Notes from Chris

Episode 1027

We get our ideas for side hustles (or any other projects) from different places. Sometimes they percolate for a while, waiting for us to take action on them or leave them behind. For Mhairi Allan of Paper Houses Design, her idea was centered on two values: control and purpose.

Mhairi studied Textile Design at the University of Dundee in Scotland, then moved to London. From there, she freelanced with small textile companies. But the bouncing around from client to client never gave her a real feeling of ownership over the projects she was working on.

So in late 2016, she transitioned away from that line of work by getting into artist development and teaching. Shortly after, she took a full-time position as a lecturer at a Scottish university, where she now teaches art, design, and textiles.

Mhairi started her side hustle because she wanted to take back control on what she had designed. And now that she was teaching, she was determined to lead by example.

But what would she offer? Her vision was to design and sell lampshades, tote bags, cushions, and cases.

Total startup costs were £1,000 pounds [$1,240 USD], covering product sampling and marketing. Part of that went into building her website, which serves as the cornerstone of her online presence and an online store.

The design philosophy at Paper Houses Design is based on everyday inspiration. Mhairi takes it all in, observing the aspects of life that seem commonplace to most people and that the average eye would just skip over. Her current collection, Signals, launched in 2019, draws inspiration from electric posts and the wires running over our heads.

All of this work didn’t happen overnight; Mhairi spent months researching options, sampling solutions, and visiting suppliers who could help make her vision of an ethical creation process come true.

She also had to be willing to adjust. Back in March of 2019, something happened that would have killed most side hustles.

She launched a Kickstarter campaign with much enthusiasm … and it failed.

So when the campaign for her new collection failed, that meant … the end, right? There wasn't enough interest in the product to justify a full run, or even spend much time on it. Maybe she should chalk it up as a passion project and get back to focusing on her day job?

But that's not what Mhairi did.

Despite the setbacks, she finished work on the collection and finished finding suppliers, printers, and seamstresses for her ethical production chain. Then she took the smaller offering to a local maker's market in Scotland.

The response there was overwhelmingly positive. Mhairi even had to take start taking pre-orders for sold-out products. She found her market with this in-person and local event, and it gave her a determination to keep creating that her Kickstarter campaign hadn’t.

As far as the profits? Mhairi says they're better than expected. She made her startup costs back in less than a year, and she’s looking to eventually open a maker’s space where she can work alongside graduates and members of the public.

Connecting with people is one of Mhairi's favorite aspects of having this side hustle. It started with finding the right way to produce her designs ethically, but it’s grown to be more about building relationships with customers and other creatives.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Paper Houses Design: Check out Mhairi's designs at her online store and her current collection, Signals.

  SEE ALSO:

• Trip to Europe Inspires Adventurous Blanket Biz: After returning from an extended trip abroad, this digital strategist draws on a sense of adventure to source and sell heirloom throw blankets.
Adventurous Couple Designs & Sells Fashionable Backpacks: Backpacks that bring fashion to the mountains earn a Colorado couple an additional $2,500 a month while also feeding the homeless.
• Tote Bag Titans! Teachers’ Custom Bag Shoulders $110,000 Profits: Two teachers create a multi-tasking tote bag from scratch, building it into a six-figure business in just six months.

Yours in the revolution,

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