LOCKDOWN was a catalyst for a talented crafter to unleash her creative side and turn her hobby into a business.
Photography was always a hobby for Lynne Robinson who has taken thousands of photographs of the scenery in Teesdale. But it wasn’t until lockdown five years ago when she was unable to go far from her home in Startforth that she turned her hobby into a business, transforming her digital images into stylised works of art.
She said: “I have always been into photography, but it was lockdown that really started me off.
“I can’t stand being still and during lockdown because we couldn’t go very far, I was bored, and I decided to a have a fiddle using some of the photos I’d taken.”
Utilising a range of software programmes on her computer, Lynne stripped back the images to look like sketches, then using what she calls a “secret recipe” developed filters for her finished artwork.
“Lots of people have asked what software I used and how I do it, but I use a few and it’s like the secret ingredients to my recipe.
“I made the artwork into cards and sent a few to my friends because we couldn’t go anywhere. They asked where I’d got them and when I told them I’d made them, they said I should be selling them.”
Ravensworth Nurseries stocked six of Lynne’s designs after she approached them and continued to stock them until the nurseries closed.
Since then, Lynne has expanded her range of cards and now has more than 133 designs of iconic local landmarks and scenery along with a number featuring tractors and steam engines. She also prints her designs on to mugs and slates using a specialist sublimation printer.
She added: “I decided to go into printing my own rice paper and transferring the designs on to china mugs and I’ve printed onto slate as well making coasters and house plate names.
“I’ve always enjoyed doing my crafts and working from home fits in well with looking after my mum who has got Alzheimers.
As well as selling her designs directly through her online Etsy shop, Lynne Robinson Designs, her work is stocked in various outlets including the Tees’pot café in Middleton-in-Teesdale and now the Old Curiosity Shop in Barnard Castle.
Lynne said: “My designs of tractors and steam engines are always very popular, and I like to go to the steam shows, especially to Hunton to get the photos but I also like getting over to Cumbria when I know the steam trains are coming up the Settle line. I know the perfect spot to get a shot when they let out the steam and managed to get the Flying Scotsman.”
In addition to her digital artwork, Lynne also refurbishes and upcycles furniture using a combination of decoupage and paintwork to give items a new lease of life.
“I just don’t like being still and I love my crafting,” she added. “I do most of the upcycling in my craft shed, but I have just started doing journalling as well and I have my worktable in the kitchen.
“Not many people know that I do the upcycling but I will be taking part in the new Indie Market at Middleton-in-Teesdale and will have everything with me.”
