If it’s got something to do with making your website and systems do all the things.
I’m your girl.
Hey, I’m Gem, the web, branding, systems and planner nerd behind Create & Bloom Strategy + Design. I work with small creative business owners and entrepreneurs to craft, develop and crystallize an online presence and voice for their products and services as well as going deep into integrating systems to make businesses run smoother.
I have been working in marketing, graphic design and building WordPress websites since 2013 – I am totally self-taught and I love helping creative business owners make their products and services shine.
I’ve worked with small business owners to multi-million-pound businesses including Coaches, Retail Brands, Yoga Teachers, Techno DJ’s, Reiki Practitioners, Photographers, Artists, Fashion Designers, Property Developers, Museums and CryptoCurrency brands.
Their common denominator? Creating a home and strategy for the voices of their brands that sells their stuff and does exactly what their customers need it to do.
Online business is a wonderful world of possibility but you need the setup and systems that get the job done with ease and without the overwhelm.
That’s where I can step in and help you get sh*t DONE.
Create & Bloom Core Brand Values
Strategic & Aligned
Be strategic and offer a smooth route to clients that feels aligned to their business values.
Always be Learning
Keep learning and stay on top of new tech and marketing systems.
Keep the excitement
Work with clients whose business goals and ethos excite me.
Create & Bloom
Create planning tools to help clients build and crystallise their messages but allows the “behind the scenes” to grow and develop alongside their business goals.
Why I do this & How I got here
Having my own business was in my blood from a young age. I have memories of making “face cream” out of random things from the garden and pretending I had a shop. (Think plastic pouch and staple packaging. Haha) The fire stayed with me right through college and university, but even after business classes inside my Fashion Design degree it wasn’t enough to point me in the right direction.
After graduating back in 2009, I continued drawing, making and developing my creative skills whilst working full time. Then, when the time came to start a business in 2012, I felt like I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and I didn’t feel like had the support I needed to get there – unlike nowadays where you can find thousands of courses online.
I even took myself back to college after graduating from University, to start a whole new career path that led to me working a corporate job that I hated. I think this only made me more determined to learn more about business and marketing whenever I wasn’t in work. I became obsessed with spending every minute outside of work, working on my skills and picking up sporadic freelancing jobs. The journey of a creative trying to figure it all out while holding onto the hope of one day quitting the nine to five that you never wanted to sign up for is damn tough. But, it finally happened for me in 2015.
I put everything that I had built and learned in the last three years into practice and started helping other artists and designers set up a creative business and craft a voice through their marketing and website inside my membership community, A Place for Creation.
It soon became my mission to help other creatives and business owners STAY positively creative, be happy about it and map out a path that worked for them with a boatload of tech and marketing help along the way.
Sure, my route here could have been a lot smoother but, I guess if it was plain sailing, I probably wouldn’t be doing this right now. Everything happens for a reason.
I am a big believer in grabbing hold of your creative flair with both hands and leading it in a direction that suits you rather than letting other factors (or other people) steer it for you. – If it’s not lighting you up, then it’s going to drag you down a rabbit hole of doing what you don’t love, for someone else.
Fun Facts
- I studied Fashion Design at Leeds Art University. (Funnily enough, I debated a website design degree for a while)
- I have a second business which is where I actually started out and eventually became a massive tech nerd and ended up here; doing both and I love it. Check out mantraandmoon.com if you feel like being nosy.
- I won an award from Dragon, Theo Paphitis for Mantra + Moon.
- I lived in and ran my business from 3 different countries before moving back to the shire (Cheshire, UK)
- I became a mum in April 2020 to a little girl who is absolutely awesome. Cue p.a.n.d.e.m.i.c new mum spiel… blah blah blah.
- I am a super duper massive Harry Potter geek. – I’m in Ravenclaw and my Patronus is a Mountain Hare 💪 #HP4LIFE
- If I’m not shopping for stationery that I don’t actually need, you’ll find me spending time with my little family or playing video games (if I have time – ha) or nerding out about new systems and being a total workaholic.
- My favourite author after JK Rowling is Gabby Bernstein. Both of these ladies have changed my life in so many ways.
- I have a weird (Is it weird? 🤷♀️ ) obsession with maps – If it has a map on it, it’s likely I will either want to buy it or just stare at it and dream of distant lands. (Sagittarius through and through) – If you’ve got a travel blog let’s talk 😂)
- I have a huge interest in astrology, esoteric philosophies, poetry & meditation.
Crafting visual voices for creative business owners is my speciality.
So, if you want to start taking your business to the next level with a brand that you love OR if you are in need of a brand refresh, I am here to help you get your ideas off the ground.
If you are ready to crystalise your online presence and voice with visuals and a home that makes your products & services shine, here is how I can help:
My Latest Instagram Posts
You can find me @gemmalouise.k
