soon had a stack of padded envelopes waiting to be filled. Eventually I realized I didn’t HAVE to relist immediately but could work at my own pace. Ofsted aren’t inspecting me!

Highlights (apart from sales of course) are the lovely comments people make about my work. When I’ve taken part in craft fairs there is always a big grin on faces as they approach, not quite believing what they see!

The non-creative side of Niftyknits is still very much a challenge. Like many others I would love it if I could just knit, stock my shop and automatically people would find me and buy. It’s not the case though. Online selling requires marketing and it’s not always easy. Social networking is great, but it’s not always easy to find the line between telling the virtual world about my work and being “social”.

Have you had any regrets about choosing a creative career?

I miss the children. I had a great deal of fun in my classrooms and I miss that. My work now is very solitary, although my virtual friends are very real to me. Although my knits are collectables and not intended for children there is undeniably a child-like quality to my work, so I’m still having fun!

What has been the best thing about your decision to pursue a creative career?

Freedom! It’s great to get up every day knowing I can knit all day in front of old Star Trek episodes on TV if I wish – or I can go out walking and taking photos for my blog. It’s been great for my self-esteem to move on from feeling like a failed teacher to being Nifty, whose skills and creativity are really quite special (I’m blushing, can you tell?!)

If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering taking up a creative career, what would that be?

Go for it. I think the biggest regrets in life come from *not* having a go at something. If it doesn’t work out, never mind. At least you tried! Remember what I said though, “Build it and they will come” doesn’t work for most of us!

What are your plans for the future?

You know the fish in “Finding Nemo” who sings “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming”? My version is “Just keep knitting”. There is always somebody new who deserves to be meerkatted. I've been rebuiding my website this year, and on a more personal level, our house is up for sale and we hope to move to the seaside!

For more information, check out NiftyKnits' website - www.niftyknits.co.uk - and Facebook page www.facebook.com/NiftyKnits.co.uk.

Shops:

Zibbet - www.zibbet.com/NiftyKnits
Etsy - www.niftyknits.etsy.com
Folksy - www.niftyknits.folksy.com

EXCLUSIVE to UK Handmade readers is a special offer from NiftyKnits for 20% off all items in her Zibbet shop (one use per customer, minimum order $10), until 30th June 2011. Just enter code O28699 at checkout for discount to be applied before paying (the first digit is letter "O" not zero).