Brand Spotlight: Simply Made Crafts by Helen Griffin

Meet Helen Griffin - Papercraft designer, educator, youtuber and one of our brand ambassadors! She brings you easy to follow tutorials, project inspiration, product demonstrations, and the occasional Ferrero Rocher. Oh and she was the Papercraft Magazines Designer of the Year 2016!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your crafting background?

HELEN:

I live with my husband, 2 children, 1 cat, and a chicken in the garden.

We are hoping to find her some more friends very shortly - perhaps even some rescue hens. In the summer we love family bbqs and the odd bonfire. I also can’t resist buying pretty plants.

I’ve always had crafty projects on the go, or scheming the next one to try. Papercrafting has remained my favourite and I couldn’t imagine life without it!

How do you keep inspired when designing new collections?

HELEN:

Simply Made Crafts has quite a broad choice of projects to make. From bags to boxes, and then on to mini albums and cards.

I have to make sure I am releasing collections evenly, which helps me to pinpoint what I need to create. Sometimes it’s great to continue an existing collection to make it even better.

Can you tell me about a time you faced a problem or challenge while crafting and how you fixed it?

HELEN:

When I first started filming tutorials, finding the right tripod to hold my phone above my desk was quite difficult.

Overhead filming was a really small niche and everything was super expensive. In the end stuck a piece of wood into my shelving and balanced my phone on that, and it worked a treat! I had that for a few years until a more affordable option came along.

Another problem is that I need to make and film projects in advance of the season I’m working on. So I’ve created a goodie box of chocolates for every occasion. My children learned the hard way about sneaking in and eating some - it’s out of date because I use the same ones year after year as props!

How happy are you with your craft stash and what would you change?

HELEN:

I probably have enough craft product to last me 3 lifetimes!

Unlimited storage would be a great thing, but I will have to go through everything and make some decisions - which I’m not looking forward to!