Jen Abbot
By Charlotte Rodgers
Monday 28th September 2009
Monday 28th September 2009
It is not often that a person is fortunate enough to transform a hobby into a business, especially when that person is a busy university student. However, for the University of St Andrews’ own Jen Abbott, aka JCdizzystar, hard work has made the dream a reality. From hand-painted shoes to tattoo designs and customised accessories, Jen has transformed her love of painting into a
lucrative and interesting side-project. Coming from a creative background influenced both by her experience working for the family circus and her study of henna-art, Jen has taken advantage of her unique past and channelled her talent to create distinctive, one-off products.
Within a year of first displaying a pair of her painted shoes at a music festival, Jen had set up a brand and a website in order to be able to exhibit and sell her shoes. Incorporating varying designs -from intricate patterns and images of personal meaning, to themed images and slogans- Jen makes shoes both for herself and friends, and also on a commission basis for individual customers. With each pair of shoes taking up to twenty hours of manual labour, both Jen and her customers have to be flexible in devising a realistic time-scale for production. However, citing painting as a personal love of hers, the student designer seems to have no problem painting in her free time alongside university work and additional commitments. Although this first business venture has been a success, Jen is in a similar position to many of her fellow students about to embark on their final year at university: there are many different career paths open to them, and the task of choosing is a difficult and daunting one. However, having thus far been able to balance her design and production process with her university commitments, Jen hopes to continue painting as a side-business whilst working a graduate job.
JCdizzystar shoes are now available at Anyone For Tennis, South Street, St Andrews. Alternatively, contact Jen directly at info@jcdizzystar.co.uk with your own original design specification.
lucrative and interesting side-project. Coming from a creative background influenced both by her experience working for the family circus and her study of henna-art, Jen has taken advantage of her unique past and channelled her talent to create distinctive, one-off products.
Within a year of first displaying a pair of her painted shoes at a music festival, Jen had set up a brand and a website in order to be able to exhibit and sell her shoes. Incorporating varying designs -from intricate patterns and images of personal meaning, to themed images and slogans- Jen makes shoes both for herself and friends, and also on a commission basis for individual customers. With each pair of shoes taking up to twenty hours of manual labour, both Jen and her customers have to be flexible in devising a realistic time-scale for production. However, citing painting as a personal love of hers, the student designer seems to have no problem painting in her free time alongside university work and additional commitments. Although this first business venture has been a success, Jen is in a similar position to many of her fellow students about to embark on their final year at university: there are many different career paths open to them, and the task of choosing is a difficult and daunting one. However, having thus far been able to balance her design and production process with her university commitments, Jen hopes to continue painting as a side-business whilst working a graduate job.
JCdizzystar shoes are now available at Anyone For Tennis, South Street, St Andrews. Alternatively, contact Jen directly at info@jcdizzystar.co.uk with your own original design specification.
