Turning a Passion for “Making Things” into an income

If you love your hobby, you'll be interested to read how one mum turned her passion for making things into a business.

KeepStakes was set up by Julie Begbie after she spotted the lack of unusual celebration gifts. She says, “I have always enjoyed making things and I was looking for a way to generate myself an income as my regular job meant I had to leave my little boys in nursery every day (or whatever you want to say). Around the time of my youngest son’s christening, a few friends had mentioned to me that they had struggled to find an unusual gift, so I started to think about personalised presents. A friend told me about a fantastic homemade Christening gift that she had received for her son’s Christening. It comprised of a wooden chopping board, cut in half, with a stick nailed to it and an engraved plaque glued to the board. The detail on the plaque was her son’s name and the date of his christening. The wooden stake was designed to be placed in front of a newly planted tree to make the occasion. I loved the sentiment of the gift and tried to find something similar on the internet. Surprisingly, I could not find anything remotely like it so, with my friend’s approval, my business opportunity was born."

SInce then, Julie has worked on her designs and now offers hand engraved aluminum plaques, with your own choice of text, to place in front of a special tree or plant, making your garden full of lasting memories. Whether you want to mark the birth of a new child or grandchild, a wedding, or even the passing of a family member or pet, an engraved garden plaque makes sure that memories never fade.

Each plaque can be engraved with up to five lines of text with 50 characters on each line. Choose a personalised message or quotation and add a date to form a lasting marker of any event. Planting a tree and adding the plaque can even be an intrinsic part of a ceremony.

Find out more about KeepStakes online at www.keepstakes.co.uk, email info@keepstakes.co.uk, telephone 0845 833 0039, or write to KeepStakes, 1 Waterloo Bank, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 8NS.