Blog Articles

Well that was a lovely unexpected surprise in my inbox this Friday morning!  What a way to welcome the weekend.  Shropshire's Best Homeware Designer, 2020 Heres a little about the SME NEWS The SME Awards brought to you by SME News celebrate the success stories of one of the most important sectors in the UK economy. At the start of 2017 small businesses alone accounted for 99.3% of all private sector businesses, making the sector the beating heart of the UK economy. An SME is a small or medium-sized enterprise. Typically, they are defined as having fewer than 250...

Yesterday I had an email from BBC Radio Shropshire asking if I'd be part of their morning programme called "Make a Difference”. The show looks at bringing positive news to the radio, whether that’s people re-opening their businesses, helping others out or making face masks etc. Presenters Clare and Eric asked me about my business, the move during lockdown, how it’s all been and how it’s been going so far! There has been so much change for us so it was exciting to discuss it all.  When you're full on heads down and getting on with what you're trying to achieve, you forget...

Award-winning home and giftware designer, Meg Hawkins, has found herself at the centre of a very special collaboration with charity Marie Curie, which cares for those living with terminal illness and offers vital support to their loved The project began in September 2019 when Meg met Joanna Mazzotta, who manages the Creative New Product Development for Marie Curie. They met at the Autumn Fair at the NEC, Birmingham and exchanged Once the fair was over, they remained in touch and had many conversations deliberating which designs and items would be best for the...

Paint yourself happy! Why watercolour painting is good for your Self-care is quite rightly becoming an increasingly discussed topic in today’s hectic world. The importance of focusing on yourself a little more and in taking steps to look after your physical and mental health should not be underestimated. Doing things for you creates positive feelings, gives you a confidence boost and reminds you of what makes you happy. Watercolour painting (in fact, any painting) is a great way to de-stress and is incredibly therapeutic. Everyone should have a go at discovering their inner...

We recently had the most wonderful night full of spirit, fun and laughter, whilst raising money for an extremely important cause.   Raising awareness for these causes is hard work – we all like to donate and contribute to causes we care about, but often people can’t afford to donate to all the worthwhile causes they wish they could.   Help can be given in so many creative ways – in this case through neighbours, friends and acquaintances all coming together and showing a fabulous sense of community. The hard work of everyone involved meant the evening had a huge impact, raising...

This year our rural studio in Shropshire turns 10! Yes…it’s been 10 whole years since we turned the Old Dairy Parlour into a rustic photo studio. We have created so much in there, adding more and more to its story and bringing it to life once again.   It has a fabulous infinity wall for portraits, commercial images and products, it has seen fashion, fine art and creative shoots. It’s also seen excitement in the form of super bike and Daka Cars shoots.   We explored various avenues of how to best utilise the space, breathing an air of imagination, inspiration and creativity into...

We set off to bonny Scotland in the early hours on Saturday morning, watching the sun come up over the picturesque mountains and countryside, which was a bonus of the long car journey and slightly made up for the extremely early Hello We made it to the SEC mid-morning and set up our small but perfectly formed stand, brought to life with our picture. We were excited to find out what the next few days would Once set up we decided to be tourists for the afternoon and explore the city. We loved Glasgow – there was so much to see and so little time! It has amazing...

We can’t quite believe it, but we have reached a whole year at our shop in the Pride Hill Shopping Centre, This milestone has come around so quickly and we would love for everyone to join us in celebrating. The shop has transformed so much over the past 12 months (mainly because I like to refresh the shelves regularly!) and we now feel as though we have truly made it our own and put our stamp on Thinking back to the day we got the keys is a bit surreal now - it was an empty shell and the task seemed quite daunting to say the least! This anniversary also coincides...

Visual merchandising is all about developing your retail space and displays in a beautiful way, ensuring that products are placed in such a way that their features are highlighted and This year has been so busy, we’ve been chatting about changing the window display of our shop for a while now – but time keeps passing by! Well…we take Thursdays as our day off (in theory, not so much in practice!). So, on Thursday last week we loaded up the van and headed to the shop. It was finally time to create a new The conversation between Mr H and I went something like...

This year I had the opportunity to speak at Countryfile Live. Sometimes an opportunity comes along and you’ve just got to embrace it…easier said than done!   Most of the week I’d been nervous about speaking on such a prominent stage. The dreaded butterflies were there and so were the thoughts that I’d say the wrong thing, or even go blank and not be able to say anything!   I want to say a big thank you to Jemma and Anna from the Rural Business Awards for this fantastic opportunity to talk all things business with Jules Hudson and for supporting me. The day felt like chatting to...

They say licensing is about waiting and being patient before you can share exciting news publicly. Well…here is our latest awesome news which has just arrived in the It’s been a year in the making but we can finally announce our latest collaboration with the amazing The RNLI is an incredible charity and we are over the moon to have worked with them for this. You’ll find this design, which I absolutely loved creating, in their 2019 Christmas card Be sure to grab a pack and support this worthwhile cause, whilst sending friends and family beautiful cards....

ILLUSTRATIONS AND CHILDRENS 2014 - In 2016 Meg Hawkins Illustrations was founded with the idea of creating quirky and fun loving illustrations, from which a series of children books called ‘The adventures of Scratch and Hedgy’ was born. Over 12 months Meg’s books became popular and the demand for grew. Her books are full of morals as the stories of a special friendship between Scratch the dog and Hedgy the hedgehog develop. She produced 12 in the series and then went on to writing and illustrating two more children’s books, ‘Journey to Lost Toy Island’ and...

Whilst checking my emails on a chilly morning back at the beginning of the year, one caught my eye. It was from BBC Radio Shropshire asking whether I would like to go in for an interview with Jim Hawkins on the breakfast show.   My initial reaction was that it was a great opportunity and I was thrilled that they had invited me BUT…could I do this? Public speaking live is not something that I am confident doing. I was straight away imagining that I might say the wrong thing on radio or worse, that they might have to use the BLEEP a few times! However, I plucked up a bit of courage and...

Attending the International Spring Fair 2019, the award-winning nature artist Meg Hawkins donated a limited edition signed print to a competition on WIDDOP’s magnificent stand. The framed Zebra watercolour print exemplifies Meg’s unique and beautiful style which has seen her win Best Home, Gift and Clothing Products at the glee Awards with her recent venture into giftware. Working in collaboration with the North Manchester based design-led giftware supplier, Meg’s delightful work is now available on a licensed range of home accessories and gift items from cushions to mugs and wall...

I am so thrilled to have been recognised by the prestigious Rural Business Awards, winning the Best Rural Business Start Up category. There were so many amazing businesses also up for the award from throughout the region – I am over the moon that our dedication and hard work has been For anyone that doesn’t know what the Rural Business Awards are, they began in 2014 and aim to give recognition to businesses operating right across the rural sector. They acknowledge the breadth of opportunity presented by the countryside and celebrate achievements in all industries from food...

Meg Hawkins Art has been shortlisted in the Midlands Best Rural Business Start Up Category of the Rural Business Awards 2018/19! Shropshire lass, Meg Hawkins is a licensed, published watercolour artist whose work features on greetings cards, prints, gifts and homeware. Her unique style and prolific work rate have earnt Meg loyal fans and customers throughout the UK since her brand was launched. She is thrilled to have been shortlisted by the Rural Business Awards in recognition of her brand’s intimate relationship with the countryside in which it was born. The Rural Business Awards...

Homeware and giftware supplier Widdop & Co. has added Shropshire artist Meg Hawkins to its portfolio of 22 brands, all of which are exclusive to the Meg Hawkins is a licensed, published watercolour artist, whose work features on greetings cards, prints, gifts and homeware. She said: “I’m delighted to be working with Widdop & Co., and their enthusiasm for my work and commitment to my brand has marked a significant development in the growth of MHA (Meg Hawkins Art]. “It’s been a real pleasure to design an exclusive collection for the company and I’m really excited...

JACQULAINE CHAMPION "I have long admired Meg's work and I have previously bought her cards and pictures. When Partridges London asked us to make a special box of chocolates for them, in connection with the Chelsea Flower show, I immediately thought of Meg for the artwork. Meg has been excellent to work with. Meg is happy to discuss ideas whilst keeping her integrated as an artist which is a perfect combination. I am very happy with the result that our joint collaboration and our client, Partridges London are also delighted with the finished box."

Artist signs deal at Harrogate Home & Gift Buyers' Festival. Meg Hawkins Art is delighted to announce her first ever FMCG and homewares license. My Gifts Trade will reproduce a range of Meg's pieces on home and giftware, which will launch in February 2018. Says Meg: 'This takes my art to a whole new audience and I'm so excited to be working with My Gifts Trade as they have such a strong heritage and work with a number of leading brands.' After exhibiting at several trade shows in the past few months, Meg Hawkins watercolour artist and designer has expanded her licensing more...