This Mother’s Day, we’re celebrating the many shapes motherhood can take within our creative community – and the ways creativity adapts alongside changing family lives.
In this interview, we speak to Becka, a freelance illustrator and card designer whose business has evolved over nearly two decades. From building a creative career long before family life entered the picture, to becoming a stepmum and reshaping her work around a blended family, Becka shares an honest, thoughtful perspective on flexibility, self-employment and redefining success on her own terms.
1. Can you start by telling us a little about your background, your business and when you became a step mum?
I’ve been a freelance illustrator for around seventeen years. I was single, and I worked hard to grow my business in the early days, finally managing to give up my day job 12 years ago. I create and sell greetings cards and prints, with the main themes of food and buildings. While I didn’t plan to have biological children myself, I’ve enjoyed various roles supporting and mentoring young people; as a devoted auntie, doing freelance work with Young Enterprise, and also as a Cub Scout leader for a number of years.
In late 2019 I met my partner James. He lived on a narrowboat and had two young children – who at the time were 3 and 7. Covid happened, and during this time it became obvious that we were serious about each other – after around 11 months (and numerous lockdowns) I met his kids. We bought a house together in 2022, and shortly afterwards I moved out of my shared studio back to working from home.
2. How did your own female role models influence your creative journey as a maker?
My parents were both teachers; they brought us up to be really inquisitive and creative. All my female role-models – both my grandmas, my mum and my stepmum – were either knitters or sewers; and there was always fabric and yarn in the house. I loved to experiment with knitting and sewing as a younger teenager. During lockdown I rediscovered my love of knitting, and this is something I still do as a hobby.
I remember drawing from an early age; my mum’s mum was creative in this way – she’d send beautifully illustrated letters to me and my siblings, and I do remember being really inspired by her drawings. I was clearly inspired as I used to draw my own little books as a child (which I still have today).
3. You’ve talked a lot in the past about your role as a stepmum – how has that experience shaped your perspective as an artist and small business owner
I really do love being a stepmum; it’s such a privilege. I’m so lucky to have created a job which enables me to be flexible around the kids. They are here with us after school two or three days a week, and it’s lovely that I can normally finish work early to spend time with them – either being creative or just playing games and chatting. They have both helped me out with packing orders at busy times, or at craft fairs, and they have both asked some great questions, making me see my job through their eyes.
4. You’ve created cards that celebrate blended families – why was it important for you to reflect that experience in your work?
I myself have had two stepmums, and I have always seen that there’s a gap in the market for blended family cards. Often there is a token card or two that will say “stepmum” on the front, but with such limited choice it’s hard to find one with the right tone – or even the language you align with.
I grew up in Cumbria, where lots of people call their mum “Mam” – and my dad is from Birmingham and called his mum “Mom” – so I’ve always offered regional options with my Mother’s Day cards. I think it’s really important to consider these nuances, and the same goes for stepparents. I’ve made sure I have cards that celebrate all these types of relationship, including “thanks for being part of my complicated family” – for anyone you haven’t found quite the right title for yet!
The most special cards I ever receive are from my stepdaughter. The first time she gave me a homemade card on Mother’s Day was super-special (it actually made me cry). But even when she gives me a bought card, the fact she’s taken the time to pick it out and write a lovely message in it is really touching.
5. Your business has evolved over the years (downsizing products, moving home, working solo). How have your priorities changed as your business and personal life have developed?
When I first became full-time self employed, my priority was to make as much money as possible. This was to give me a level of security, partly because I was single, but I also really loved the hustle and the fast pace of online selling at that time. I was working from a shared studio – as working alone from home had become pretty lonely. Social media was a different thing, and not as many people were selling online in this way. In some ways, growing my business was easy – and I surrounded myself by peers who were on the same journey. We all raced to become VAT registered and to incorporate our businesses – and there was a real sense of achievement in meeting these milestones. Social media posts of piles of orders and bulging Royal Mail sacks were commonplace; it was a really exciting time. I prioritised work over everything else – especially at my busiest times, when I would have a team of lovely people to come and help me pack orders.
However I have always loved the flexibility self-employment has given me with how I spend my time. Originally this was because I could do my grocery shopping and get dentist appointments midweek – but a few years in I started to take advantage of the flexibility by fitting in a yoga class before work, meeting a friend for coffee in the daytime, or finishing early to go for a swim. I started to realise that I could look after myself as well as working hard. My turnover was steady and I realised that it would make financial sense for me to deregister for VAT as I’d actually be better off.
A combination of lockdown and becoming a stepmum meant that my priorities changed still further. When James moved in with me, the thought of us both working from home became much more appealing. I’d had to work from home through the lockdowns, and life in the studio I was in had changed a lot on our return post lockdown. When we started looking at houses big enough for us I did some sums and worked out that we would be able to afford a bigger house in a nicer area if I was not paying studio rent. It seemed a no-brainer. I’ve now been back working from home for over three years. I do get lonely at times, but I have some excellent friends and neighbours. It also means I save time travelling to the studio, I can be there for my stepkids when they get home from school, and I can walk to the Post Office. I always have a volunteer project or two on the go; I’m currently a school governor, and I help in our local community garden. I’d really struggle not to be part of some sort of community.
Importantly, I don’t think that any decision is forever… it’s the beauty of self employment, you can change your work to suit your life at any given stage. I also think it’s worth exploring what your idea of success is… I used to think it was all about making money, but now I see it as having flexibility and control over my own time.
6. What do you find most rewarding – and most challenging – about balancing your creative work with family life?
In the first few years I really struggled with the time constraints – having to fit work in during school hours, and not being able to work late into the evening if I was on a roll. However I now think that the fact I can have time with my little family more than makes up for this.
I love that the kids have both seen my work and the way I make a living. I want to inspire them and show them that they can make their living doing something they genuinely love, and that they can build this themselves if they need to. When they were younger they were much more interested and inquisitive, but now as a preteen and a teen they are suitably disinterested!
7. What’s your strategy for juggling deadlines, commissions, and your own creative projects alongside family life?
I tend to say no to a lot of commissions; I am determined that I will only say yes if it is something I really want to do, and if I can really do it justice. I am really clear with clients about deadlines, and what I can and can’t do.
I have always been really organised, and I have lists and timetables and calendars all around me. I have a big board in my studio, which I use to keep track of what my upcoming projects are (I actually made this using drawings and stories I wrote when I was five or six). Every week I create a drawn out week plan, so I can see who needs to be where and when, and spot any times that I will need to help with lifts or making sure meals are ready. It really helps me to see it planned out visually and colour coded! I also add any blocks of time I need to be working, or any meetings that I have.
8. Are there any unexpected ways your stepchildren have influenced your art – from ideas to colour choices to playful experimentation?
My stepkids are a bit older now, and they love thinking up new ideas for my pun greetings cards. I recently added a “We’d be toast without you, Mum” card to my range for Mother’s Day, off the back of something my stepdaughter said to me. Over the weekend my stepson came up with some excellent coffee-based puns which I am planning to add to my range soon.
9. What advice would you give to other makers who are juggling family responsibilities with developing their business?
Be realistic. Don’t over-commit yourself, it’s much better to deliver a commission piece earlier than promised than over-run. And don’t forget about looking after yourself too. You are your business, and if you aren’t fed and rested then you won’t be creating your best work.
And, as I said earlier – nothing is forever. Children grow, family dynamics shift, and – in my experience so far – it all works out in time.
10. What’s the best piece of creative advice you’ve ever received – and the best piece of life advice related to family?
I think the one piece of advice that I always come back to is from my younger brother. He was a Neuroscientist, he studied and researched for years, but while completing his PhD he won a home brewing competition and decided to change his career entirely to set up his own brewing company. I remember him explaining to me, “I don’t want to have to work in a job every day of my life, just so that I can retire and then do something I love”. It really resonated with me, and I absolutely appreciate how lucky I am to be able to make a living doing a job that I love – and which also enables me to be present and available for my family.
From designing cards that reflect blended families to building a business that prioritises time, flexibility and wellbeing, we loved hearing about Becka’s journey and hearing how success doesn’t have to look the same at every stage of life. Becka’s experience celebrates adaptability, intentional choices and the freedom to reshape work around what matters most – proving that creative businesses, like families, are allowed to grow and change over time.
