Category: Small Business

Small Business · Teapot Favour Boxes

My Journey from Teapot Collector to Designer

EsselleCraftsLeave a comment

My love of novelty teapots started when I first visited the old Cardew teapottery factory in Bovey Tracey, Devon. I was about twelve years old and was instantly captivated by all the intricate little details on the teapots and the extensive range of designs.

A view inside the gift shop of the old Cardew Teapottery in Bovey Tracey Devon

Intrigued by how they were made, I came away with my very own little teapot – this Victorian wash stand one cup design – and the behind the scenes booklet, which I studied at length.

A one cup novelty teapot designed to look like a Victorian wash stand with a small jug and bowl as the teapot lid
A booklet entitled The Cardew Teapot Collection
A page inside The Cardew Teapot Collection booklet showing a range of one cup novelty teapot designs

After subsequent visits to the pottery, my collection grew to include this tea chest design, the Welsh dresser and the Singer sewing machine – again, all one cup sizes.

A one cup novelty teapot designed to look like a wooden tea chest with a small teddy bear and newspapers as the teapot lid
A one cup novelty teapot designed to look like a dark wooden Welsh dresser with a small book and newspaper as the teapot lid
A one cup novelty teapot designed to look like a Singer sewing machine stand with a small black sewing machine as the teapot lid

I think it’s the vintage vibe that I’m drawn to with these teapot designs. They’re like a moment in history, captured in magnificent miniature detail. And speaking of miniatures, I still have my old ceramic tea set from when I was a child, still in its original packaging.

The box lid of a childs vintage ceramic tea set
A twelve piece childs vintage ceramic tea set consisting of four teacups four saucers a teapot with a lid a small milk jug and sugar bowl

Just look at that cute little teapot!

A small white ceramic teapot decorated with delicate summer flowers from a childs vintage tea set

Over the years, I often dreamt about making my own novelty teapots – not real ones that you could use for tea, but model ones that could be displayed on a shelf or in a shop window.

Fast forward to 2013, and that dream became a reality! Combining my love of teapots with my passion for papercraft, I was looking to create a small box in the style of a classic teapot design, an instantly recognisable form. I had a hexagonal shape in mind and it wasn’t long before I had created my very first teapot treat box!

A red papercraft teapot gift box decorated with white paper spots

At the time, there were no other teapot boxes like it anywhere and it soon became a hit. I had so many enquiries about it, asking whether there was a template available so that people could make their own versions. I set to work, creating the PDF template, which proved very popular, and then I converted it into an SVG cut file, which very quickly became my bestselling papercraft template!

A blue papercraft teapot gift box decorated with pink roses and white spots on the lid
A white papercraft tea set consisting of a teapot gift box paper teacup and saucer and tea plate all decorated with a pink rose design

I have never strayed far from my love of novelty teapots and now I have my very own range of novelty teapot gift box designs (21 to date), with many more residing on my to-do list, waiting patiently for their turn to shine!

Watch this space…

Suzanne

Small Business

#SBS Winners Event 2025

EsselleCraftsLeave a comment

Back in June 2020, I became a #SBS official winner over on Twitter after entering Small Business Sunday! This is a weekly initiative, set up by Theo Paphitis in 2010, which now has over 4,000 #SBS winners and supports small businesses here in the UK. 2025 sees the 15th anniversary of #SBS Small Business Sunday, since Theo launched it in October 2010.

Small Business Sunday official winners badge awarded to Esselle Crafts

I’d entered several times before, with no joy, and so I changed my pitch slightly and was thrilled to find out the following evening that I was one of six small businesses to gain a repost by Theo to his half a million Twitter followers!

A tweet from Theo Paphitis welcoming Esselle Crafts and five other small businesses as his Small Business Sunday winners

It’s incredible to have support from Theo because he’s recognised all of my hard work and has helped spread the word about what I do to his following. I was so thrilled I created this box card ‘award’ to celebrate my achievement! 🎉

A 3D paper craft box card made in the style of an award with stars popping out of it to celebrate Esselle Crafts winning SBS

Part of being a #sbswinner means that you are invited to attend the #SBSwinners event each year in Birmingham. For many reasons I was unable to attend until this year and, oh my goodness, it was amazing!

A view towards the stage at the SBS event 2025 inside the Birmingham ICC

I got to meet and network with lots of other winners, had opportunities to hear from businesses such as Google and Natwest on how to grow in business and got to hear from Theo Paphitis who spoke on stage. He is thrilled to welcome new #SBS members every week and highlight just how important it is to support small businesses here in the UK. His vision is that everyone who has ever won a #SBS re-tweet from him becomes part of a friendly club; like-minded individuals who can share successes and learnings.

A view of Theo Paphitis on the stage at the SBS event 2025 inside the Birmingham ICC

At the end of the event I collected my certificate and queued up to meet Theo and have a photograph taken with him. Such a proud moment!

Suzanne from Esselle Crafts receiving her SBS winners certificate from Theo Paphitis at the SBS event in Birmingham 2025

Anyone looking for a small business boost from Theo should post to him on X, LinkedIn or Instagram about their business on Sundays between 5pm and 7.30pm and include the hashtag #SBS. Six lucky businesses are chosen every Monday at 8pm and then invited to enter their profile on the #SBS website, attend the annual #SBS networking event and take advantage of the networking opportunities made available.

Absolutely can’t wait until next year to do it all again!

Suzanne