Loreto House Creative feat. Emma Walton, owner of Tanglewood Atelier

How to find Tanglewood Atelier

Loreto House Creative is excited to share our latest contributor!

Emma Walton is the owner of **Tanglewood Atelier**, a freelance illustration shop where she has worked on a wide range of projects including a children’s book, logo design and wedding stationery.

Without further delay, let’s dive right in to Emma’s contribution!

A little bit about Emma:

“I’m a Catholic convert, wife and mother of my beautiful little boy as well as running my illustration and design business. I actually trained as a pharmacist but gradually fell into the illustration field after five years of working as a clinical pharmacist. I’d always loved art and drawing but never thought it would be anything more than a hobby! I feel ever so thankful that I get to draw and design things to share our beautiful faith as my actual job. Pinch me! I also enjoy exploring the countryside, travel and a good museum.”

If applicable, do you have a conversion story you'd like to share?

“Yes I do! I’d always been a Christian but had been brought up mainly in the Anglican Church with a Catholic school education. My husband and I were committed Christians but I always had a feeling that there was more. Then during a holiday to Kefalonia, I was overcome by an insatiable desire to read everything I could about the Early Church after visiting several Orthodox churches. This inevitably led me to the truth of Catholicism, but unfortunately my husband did not share this revelation with me. I told God that I wasn’t ready to do this unless my husband Dan came with me (I cringe at this now…) into the RCC. I’d emailed my local parish but hadn’t received a reply so just put it to the back of my mind and got on with life. Then, exactly two years (and a baby) later, a Catholic friend said that she’d prayed for me at a worship evening. The next day, I got an email from my local parish about confirmation and RCIA. The rest is history!”

Who is your fav Saint and what's the one way you've kept Christ in your business?

“St Thérèse of Lisieux is my confirmation Saint and my favourite! I always aim to bring everything that I do in my business to Jesus in prayer and let my decisions be guided by Him. I also want every single thing I make to either subtly or overtly proclaim the transforming Truth of the Gospel.”

What is the "why" or mission statement behind why you do what you do?

“The developing mission of my apostolate is to make disciples of Christ (lofty statement, I know!) and to create things that foster spiritual growth, especially in the setting of the Domestic Church. I’m a little person in God’s plan but every small thing done with love has the potential to transform lives.”

BLESSED FR MARIE-EUGÈNE DE L'ENFANT JESUS A6 POSTCARD PRINT

What does your day to day look like as you pursue this dream?

“I’m a mother and wife first and foremost, so my creative work fits around naps and caring for my family. I work during nap time and pack orders in the evenings.”

How have you found ways to differentiate what you do from others doing something similar?

“I try to infuse my illustrations with my own personal style and my products reflect my own ideas and devotions instead of following trends.”

Can you share 1-3 ways in which you have found success in your efforts?

“1.Pray! Ask God to provide and to help you.

2. Bounce ideas off other people.

3. Try and have a structure to your days and plans - this is the only way I get things done as I’m a naturally disorganised person!”

What are your top 3 must have business apps/subscriptions/tools ?

“Planoly, an online calendar and Procreate.”

https://www.planoly.com

https://procreate.art

Can you share a way you have learned from a failure/mistake?

“I now always try to research whether my target audience actually wants a product I’m planning. I ordered a load of expensive art prints with no concrete marketing plan and experienced very low sales.”

If you could tell your younger self starting out this business one thing to just DO, instead of letting fear take over, what would that be?

“Actually start the business!! I was so scared that I’d be laughed at or fail that it took me years to take the plunge.”

If you could give one piece of encouraging advice, what would it be?

“This is a cliché but I would suggest just starting to create things. The more you create, the more you learn and progress.”

What is one question you are continually trying to find an answer to? A pain point in your business that you can't seem to figure out.

“Translation of instagram attention into actual sales. Things that do well on instagram tend to produce fewer sales for me, which is odd.”

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Wow, wow, wow! Emma, thank you for being so open, truthful and honest with your journey and the ups and downs in your Catholic business journey…not to mention just being real with juggling being a wife, mom and business owner! I know your story will be insightful to not just me, but to everyone who has the chance to read your story!

I have to say something that stood out to me is Emma saying “just start creating.” I firmly stand by this because by taking that first little step, it almost always happens that the creativity just starts flowing. And the best part about it is that you might end where you thought you would end! It could turn and morph into something entirely new, but that’s the beauty of it! God is in it and by letting creativity happen, you’re letting God do His work and guide you where He desires.

Make sure to check out Tanglewood Atelier where Emma is creating beautiful pieces of art that are so unique but also personable. Thank you Emma for sharing your insight!