It's me innit

Hi, I'm Kaitlyn aka Cornishbirdinthesticks.

I live near Redruth in Cornwall with my boyfriend Guy and our 13 small dogs, yes, we like dogs, especially terrier based products!

I have always loved being creative but lacked the confidence to pursue it as a career.  Once I completed my BTEC in Graphic Design, at Falmouth School of Art & Design, I headed off for an amazing year in Australia and then eventually ended up working in accounts offices for 15 years.

It was whilst working at Falmouth Docks that I met Penny Phillips who asked me to design a logo for the Falmouth branch of the Mission to Seafarers, to include an iconic image of the docks.  I knew the design had to be crisp and sharp so my normal pen and coloured pencil cartoon sketches wouldn't work.

I had messed about on Publisher software for years designing posters using AutoShapes, so that's how it started, I just used basic shapes to build up an image of a crane.  Then I did the Geevor design, then Mackerel Fishing and the creative floodgates opened.

I started doing craft fairs whilst still working.  There weren't really any digital artists doing fairs at that time and one event even removed my work thinking it was clip art!  I managed to persuade them that I actually created the designs myself!

I was doing well at events which made me decide the time was right to leave and pursue my dream and become a full time artist and maker. 

In 2013 I opened my shop in Reduth.  I also completed a 10 week night school course on Illustrator.  This allowed me to develop my style with a flexibility that I previously didn't have.  

The craft fair scene has changed dramatically over the last 8/9 years that I have been doing them.  This led me to become involved in organising events with local attractions such as Flambards and The Lost Gardens of Heligan at Christmas.

The ethos of these events is to create somewhere affordable for people to trade and to not compromise on quality over quantity.  These events have grown over the last couple of years and am proud to be part of them.

In March 2020 I handed over the shop.  It had become too much responsibility and I was just too busy to give it the attention it deserved.  I loved the shop and met some amazing people through it.

I am also very lucky to have my work for sale in many independent shops.

Covid changed a lot of things for my business and I decided I needed a break from fairs.  I now have a full time job but continue to supply shops and sell online.

I love STUFF, I'm a hoarder of interesting things, a buyer of beautiful things and right now anything yellow has my attention.  I don't like cleaning, fancy salad leaves or people saying 'my bad'.  Just typing that evoked a reaction. 

I could waffle on for ages but I'll save that for blogs.

Kate x