How I Built My Creative Business: 5 Years of Birth Art & Education Materials

As women we are told that we shouldn't show off - that we shouldn't shine our light in case it diminishes someone else's. But that's nonsense! And I'm not going to go along with that.

So here I am - showing off about this business I made from nothing! And the fact that I had £150,000 in sales over 5 years - from a single painting at my kitchen table when I was pregnant (although a significant amount of that went to Etsy fees and the tax man!).

It's not been easy, and I doubt myself ALL the time. Whether I'm getting the balance right between mothering, creating and business-ing. Whether I'm making the right things. If I'm spending our family money on the right stuff.

With ADHD and trauma, a lifelong history of depression and anxiety - it's amazing that I've managed to do this.

I'm really proud of myself and I hope that my story might inspire someone else to make a start, and to have a dream. I started my shop with small paintings and a shaky hand.

And 5 years later here I am. I don't know what will happen to my business in the future, but I hope that I can keep going, and keep making art, and keep making pretty and practical things that you all like.

Thank you for being here 🩷

Back in 2019, I started painting birth affirmations during my first pregnancy. It was my first time picking up a paintbrush since school (apart from bursts of creativity at special occasions when I felt I had a 'purpose' to create).

I wanted to surround myself with positive visuals to feel calm, safe, and ready for birth. I got hugely into learning about birth, hypnobirthing and hoped very much to have a healthy home birth.

I made our doula a felt collage and sewed Womb to World alongside the baby in the womb. I had the idea I could make my own business selling birth affirmation paintings, and that's what I could call it.

I even set up an Etsy shop back then, but at the time, turning it into a real business was just a dream for "future me." For a very-far-off in the future version of me that I felt would need to be brave enough, capable enough, and prepared enough.

Two years later, pregnant again, I felt a deep need to understand my upcoming birth on a clearer, more anatomical level - and try to have a safe, healing home birth this time around.

I started drawing my own diagrams of the womb and birth mechanics. Visualising what my body was doing helped me feel more prepared for the journey ahead. I realised that despite SO much prep for my first birth, I still didn't fundamentally understand so much about it.

In June 2021, someone on Instagram saw my art and asked if she could commission a custom painting. I was absolutely terrified! Taking money for my artwork felt like a huge, scary step, but that very first sale showed me that my work resonated with others, too.

That first commission gave me the gentle nudge I needed to realise I didn't need a huge corporate plan with budgets and product ranges and supplier chains; I could just start my shop, one painting at a time. I kept painting affirmations, lots of them! Every painting was a step toward building my confidence. Every one I breathed through the fear and activation, each one a step in my healing journey.

As I explored my own spiritual path during pregnancy with the help of a sacred intimacy mentor, I noticed a real gap - I couldn't' seem to find holistic pregnancy visuals. I couldn't find the spiritual pregnancy visuals I wanted to see, so I decided to paint them myself, starting with chakras in the womb art - which felt significant to me as I approached my spiritual birth.

I began illustrating the deeper connections between our bodies, energy, and birth, including chakras in breastfeeding and physiological birth. Treating birth as a holistic process gave me the positivity and trust I needed to feel ready.

By July 2021, I was gaining confidence. I traded in small brushes for bigger pieces, bolder colours, and larger canvases. I was starting to embrace my identity as an artist.

By August, art had become an indispensable part of my pregnancy journey and birth prep. Surrounding myself with my own artwork helped me stay grounded, centered, and trusting in the process.

After giving birth, things were hard. Depletion set in, and I didn't touch a paintbrush for five full months. I felt like a light went out in me after birth.

I genuinely worried that my creative spark was gone and that the business was over before it had even really begun. But after I had a session with a holistic coach she encouraged me to just paint one picture, and I started again.

Recognising how vital creativity was to my healing, we set up a dedicated painting space in the office to encourage me to keep going. I kept painting in short bursts around mothering, following my inspiration whenever I could find a quiet moment. Shaun would bring Rosie up to breastfeed or to fall asleep on my back in the carrier.

Making small affirmations felt safe, but taking on larger, more detailed commissions was terrifying! In May 2022, a special piece sparked the start of a series of big, brave pictures. For the first time, I truly felt like I was becoming a "real" artist.

The reality of running a creative business with a young baby meant painting whenever and wherever I could, with my baby on my back or on the boob, fitting in art in quick bursts between mothering.

In June 2022, our doula Sheryl mentioned that she couldn't find clear upright diagrams of the cardinal movements of birth to show her clients. After days of deep research, playing birth with dolls, sketching, and refining, I decided to give it a try.

Those anatomical diagrams became my bestsellers! Overcoming my imposter syndrome enough to list them in my shop with a print license was a huge turning point. The overwhelming support from doulas made me realize there was a real need for clear, handmade birth education resources.

I poured hours into creating educational diagrams, teaching tools, and holistic handouts, the exact resources I wished I had access to when I was first pregnant. Knowing they were helping birth workers make antenatal sessions fun and accessible made the work deeply fulfilling.

By March 2023, I realised my art could live on so much more than paper! I expanded into stationery, cards, tote bags, accessories, and homeware for birth workers and mothers, continuously growing the range to support the birth community.

In September 2024, we took a leap and set up a stand at a midwifery event. The response from student midwives was incredible! Seeing their excitement first-hand showed me a whole new direction, inspiring me to design dedicated resources specifically for student midwives and midwives. Realising that I had a big opportunity to make things that people would use in their work was exciting.

After designing my first planner diary, I launched a dedicated UK website to make it even easier for students to find me (and cut out high Etsy fees where I can!). It has become a home for my entire collection of midwifery and birth resources.

Five years on, I am just as much of a birth nerd as ever, even though I've finished my baby making years. I've started saving up for both my girls to have an independent midwife when they grow up - as being blessed with a case loading midwife during my second pregnancy was so meaningful.

I feel so incredibly grateful to have turned a personal passion into a business that supports my family while allowing me to stay home with my girls. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Womb to World Art, and I'm so thankful to have you along for the ride 🩷