Salaam friends!
Welcome to the 5th issue of The Creative Muslimah.
I recently got back from travelling to the UK to visit family, and I took a little social media break and have been quite inactive online. And it was so needed! I truly did switch off. I forgot how green the grass is and how blue the sky is on a summer day in Glasgow. And despite the many, many, MANY rainy days, we had a wonderful time.
It was also my daughter’s second birthday, so I took the opportunity to get creative and planned a daisy themed party for her. I love how it all came together. Check it out!
I also ran a kids art workshop for a summer school while I was in my hometown, Glasgow. It felt so wonderful to give back to the Muslim community in the city I grew up in. The goal was to paint masjid Nabwi on a canvas to take home and display on the wall. I created a step by step printout for the kids to follow, and they sketched it straight onto the canvas, followed by painting the beautiful bright colours. Check out their masterpieces!
I also did a reading of my book “Allah Made Me Different” at the summer school which went very well Alhamdullilah!
I also wanted to share some of my personal tips to any mamas out there who also want to take on the challenge of running a small business. I want to preface this by saying it’s definitely not for everyone. Not all mothers want to or are able to do this, and that’s completely fine!
These tips are for those who have decided to go down a similar path to me:
Bismillah
Prioritise and Plan: Mums have very limited time, so prioritising is super important. Creating a schedule that balances family commitments with everything else helps a lot! I personally aim to set aside a few hours every single day to work my business.
Focus on Your Passion: Choose something that you genuinely LOVE and are passionate about. I think that when you are already a tired mama, it’s even more difficult to work on a project that you aren’t genuinely excited by.
Delegate and Outsource: If possible, delegate or outsource tasks related to your business that you find time-consuming. This can free up more time for you to focus on the more important parts of your business. For example, I outsource printing and shipping of my prints to a Print On Demand service.
Be Flexible and Adapt: Motherhood and running a small business both require flexibility. Be open to adjusting plans when unexpected situations arise. For example, when my little one is ill, all my plans to work on my business go out the window!
To be perfectly honest, I’m still figuring out the balance myself and I’m definitely no expert. But if I had to sum it up: focus on your priorities and passions! But I hope you find my little tips helpful inshaAllah.
And in case you missed it, here’s the last newsletter:
Before we meet our guest, here’s a 10% discount code for my Etsy shop which is especially for you guys! Use the code: NEWSLETTER
Here are the links to my Etsy shop, my books and my Instagram: click here
Now it’s time to introduce our guest!
Our special guest today is…
Salwa AKA “A Little Note.” She is a super talented calligrapher based in my home town of Glasgow! She does commission based work, and has created some beautiful Eid and Ramadan collections too. Not only that but she has ran some workshops sharing her knowledge with aspiring calligraphers!
If you would like to support her business and check out her handmade bespoke products with her beautiful calligraphy, click here to visit her Instagram page.
Here’s her story:
Can you summarise what it is that you do?
Salaam, my name is Salwa and I recently started my small business which is called A Little Note. I specialise in calligraphy and love personalising things like cards, tags, gift bags, and signage.
How did you get started?
It started with a few days in 2017 where I attempted to copy what I thought was just a ‘font’ and didn’t return to it until 2019 where the same thing happened and the rise of homemade cards began for any time there was an occasion. During lockdown, I came across a free 5 day modern calligraphy challenge and thought ‘why not?’, after all, we weren’t doing anything anyway. And that’s where I fell in love! The difference between day 1 and day 5 was astonishing, and when the teacher happens to be a millionaire with a fancy condo in LA, you can’t help but think that’s pretty cool. In November 2022, 2 years after refining my skills, I decided to launch A Little Note.
What are the best and worst/hardest parts of what you do?
The best part has to be seeing every finished piece, knowing that you made that is an incredible feeling. The hardest part would have to be waiting for a piece to dry before erasing the pencil lines. The amount of pieces I’ve almost ruined by erasing pencil lines too soon and dragging/smudging the ink with it, is way more than I would like to admit – but there’s nothing a little white POSCA pen can’t fix.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to learn calligraphy skills?
Taking your time is the way to do it: whether that’s waiting for a piece to dry; doing the basic strokes/shapes in each letter for consistency; or becoming confident with faux calligraphy before reaching for a pointed pen. Calligraphy is an activity that requires your full attention to achieve that beautiful, seamless look, and that means not rushing through it.
What tools do you use to create your art and run your business?
For the first year of learning, a pencil, rubber and fine-liner was all I used and as time went on, the fine-liner turned into a brush pen and then finally, a pointed pen. However, all these items have a place in my kit. My tripod started as some crockery unstably stacked and making the decision to invest into a little desk tripod has been so, so helpful. My iPhone and Instagram are also key factors in my business, as that’s where everyone else gets to experience the magic!
What advice would you give to an artist who wants to start a business
There’ll never be a ‘perfect’ time, just start… even if it is just posting your creations, your first customer may just come to you. Success does take hard work, and consistent work too at that, but remember to take time for yourself as you are the most important part of your own business.
How have you found your experience promoting your work on social media?
It’s definitely been a mix; it’s had its highs and lows, but I love the process of it all whether it’s posting commissions or creating content. Social media, or Instagram in particular, is challenging with its ever changing algorithms, however the quality of what you are posting counts so much more than you think – as long as people are enjoying your content that’s what matters the most.
Do you have a team or do you do everything yourself?
I mostly do everything myself, in terms of creating pieces and social media work. But my mum and sister help me out so much, they are definitely my biggest fans and supporters and I am so grateful for all the behind-the-scenes work that they do for me! Having friends that support me as well is so comforting too, from sharing my work, recommending me, and the compliments are always appreciated.
Have you received much negativity? How do you handle it?
Alhamdulilah, I’m very blessed as I haven’t received much negativity, I have had a couple incidents where people have believed my prices might be too high for a specific commission however, I reassure myself and explain to them that with an entirely handmade product, the cost of labour adds up to so much more and goes beyond just the cost of materials.
How do you balance the different aspects of your life with running a business?
The short answer is that I don’t! But it is something I’m working on and slowly getting better at, waking up that much earlier everyday definitely helps and creating to-do lists each night for the next day helps me to actually realise what I can fit in or prioritise realistically. With that being said, I love how prevalent my new small business is in my life, and InshaAllah I look forward to it continuing and flourishing (just like the fancy loops in calligraphy)!
It’s Maryam again!
A huge thank you to Salwa for taking the time to contribute to my newsletter!
I hope you found this newsletter beneficial and I look forward to sending you the next one insha’Allah.
Love and duas,
Maryam