Abi Overland
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Abi Overland Jersey is a dinnerware brand founded in 2015 by illustrator Abi Overland. Abi graduated from a BA (Hons) Illustration from the University of Brighton in 2014 and freelanced for a short while before embarking on starting her own business.
Abi specialises in drawing aggressively detailed images of natural and organic matter creating surreal and other worldly landscapes to get lost in. The aim of the business was to create a range of intricately illustrated designs that are both contemporary and unique that still maintain a classic elegance.
Hand crafted to the finest quality in Stoke-on-Trent, the historic English home of fine bone china, this collection of dinnerware and tea sets are screen-printed and hand decorated with Abi’s delicate illustrations. Browse the sumptuous and exotic range of dinnerware and discover wonderfully unusual tabletop designs.
“Have faith that if you do the work and put the time in you'll reap the rewards.”
Tell us about your path to setting up your business and what motivated you?
I've always loved drawing and there's something very satisfying about seeing your designs translate into usable products that sit in people's homes and form a part of their story.
How do you work and what is a typical day like for you?
Each day is very different from the last and depends what sort of work I've got on, some days I spend the whole day at home drawing, some it's running around with meetings and admin and then there's markets. It's lovely to have such variety.
What are the best parts about your business?
Being my own boss, and knowing that I produce something that makes people happy.
What has been your greatest struggle as a business owner so far?
The stress, the longer I do it the easier it gets to handle. You learn to just not get stressed about money (easier said than done at times) and have faith that if you do the work and put the time in you'll reap the rewards.
What has been your biggest a-ha moment so far?
There's been loads, that's the thing with working for yourself. There will be something that worked for you for a while that now doesn't and you just keep changing it up. There might be parts that you tried and it just didn't work, that doesn't equal failure you just pick yourself up and start again.
Do you have any advice for other small business owners?
just keep going with it, there have been so many times I thought about just getting a job when work was slow or there was a quiet month of sales but I'm glad I didn't because it's peaks and troughs and that's so easy to forget.
What currently inspires you?
I like to get inspiration from everywhere, my work is mainly animals and nature but I like to grab little nuggets of inspiration from all over. It might be a film, a magazine article or a walk somewhere. It's about collating all this information your brain gets on a daily basis, picking out the good and turning it into something unique and fun.
You can contact and find me here
