one year of pansy
Happy official soft birthday pansy! 🎉
It’s exactly one year (happy 15th of May!) since I announced a very soft and gentle opening to the space! I thought it would be a nice time to reflect and share my experience of this past year and what it’s been like running a little shop and studio. I feel so incredibly privileged to be doing what I’m doing - with the love and support of so many people near and far. Thank you for being with me through this and following my journey! I’ll share some of my most frequently asked questions and stories in some more detail here ☺️
How did you come across and get the space?
I moved to the Netherlands in the middle of 2018 with a big suitcase, a Bobo, a sense of adventure and curiosity for the world. We did a few residency projects in Amsterdam, Finland, Taiwan, a few artwork installation jobs for friends in LA & Santa Fe. We had our heart set on Amsterdam and fell in love so much with the lifestyle, biking around, street markets, the proximity of the city and we felt like we could make a really nice base here to build our lives and art practices.
I was searching for cute shops to work with to potentially exhibit and share my work and while I was googling and looking for shops on instagram I found de werkwinkel + meer - a shop focused predominantly on printed artworks, beautifully designed homewares and goods, and run by a funny and kind shopkeeper Lian. We got to know each other more and I worked in the shop every now and then on a Sunday. Lian had the shop for 5 years and was ready for her own new adventure, which was when we decided to knuckle out a transition plan and I would be able to be the owner of this special little space! We negotiated whilst I was doing my residency in Taiwan October/November 2019, and at the end of December I signed the lease officially!
my exhibition Every Flower in the Forest at de werkwinkel+meer in April 2019
Lian’s shop in 2019 - there are lots of similarities carried through in our concepts
receiving good news about getting the space! thanks for always celebrating with me Bobo (and Chad in the background)
What were you looking for in a location?
To be honest I couldn’t have ever imaged owning/running a space like pansy in Amsterdam - the rent in this city is astronomical, let alone for two self-employed artists who were starting again in a city with no stable income, contracts, or contacts…
Bobo and I always dreamed of running a little studio & shop space with a cafe, where we would live upstairs. Bobo would run the cafe, make and publish zines and draw all day. I would make fresh flower bouquets, stationery, and artworks. We would run our shop, make things, and welcome people in. At the end of the day we would go upstairs, watch our favourite tv shows, make spring rolls, sleep, and have a cute dog. (This is still an existing dream, I would love to have a space with Bobo, but it’s probably in our 10 year plan)
I fell in love with the location immediately - it’s nestled amongst a very cosy part-residential part-retail street in Amsterdam where our neighbours live upstairs and the street is lined with independent shops, cafes, and workspaces. It’s central yet tucked away. I really love this area so much and even though it doesn’t get the same amount of foot traffic as the centre of Amsterdam, it’s so charming and sweet.
The space itself is divided neatly into an upstairs (where the shop is) and downstairs (where my workspace, studio, kiln, packaging area, and workshop space amalgamates into a very chaotic and messy spot) I love being able to welcome people in with a big beautiful window, show them around the shop, and eventually lead them downstairs to see the studio where all the magic of making happens. I think it’s nice for people to be able to see the process and that everything is carefully considered, handmade and not mass-produced.
What changes did you make to the space and what are your plans?
When Lian left her shop, I inherited a few bits of furniture, hardware, shelving, the counter space. The shell of the shop was already so beautiful. Bobo and I went to pick out some paint colours, we gave left side of the shop a fresh layer of pansy purple paint, re-painted the shop floor, and painted a rug on the studio floor. I envisioned a few pieces of custom furniture that display key things in the shop (a rack of hanging prints, a modular peg-board shelf for the front area, and a big central table that could also hold lots of storage) and so I did some rough drawings and my smart and sweet friend Jim helped me bring them to life!
Through the year I’ve had so many changes as pansy (and I!) grow and need different things. This past year we’ve: put in extra shelving near the kiln to store all the pansy pack bisque shapes, upgraded the studio shelving so it’s extra compact and perfect for storing everything beautifully, installed strip lighting above the kiln, re-arranged the storage dungeon dozens of times, installed a new shelf in the toilet area, got pastel plastic crates that have drastically increased the cuteness, convenience and organisation of the space.
Some things I’d really love to upgrade/install/improve pansy: a curtain rod for the studio door for when I need to cocoon myself in work and not be seen through the windows, adjustable tables for the studio, a projector for movie nights and fun presentations, a second gift wrap roll dispenser, make a giant ceramic planter for my precious eucalyptus plant, and a cuter office chair for me to sit my big butt on.
How did you set up the business?
I put together a business plan as well as a rough financial plan that included an investment budget, operational budget, personal expense budget, as well as my estimated income for the business (scary part!)
some slides from my business plan - December 2019
It gave my vision clarity and was presented to the real estate agency so that they could approve the concept and ensure that pansy would be a positive addition the street and neighbourhood. (Unfortunately most of the plans and especially the timeline was thrown out the window with the corona situation)
I had a lump of hard-earned savings in my australian bank account that I transferred into euros (very painful) which funded my initial investment budget including:
administration
deposit and first month of rent for the space
handover/transition cost for Lian
business insurance, utility costs
registration for a bunch of app subscriptions and services
interior
general furniture
custom furniture from jim
wall paint
laser cut shapes for window display
extra lighting (standing lamps, lighting for kitchen area, desk lamps)
exterior
fresh plants to make the garden look cute
window vinyl for pansy logo and opening hours
A-frame signage
branding
business branding from the amazing Beau Colin
website, hosting, and domain
business cards & printed paraphernalia (gift cards, postcards, thank you notes, stickers)
packaging (still one i’m constantly upgrading and investing more into)
initial photoshoot for the space
marketing (online with paid promotions and flyers)
workshop space & materials
general stationery
print-based materials
10 foldable chairs
two tables
watercolour, gouache, palettes
a butt tonne of clay and glazes
a kiln and accessories
shop
first round of stock purchasing
shop accessories (bags, stickers, tissue paper, tape, price stickers, stationery)
unpacking the first round of stock (predominantly australian makers)
my first batch of pansy branded printed stickers!
the day that the sign got installed it all started feeling very real!
What was 2020 like?
some challenging pansy-related things from the past year:
finding permanent housing in amsterdam
deciding to cancel and refund over 60 workshop bookings in september :(
navigating a new business during the pandemic and trying to understand what i should and shouldn’t do (i was reaaaally hesitant and resistant to switching to working/selling online)
being closed from december 2020 - march 2021
our landlord being mean and not open to negotiating rent, and not being eligible for any government-funded small business corona support schemes
some highlights from the past year and things i’m really proud of:
working with new dream stockists (the maker store, klin d’oeil, diy art shop, modern love store)
launching pansy packs (painting) in november 2020 and in january 2021 (making) and seeing them so loved and well-received
wiener week: a week long celebration of schlongs
being published in a few magazines that i love so so much (mollie makes, origin magazine, 91 magazine, spellbound, and poco magazine coming up)
generally speaking i take mondays off now and i’m getting really good at sitting on the couch all day and not think about work (this is a recent change in my work schedule and i’m proud of it!)
learning to be and feeling more comfortable with social media (particularly instagram) this past year has taught me that sharing my process, journey, the grumpy mopey days and the happy days are so important
asking for and accepting help from Melly who now works like a powerhouse at pansy twice a week - and i’m so, so thankful for it
Lisa doing her internship at pansy - it wasn’t that long ago that I was somebody else’s intern and I feel really lucky that I can share my work process with her, and also get so much joy and help in return
Some things I’m really looking forward to and excited about:
There’s a bunch of new stock coming to pansy in the coming months!
Organising, creating and sharing Tiny Festival with Lisa in late July
Being able to host workshops again in the near future
Organising a series of tiny talks at pansy later in the year
Being open, welcoming you in, feeling really lucky that I get to do this every day and share it with you
pansy brand shapes 2020
wiener week 2020
holiday season 2020
flower weekend 2021
Thank you so much for sticking around and reading through this very long story. For being the reason why I do what I do. For all your support, love, encouragement, enthusiasm, kind words, and cheering. I am so happy and so proud of pansy, and I’m looking forward to seeing you soon!