Introducing...

Hi, I'm Rose and I've been at the helm of StickyTiki for over a near now. After all this time perhaps I should introduce myself! I live in Christchurch with my husband and our two year old son. We live in a 1950s brick house in the suburbs with our dog and three chooks.

I've always enjoyed art and craft, and tried my hand at many creative pursuits in my youth. My Mum is very crafty, and taught me all the essentials like sewing, knitting, spinning and weaving. In latter years she picked up bobbin lace which she has become very proficient at. Both of my grandmothers enjoyed painting along with other crafty pursuits, and encouraged my interest in art.

I chose graphic design as a career option as it fitted in well with my interest in drawing and art. Since then I have worked in various jobs, from pre-press for screenprinting to publishing and advertising. I enjoyed my work, but I wanted to get back to my creative roots and do something more hands on. I picked up an earlier hobby of candlemaking and began learning how to turn craft into a business.

After several years of running my business Rose in Thorns – making candles and doing freelance graphic design, I still felt I needed something else. When the opportunity arose to purchase StickyTiki, I jumped at the chance. My first job had involved using a similar, but much older printer, and I liked the idea of owning one myself. With having a young son, making decals for children's room was a good fit, along with getting back into painting and drawing to create new designs. I'm still working on that, but as they say, good things take time!

One thing I am passionate about is collaborating with other designers. This means I can offer a wider range of designs, and support local designers as well. Throughout the years working in design and participating in local craft markets, I have met many talented people. I am currently working with three designers and artists, and have more lined up. I have even collaborated with my candle business, designing decals for soy votive candles to create a new range!

I've got lots of ideas for the future, I just have to fit them in around running two businesses and raising my son. So that should keep me out of trouble for a while! In the meantime, here are some pics of previous work I've done.