Six Years of The Painted Dragonfly

On 29th October 2025, The Painted Dragonfly turned six! Six years since I put down a £600 deposit on #KolinTheKiln and took the leap into running my own business.

For those of you who do not know (can I ask – where have you been? 😉), The Painted Dragonfly is a pottery painting business that I (currently) run from our family home in Kings Worthy, Winchester.

How did it all begin?

We need to go a little further back than 2019 to answer this… Our son was born in 2015, and when I returned to my engineering career the following year, I didn’t want to go back full-time – I had waited a long time to become a mum and didn’t want to be away from him more than I was with him.

One of my oldest friends suggested starting my own business, but I had no idea what that would look like – and I didn’t want to be a ‘kept woman’.

November 2017 brought my ‘Sliding Doors’ moment. I received a call from our son’s nursery telling me that the Christmas mugs with his handprints on wouldn’t arrive before Christmas. It was on that call, with no previous experience of firing pottery, that the idea for a mobile pottery painting business was born.

Those next 18 months brought both mental and physical health challenges, and while the idea never went away, it wasn’t the right time to start my enterprise. In June 2019, my mum was diagnosed with cancer (she underwent chemo and is currently in remission), and that became part of the catalyst for getting things moving.

At a barbecue one evening that month, a friend of mine told me I had to stop ‘dancing about’ and that my dream would never become reality without a leap of faith. She tasked me with finding out how much a kiln would cost. Not wishing to be asked a second time, that night I asked Google to find ‘kiln suppliers near me’.

To my surprise, I discovered not only a kiln and bisque supplier that I’d driven past hundreds of times, but one that also ran courses on how to start your own pottery painting business. The next course was exactly a month later – it felt like the stars were aligning.

I attended, loved it, and on 29th October put down the deposit on a kiln. ‘Kolin’ was delivered, installed, and commissioned early in December, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Well, almost…

Finding my feet

Last year, as I was preparing to celebrate my fifth business birthday, I really didn’t feel worthy of doing so. My first year of business was 2020 – and we all know what happened that year.

My first-year plans did not run as expected (and in hindsight, that plan was a little naïve – but that’s another story for another time). I’d planned to hang up my hard hat and steel toe caps in July 2020, when my son finished Reception. We’d have the summer together, and then I’d hit the Christmas run-up with gusto!

In reality, what happened was this: I had a handful – okay, sixteen – customers during my first twelve months of trading; we home-schooled, both held down our engineering jobs (without being furloughed), and somehow managed to stay healthy, keep our home life afloat and a roof over our heads.

But what I realised, as two of my best friends rallied to celebrate with me last year, was that 2020 was just a fraction of my business journey. A huge number of businesses fold in those first five years (approximately half, depending on which source you read), but here I am – paying myself a salary each month, supporting the running of my van, and doing something I love.

It allows me the flexibility to be there for our young son, and looking back, I can now see that survival was success.

Gratitude

So this year, I am owning six years! I’m celebrating all the customers who have painted with me over the years, and giving thanks to those who have supported, encouraged, and challenged me when I needed it most.

I’d love to thank every single person by name, but I’d undoubtedly forget someone and then spend my time beating myself up about it.

There have been family, friends, customers (and customers who’ve become friends), fellow business owners, and coaches – the list goes on. Every conversation, booking, and bit of encouragement has helped shape The Painted Dragonfly into what it is today. Thank you all for being part of my journey!

So what’s next…

I’ve watched TPD grow and aspire for her to reach her full potential. 2025 has been a year of consolidation – refining what works and streamlining how I run things to support our family more efficiently.

In 2026, I’ll focus on strengthening the foundations I’ve already laid so that true growth can follow. I’m excited – and naturally a little nervous – about what lies ahead. But it’s said that it takes a village to raise a child, and I’m blessed with an amazing community helping me grow my business.

If these six years have taught me anything, it’s that growth doesn’t happen all at once – it’s built through small, brave choices, made again and again.

Thank you for all the Happy Dances I’ve done (and will continue to do). There is much more creativity, colour, and cups of tea to come!

Have you painted with me over the years? I’d love to hear your memories in the comments.