When Katie Ford rediscovered her passion for painting during lockdown she never dreamt it would lead to a whole new venture.
The mum-of-two, from Moulton, has always loved art and after coming up with some quirky animal pictures with her daughter – including a cute painting of a guinea pig in a wig – she has launched her own greeting cards and giftware business in partnership with best friend Amie Carter, of Spalding.
Under the name Animoo Art they sell cards, prints, table mats, tea-towels, coasters, cosmetic bags and other items bearing Katie’s adorable designs, at shows, online and in shops nationwide.
“I’ve always loved art, it was a favourite subject when I was at school,” says Katie, 50, who is farms director at A H Worth. “I studied fine art at Nottingham University but never thought that far ahead about a career in it. When faced with the reality of what I wanted to do, I had to be realistic – I needed a job. I started working for Bakkavor and stayed there a long time.
“I ended up pursuing a career in technical and more recently agriculture, but I still missed the art although I did a few bits in the background, just messing around, until we went into lockdown and like everyone else, I had more time on my hands.
“I sat down and painted some silly pictures with my daughter. She came up with some rhyming ideas, like guinea pigs in wigs, a beaver with a retriever and sloths with moths. That was the starting point.
“I chatted things through with Amie, who I’ve been friends with since we were really young, and we decided we’d do something with it.”
The pair began with greetings cards featuring Katie’s animal artwork – all produced in watercolour and finished with ink liner over the top to highlight the details.
Amie, 47, who works for printing company Warners, in Bourne, used her expertise to get the range off the ground and their cards were initially sold on Etsy before they moved to a platform called Faire, where they sell items wholesale. Amie handles all the behind-the-scenes admin and organisation while Katie concentrates on the art.
Animoo Art is also stocked in Birchgrove Garden Centre, Pinchbeck, and Watatunga Wildlife Reserve, near King’s Lynn, and the pair also attend events including Sandringham Game and Country Fair and Burghley Horse Trials.
“I’ve drawn pretty much every animal you can think of,” adds Katie, “They’re mostly domestic animals, especially lots of dogs as I also do commissions, but I’ve also painted sloths and narwhals – anything you can think of! There’s a lot of wildlife too plus hares and farm animals; there’s plenty of inspiration all around me.
“At one point I thought it would be fun to paint the alphabet of different animals, all wearing a piece of clothing that began with the same letter. It was going fine until I got down to the X and Y!
“The business has just grown since 2020 when we started with stationery and paper goods – and it all came about with silly stuff to amuse me and my daughter. It always surprises me that the most popular designs are anything to do with guinea pigs or sausage dogs, so they always feature in any new collection.
“Most of the ideas we come up with are silly and often come about under the influence of prosecco! But that’s the thing I love – the reactions of people, seeing the amusement my work brings that’s what keeps us wanting to do it, plus there’s the fun factor of doing it with your best mate. Amie is absolutely amazing and makes it so much fun.”
Animoo Art’s next event is Stamford Christmas Market, on Sunday, November 24, which the pair say is one of their favourites to attend because of the atmosphere and great turnout.
The name Animoo Art stems from when Katie’s children were younger and called animals ‘animoos’ instead.
“It just felt right to call it that,” she adds. “Now I spend most evenings, weekends and holidays working on this and book time off if we have a show. I have a full-time job already, but I like to think at some point it might take up more of my time.
“I’ve got so many images that were drawn during lockdown, so it’s nice to be able to find different ways to use them.
“Our families have been absolutely fantastic; everybody, including my parents, help out if we have a show. We’ve had such a lovely response it’s lovely to think that people want to have my artwork hanging on their wall, or buy it as a gift for someone else.”
*To find out more visit animooart.co.uk
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