At Rocket Badge, we love working with artists to bring their work to life with inspired enamel badges. Recently, we spoke with illustrator Laura Crow, one of the many creatives we have the pleasure of working with, to learn more about where she draws inspiration for her badge designs and how she incorporates them into her merchandising strategy.
Book Pin Badge Set – Laura Crow
Laura Crow, previously working as ‘Goodnight Boutique,’ is an illustrator working from the Cheshire countryside with a particular fondness for books, animals and history. You can find her online shops at Not on the High Street and Etsy.
Tell us a little about who you are and what you do.
Hi, I’m Laura and I’m an illustrator, living in the middle of the Cheshire countryside. I love to sit inside with a good cup of tea, drawing away, or to go for walks with my camera looking for new ideas to catch my eye.
Where do you get inspiration from for your illustrations?
The things I love; books, history, wildlife. At the moment I’m particularly inspired by classical literature. I love reading and collecting beautiful books so it combines my interests perfectly.
You have a store on Etsy and Not on the High Street – can you tell us a little about those and what types of merchandise you sell?
I’ve been selling on Etsy for almost seven years and NOTHS for five! They’re both great platforms for small business to use and to get their work in front of a wider audience. I focus on stationery and gifts; lots of cards, postcards, prints, mugs etc!
What are some of your best-selling items?
Wrapping paper and enamel pins are definitely my best-selling items but greetings cards, badges and gift tags are really popular too.
We love your female author enamel pin collection…how did you come up with the idea for these?
Some of my very favourite books are written by women – Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights – and yet women are still so frequently overlooked on things like top author lists and set school reading. I really want to celebrate these inspiring ladies and their most famous works and so I started drawing the pins.
Mary Shelley Book Pin Badge – Laura Crow
What made you decide to turn your illustrations into enamel pin badges?
I think they look so sleek and shiny and exciting! My illustrations are quite stylised and boldly coloured so I thought they’d work well as pins.
Jane Austen Book Pin Badge – Laura Crow
Enamel pin badges are quite trendy right now – why do you think that is?
They remind me of going to museums when I was a kid – lots of places had little pins back then – so I think there’s definitely a nostalgia element. They’re an easy thing for people to collect without having to pay out huge amounts and there’s such quirky inventive designs out there it’s difficult to resist them.
What advice do you have to offer to other illustrators looking to start their own shops?
Keep drawing. Make lots and lots of work. You don’t get better if you don’t keep at it. Product photos are also really important when selling online so take some time to learn and practice how to do it.
Anything else you’d like to add?
You can find me (and lots of examples of my work and the books I collect) over on Instagram at @itslauracrow. I also sell regularly at Comic Cons. My next three are MCM London at the end of May, MaccPow! at the start of June and MCM Manchester at the end of July. Hope to see you there!
Be sure to check out Laura’s unique designs at her shops on Etsy and Not on the High Street.
If you are a creator like Laura and are looking for an expert supplier of UK badges, be sure to get in touch! We can help you work out which badge type is right for the platform/s you are on, and which are likely to be the most profitable.
