Emily Burt’s Shipshape Studio

My new-ish friend Emily Burt is the owner of Shipshape Studio, a creative venue in Northwood up in North-West London. There she gets an incredible amount of work done, to my continuing amazement and inspiration.

On 15th April, Shipshape Studio will be hosting an illustration and design forum in Hammersmith, where a panel will provide cheer and direction for anyone interested in a career in those professions. The speakers are illustrator Emma Block, textile designer Alice Potter and graphic designer Rachel Lewis. I wish I could have attended something like this when I started out myself; we can dream just fine on our own, but what we usually need a hand with is the down-to-earth practical details. I asked Emily what is the best advice she has ever received, and the response is one to take on the world by:

“The single best piece of advice I got is that the things worth having the most are the hardest things to get. This means you need to know your stuff: listen to others in your field, find out about your industry, learn about best practice and business things like cashflow, be willing to put in the extra hard work, and be nice. No-one likes a meany moaner.”