I'm Hannah and I'm the owner of Yellowstone. I'm 28 and I have a degree in Fine Art. I am a designer and I sell my work in Yellowstone, along with other British artists. I have always wanted to have a store so I was working towards it for years before opening. Technically I started the store in March 2011 as a sole trader and then in March 2016 we became a Limited Company!
What do you do besides working at YS?
I've spent lots of 2016 planning my Wedding, which was a pretty cool thing to do in my spare time! Apart from that I'd say yoga and eating out are my favourite things. Along with watching Home & Away (yep it is still going). Me and my husband bought our first home in September 2015 so working on that, and planning how we are going to improve it is great fun. Actually doing the DIY is another matter but we are learning on the job.
What is your favourite product/maker at YS?
This is tough one because we only stock work that I LOVE... but today I'd say Stolen Form. The brick vases are functional, practical and fun. Cannot be faulted. The yellow one is my favourite (what a surprise).
I'm a jack of all trades so I think it's my diversity. I'd say I'm good at working on 20 totally different things in one day so can happily go from painting a Christmas card, to ordering carrier bags, and scheduling wages. Hopefully my designing (and making lots of the work we sell) is a plus too- otherwise the shop would be a little empty.
My role at Yellowstone can be confusing to people because I do a bit of everything. We are predominantly a shop, so I'm a shop keeper. But we also have 3 online shops so we also manage those. As well as design new products and producing personalised work on a daily basis. I have an accountant (who is a God send) but I still do most of the financial side of the business myself. Sometimes I think I need to just pick one thing and concentrate on that but I love that no two days are the same. Tonight I need to go to the shop to replace a tube light - oh the glamour.
Did I mention that I also design Wedding Stationery for Yellowstone Paper Works?
What has been your favourite day/time working at YS?
I love the end of summer just as Autumn starts. It's when we are busy planning what we are going to buy for Christmas stock which always feels so exciting. It's also the calm before the storm so we are trying to get as much work as possible done before the shop goes crazy busy!
and finally, Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
I own a tandem bike and a table tennis table but can't use either very well...
Hannah x