Here at Bustle & Sew we absolutely love discovering new talented designer-makers and I was delighted to come across Mircat Embroidery on Instagram. We love Mirka’s embroidery so much we asked her if she would like to feature in an interview here on the blog…luckily for us she agreed!
Hi Mirka! We’re so happy to have you here. Could you please tell us how long you’ve been stitching?
I started cross-stitching a couple of years ago and switched to embroidery last June. It’s actually not that long and I’m surprised how fast I have made progress!
How did Mircat Embroidery come about?
I’ve tried my hand at a lot of different crafts – polymer clay jewellery, geometric paper mobiles, knitted baby blankets and so on. When there was no one left among my family and friends to receive the things I’d made, I tried to sell them via Etsy and DaWanda (a German version of Etsy). It didn’t work out at first but once I started to focus on my embroidery things started to take off! Shortly after I filled the shops with some of my bird embroideries, DaWanda’s PR department got in touch and connected me with a magazine that wanted to feature some of my things. I couldn’t believe it was happening so quickly, I definitely got lucky!. Anyhow, I needed some kind of a label and Mircat Embroidery was born.
What do you wish you’d known before you started?
How rewarding it is to do something you are 100% committed to. If I’d known that, I would have started doing it earlier!
Can you describe your typical working day?
I start my day by taking my little dog Olive for a walk. I use the time to think through the day and to prioritise the things I have to do. These two hours are the same every day. Everything else depends on what I’m working on. Is there a workshop I need to prepare? Do I have accounts to do? Does a last-minute custom order need to get ready? If I have a spare minute I embroider my own designs.
What’s the best thing about owning your own business?
That working no longer feels like work! I’m investing time and money into something that I’m absolutely devoted to. I don’t want to whitewash all the difficulties, concerns and problems that will definitely occur sooner or later, but being my own boss is very motivating.
What advice would you give others wanting to start their own business?
Find your niche and a product or a service for which there is not only a market (supply and demand, same old story), but, more importantly, something that sets your heart on fire! If you do things with passion, you get more resilient than you’d ever believed you could be. If you’re lucky enough to find such a thing, the bottom line is always the same: It’s worth it!
Do pop over to Mirka’s website and have a look at all of her gorgeous makes. You can also find her on Etsy and Instagram – be sure to say hello!
We’re always on the look out for talented makers, please leave us a comment below if you’d like to be featured!
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