Being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome left Victoria Gordon, from Kinross, unable to work or continue her degree.
Stuck at home, her partner gifted her some watercolours.
She painted a kingfisher and when she showed her partner the finished result, his response was ‘where did you buy that?’
From there friends and family started commissioning her to paint pet portraits.
She founded Victoria Gordon Art in 2019 and now offers bespoke animal watercolours as well as a range of giftware options – everything from mugs to tea towels.
We found out more about Victoria’s business journey.
How did you get to where you are today?
Through a lot of trial and error and taking every chance to learn, grow and develop.
For example, after Brexit and the start of Covid, the cost to outsource the production of my giftware products skyrocketed. I knew we had to change and adapt.
This was when I decided to move the production to my home.
After vast research we turned the spare room in our house into a workshop. It is fully equipped for me to design and print each product by hand.
Until February last year I worked as a part-time mental health nurse alongside running the business.
Social media makes everything look like instant success. I think it’s important to acknowledge that creating a sustainable business is mainly hard work and determination.
Who has helped you along the way?
I am so fortunate to have had a lot of help along this journey. My partner encouraged me and is my constant support and cheerleader throughout everything I do.
Our local community in Kinross and the surrounding areas has also been so supportive.
We started attending local craft markets and grew a following who are still backing me to this day.
We have also had help from GrowBiz which has really been invaluable. I had zero business background before starting this journey so having them to bounce ideas off and ask questions you think are silly has been a game changer.
What was your biggest mistake?
Thinking I can do it all myself. As an artist I am a natural perfectionist and I have found giving up control difficult.
But I have learned people are only too happy to help when you ask. This doesn’t mean sacrificing your vision, it can actually enhance it.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
Winning the best product award at Scotland’s Trade Fair in January for my tea towels was definitely a highlight.
But I think my biggest achievement is that my artwork has helped the conservation of endangered animals across the globe.
For the last two years I have made it into the highly commended category with Sketch for Live, a global artist competition that helps to raise money for conservation. My work has been auctioned off to raise money to help conservation.
I have also been working with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, painting the wildlife from their collections to be made into products and sold to help their conservation efforts.
What do you hope to achieve in the future?
My overall aim is to hopefully have a small team that create my products and handle the online/wholesale orders.
I know my strengths lie in creating and designing.
I want to be able to give myself the chance to be evolving designs, developing new products and growing my original art sales by getting into galleries.
What is the hardest thing about running your own business?
I think it is the vast number of different hats you have to wear.
Not only am I an artist, but I do marketing, social media, accounts, production, digital analysis, packing and customer service to name but a few.
I think this is when asking for help comes in and knowing you don’t have to do it all alone.
Any advice to wannabe entrepreneurs?
Firstly, I would say go for it! Life is short and doing what makes you happy is so important.
Also, if it is a creative business I would advise taking as much time as possible to experiment and find your style before starting.
Conversation