My name is Jessie de Salis. I am a UK-based textile designer and screen printer. Over the last few years I have set up a small print studio in my hometown of Bristol, UK where I have been running as a creative business selling hand printed fabrics and homeware products. I have completely fallen in love with the process; it’s so satisfying to see a print you have been working on come to life in front of your eyes.
I’ve always been really into patterns and fabrics. When I was a kid I would hang fabrics all over my bedroom walls (to be honest I still would if my partner would let me). I’ve also kind of always drawn and painted patterns, printmaking was just a natural progression of my passions.
One thing I really love about designing prints for fabrics is that the end result is rarely flat. You design something to be worn, touched and used, that hangs, drapes, and moves. You have to design thinking about how your print can look pleasing when it’s folded or hanging off a hook.
I’m fascinated by how textiles have this really subtle ability to change a space. I love how a bright, bold upholstered bed will lift the whole tone of the room, without you directly noticing.
How My Business Began in the Midst of the Pandemic
Pre-pandemic I was living in London. I had a really fun part-time job working in a fabric shop, and I learnt so much about fabric and its uses. For me though, it wasn’t until I had space away from the pressures of the high London rent that I was really able to take my practice seriously. After the pandemic hit I moved down to the remote and beautiful county of Cornwall, right at the bottom of the UK, to live with my partner and his family. My business is a true lockdown business. Lockdown created a unique time in my life where I had the space and courage to start a new design process and completely go for it. It pushed me to do the thing I had always talked about doing.
So, in a disused barn on a field near my partner’s house, I set up my own (very DIY) screen print studio. With a couple of old screens and a makeshift exposure unit that was being chucked out by a friend, I taught myself how to screen print. Sparrows flew in through the windows and spiders fell from the ceiling as I taught myself printing on a slightly wonky table. I worked out pattern repeats, I mixed my own inks, and experimented with exposure times. I set myself a project: to hand print fabrics and create a textiles installation inspired by the Cornish landscape.
Through instagram and word of mouth things gradually grew, I started getting regular commissions and orders. I still feel very much at the start of my journey, but it gets easier and more structured as things grow and develop.
Managing Time When You Make Your Own Schedule
Time management is so tricky, and annoyingly so important when setting up a business. It’s a real double edged sword. It’s so amazing to have autonomy in your working life and direction. In the same breath, there is no one to hold you accountable if you have a week off, no one else to bring the energy. It’s all on you.
For me the most challenging thing is the ups and downs. Sometimes I find it so easy to work, working evenings and weekends, it’s all I think about or want to do. Other times (actually like this week), maybe when I am doing something complicated, every hour ticks by and it’s so hard to focus and stay motivated.
[Quite ironically, as I am writing about assertiveness and motivation I am reflecting on my week and finding that I have felt very unmotivated. For me, being consistently on the ball, focused and inspired, is impossible. It comes in peaks and troughs, and it’s so important to let yourself rest, do some exercise, see your friends if you’re having a day where things don’t seem to click.]
I have started to accept that’s the way it is and there is no point trying to change it. If I’m exhausted and feeling uninspired I will have a break or work shorter days. If I am loving it, then I will completely emerge myself in my work.
It’s very easy to look at other businesses and see what they have achieved and feel pressured, wondering if you haven’t done enough. I am really trying to be kind to myself and proud of my own journey and what I have achieved.
Tricks and Tips I Use To Make My Goals a Reality
I have spent a lot of time thinking about this recently, I think planning and organizing are the foundations of having a business. Every Sunday I will write down everything I need to do and want to do for the following week, and try to estimate how long it will take, so I can be realistic with my planning.
When you have a job where you are being paid by an organization, you often know what your role is going to be day-to-day. When setting up a business, you have to create your own structure, sometimes your own deadlines and your own goals, which can be really hard.
Something I find really helpful is regularly thinking about my goals and where I want to be in 10 years. It is actually so fun. I write down exactly where I would love to be working, what my day-to-day life will look like, who I am working with, and what kind of products and clients I will have.
It’s so useful to do this as it means I can break down all the things I need to do to get there. So, my ten-year goals will inform my one-year goals, and my one-month goals. If your six-month plan includes selling in three local shops, then every week you need to plan to email and call shops you like until that happens.
This method gives my brain a routine. I am a bit of a sucker for changing a plan. Something I have really needed to work on is sticking to my self-made deadlines and plans and making detailed short and long-term goals helps me do that.
I find it so easy to spend loads of time doing the things I love, and causally neglecting the things I find boring. Being assertive is difficult as it doesn’t come overnight – it takes time and motivation to change that aspect of your personality. This is definitely something I have found really difficult, as I have never been that amazing at being direct and assertive.
A technique I have recently started doing, which I would highly recommend, is doing work manifestations. This is similar to my detailed goals but with a more spiritual bent. To do this, I write a list of the things I want for myself and my business and say them outloud at the start of every day. This helps me better focus on and internalize my goals so that I can make them an external reality. It’s amazing how well it works.
Another thing I try to do everyday (it doesn’t always happen) is light a candle at the start of the day, open a window, take a breath and do a minute meditation. It was a technique the Bauhaus School of Art taught. Make each day sacred, leave other-things behind, and make this a productive space. It doesn’t really take much out of your day but it can put a lot into it.
What I am ultimately trying to do is to be kind to myself, and enjoy the process. It takes years to build a business. It will take as long as it takes, that’s okay.
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