Third Year Product Design student at Bangor University, Rhiannon Quirk started making her ‘Plushies’ in 2013 and opened up her Etsy store in November 2015. The inspiration took hold very early on; she says ‘my nain taught me how to sew at a very early age; I’ve always enjoyed making things and playing around with different fabric. As I got older I drifted away from sewing in favour of studying Design and Technology in Secondary School, but during my Sixth Form years I picked it back up as a hobby and for stress relief. Once I had finished a plushie, I posted it online, and was met with positive feedback. When people started asking if I could make or sell custom plushies, I realized I could make a business out of it’.
All of her products are handmade and completely customizable, either through different colour combinations or patterns or through a completely new item design by the customers themselves. Through keeping in close contact with customers during production she ensures the final product is exactly as requested. The result is a range of personalised products that can be used to decorate the home or be given as a gift. The element of allowing customers to design their own plushies encourages creativity in both children and adults.
"My current five year plan is to have my own small local shop where I can sell my products as well as other handmade items from other local business. I believe it is important to not only sell my own products, but to also help other local businesses to grow."
Rhiannon’s business evolved as she gained experience; ‘At first I made plushies of existing, popular characters from cartoons and comics in order to capture the attention of enthusiasts, but I quickly learnt that I wouldn’t be able to confine myself to these since the characters were copyrighted and therefore unsellable. I therefore decided to branch off and design my own characters instead of recreating existing ones. It was something of a learning curve working out exactly how to define my product and the market; for example whether to go for a specific style to my products and if I wanted to solely focus on custom products. In the end I decided to go with both ‘set’ products, (such as my owls and deer), plus a custom ‘plushie’ service in which I am sent a drawing on which I base the plushie’.
Rhiannon was recently a successful recipient of the Lloyd Jones Scholarship Award. She plans to use the prize money to buy more materials, as well as pay for admissions to fairs where she can sell her products.
She plans also to take advantage of the Welsh Government funded enterprise activities within the university from next year to gain more knowledge of how to run the business and help it to grow.