silly seal ✶ small art biz

@sillyseal.co.uk

363 Followers 1584 Following

✶ handmade accessories, art + apparel ✶ nostalgia, pop culture + activism inspired ✶ owner: @flynntheseal.bsky.social 🦭 ✶ neurodivergent + lgbtqia+ owned 🌈♾️ ✶ sillyseal.co.uk + https://silly-seal-shop.fourthwall.com ✶ mdni 🔞 ✶ ai sucks, f*ck ice + free 🍉

hand-painted grey seal sticking it's pink tongue out with the text above reading "tysm for your support (ㅅ´ ˘ `)"
hi friends, this is a bit of a less light-hearted post. my small biz is struggling really badly and i don't know what to do. i haven't had any sales since 5th june and visits to the website have hit an all-time low. i'm doing my best and working hard to promote my shop alongside making products but it's not having the effect i'd hoped. i love creating and i have done my whole life. i'd spend most days doing crafts with my brother + parents growing up in rural ireland and it instilled such a sense of creativity within in. i started silly seal during the 1st lockdown in the uk during the start of the covid-19 pandemic as a way to express myself + support myself as i finished my bsc degree. i spent all of my time making products, social posts, packaging etc. and things slowly started to grow! fast forward to now - i have my own website after leaving the horrors of etsy and it's been really hard to encourage people to give my art a chance and visit my shop to browse. i'm disabled + chronically ill and i cannot work a traditional 9-5 job in an office or even at home due to my medical issues. i have two degrees which i worked so hard for that i cannot use. i hide the certificates bc seeing them upsets me so much. i say all this not for pity or even sympathy but maybe empathy. i'm struggling a lot trying to make some kind of future for myself and i'd hoped selling my art would help me. i love just sharing my art ofc but selling it is also important to me in order to support myself and improve my quality of life. i'm going to be doing everything i can to boost up my shop views + hopefully secure some sales <3 all i ask is that you can find it in your heart to spend a few seconds visiting the website or ♡/⟳ social posts. i need all the help i can get to keep my dream going. thank you for listening (to this very long message)
four images of work in progress keyrings arranged in a square, text in the centre reads "wips :3" 1: pale pink wooden circular keyring with a rough pencil sketch of a close up grey seal face (with light grey muzzle) with it's tongue poking out 2: light blue wooden circular keyring with a rough pencil sketch of a light grey seal with a loading symbol on it's forehead 3: dark blue wooden circular keyring with a rough pencil sketch of a light grey seal smiling with slightly angry/confused downward pointing eyebrows and a question mark next to it 4: white wooden circular keyring with a rough pencil sketch of a light beige seal facing sideways with a party hat on and confetti in the background
smiski-inspired face (bright green circle with a displeased-looking mouth, an upside down triangle outline nose and two darker green dots for eyes) on a stick figure body with it's hands in the arm and lines representing that they are in motion. surrounding the design is text that reads "the vibe i bring to the function". the background is a thin-line grid pattern.
image showing a portion of a bar chart. the bar for 18th july (yesterday as this post is being made on 19th july) reads: "visitors: 1"
circular wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out their bright pink tongue.
text reads: new apparel with an emoticon of a character pumping their fist in the air white sweatshirt with circular design of a hand-painted grey seal with angry eyebrows/expression poking out it's pink tongue with a speech bubble that reads "f*ck ice" white t-shirt with a circular design of a hand-painted dark green grub in the centre with the words "all hail the grubbies" surrounding it
pale pink wooden circular keyring with a rough sketch of a zoomed in seal face with it's tongue poking out
hand-painted teal wooden keyring featuring a grey spotted seal (centre) poking out it's pink tongue with bright green alien antennae. there are white bubble outlines on each side of the seal. the keyring is hanging on a lilac bag with a watermelon and bear keychain visible.
hand-painted grey spotted seal with angry eyebrows/expression sticking out it's pink tongue with a speech bubble that reads "f*ck ice".
white mug with f*ck ice seal design (hand-painted grey seal with angry eyebrows/expression pokes out it's pink tongue with a speech bubble that reads "f*ck ice")
screenshot of a shop website. 4x images with different products with the f*ck ice seal design (hand-painted grey seal with angry eyebrows/expression with speech bubble saying "f*ck ice". left to right products: white t-shirt, white sweatshirt, white mug, white sticker
white sweatshirt with design in centre: f*ck ice speech bubble text coming from a hand-painted grey seal with angry eyebrows + expression
digital design with a hand-painted green grub creature in the middle surrounded by the text "all hail the grubbies" in a scribbly doodle font
webpage showing four products with "all hail the grubbies" design (hand-painted grub motif in centre with text surrounding): white t-shirt £15.25, white sweatshirt £22.88, white mug £7.63, white circular sticker £3.81.
website showing three products - white all hail the grubbies sweatshirt, all hail the grubbies white mug and white all hail the grubbies circular sticker. all hail the grubbies design: hand-painted dark green grub-like bug design (similar to caterpillar) is in the centre with the words "all hail the grubbies" surrounding it.
speech bubble coming from a round grey spotted seal with it's pink tongue poking out. speech bubble text: let me know what you'd like to see in the shop. small text underneath seal: what is this...a new mascot maybe...?
circle wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out out their bright pink tongue. the keyring is attached to a purple bag alongside a monchhichi bear charm and a felted watermelon charm
circle wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out out their bright pink tongue.
8 x hand-painted keyrings arranged in a 4x2 grid. each keyring is approx. 3cm in diameter and has a lobster clasp that matches the colours of the designs. left to right: bright green keyring with bug design and two yellow stars, teal keyring with a grey seal (with alien antennas) sticking it's tongue out with bubbles in the background, bright red keyring with "tory hater" written on it, white keyring with a digital pet/tamagotchi inspired design with a sprout on it's head, white keyring with a green-blue battery design with a little shocked face, pale yellow keyring with a melting ice cube and the words "melt ice", white keyring with a fluffy teddy bear (half lavender, half pale yellow with pastel colour sprinkles) and lilac keyring with a bright yellow star that reads "my head hurts" in alternating bright colours.
circle wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out out their bright pink tongue.
all: 3cm circle wooden keyrings with lobster clasps matching the colour described in each ALT text. all designs are hand-painted. 1. keyring with bright green background with a bug creature (painted in three tones of sage green) with two pale yellow stars (one on each side of the bug). background is horizontal sage green and white striped bedding with a slight wavy texture 2. background colour is a light teal and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out their bright pink tongue. 3. deep red background with the words "tory (in white) hater (in black with a white rectangle background)". 4. plain white background. in the middle there is a design of a tamagotchi-inspired digital pet with a yellow base and bright pink top, the screen is a teal colour with a surprised face painted in black. there is a bright green sprout on top of the pet. 5. plain white background. the design in the middle is of a rechargeable battery with a shocked face painted in black and a dark blue handle at the top. the battery itself is painted in a blue to green gradient. 6. pale yellow background with blue ice cube and melting droplets with the words "MELT ICE" in dark blue hand-drawn lettering. background is horizontal sage green and white striped bedding with a slight wavy texture 7. plain white background. the design in the middle resembles a teddy bear with half the body a light purple colour (with lighter paws) and the other side pale yellow with yellow, light purple, pink and light blue sprinkles painted on. the paws on this side are a darker yellow. the face in the centre is painted on a lighter purple to the purple side with a disgruntled looking face painted in black. 8. lilac background with a bright yellow star with the words "my head hurts" in alternative blue, green, red and pink hand-drawn lettering. background is horizontal sage green and white striped bedding with a slight wavy texture
handmade polymer clay earrings on a circular wood slice. earrings are made up of two marble silver, grey and white sparkly semi-circles with 3 teal and white marble droplet shapes attached via silver jump rings on each semi-circle. the earrings have silver hooks.
image is of a person holding up a keyring to the camera. the keyring is a small approximately 3cm in diameter circle painted a pale blue. the design is of a grey seal with huge white eyes holding up the progress pride flag. it is unfinished and is a work in progress.
image of approximately 3 inch by 3 inch circle magnet with a hand-painted design of a grey seal sat on a blue chair at a desk with a computer monitor, keyboard, a plate with a fish on it, a water effect deskmat and a green pot holding the ukraine and palestine flags.
circle wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out out their bright pink tongue.
circle wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out out their bright pink tongue.
circle wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out out their bright pink tongue. background: attached to a light purple bag strap with a small brown bear plush keychain and a felted watermelon keychain.
circle wooden hand-painted keyring. background colour is a light teal (with a matching lobster clip) and white bubbles/popped bubbles. in the middle a grey spotted seal is drawn with bright green alien antennas and is sticking out out their bright pink tongue.
3cm wooden keyring painted with a pale yellow background with a blue ice cube and melting droplets with the words "MELT ICE" in dark blue hand-drawn lettering. keyring clasp is a bright yellow lobster clasp.
wooden hand-painted (light teal/sage) approx. 3cm by 3cm keyring with a grey spotted seal poking it's pink tongue out with bright green alien antennas. thin white line art bubbles and pop motifs in the background (1 set of both on each side of seal).
3cm wooden keyring painted with a lilac background with a bright yellow star with the words "my head hurts" in alternative blue, green, red and pink hand-drawn lettering. keyring clasp is a purple lobster clasp.
3cm wooden keyring painted with a lilac background with a bright yellow star with the words "my head hurts" in alternative blue, green, red and pink hand-drawn lettering. keyring clasp is a purple lobster clasp.
3cm wooden keyring painted with a lilac background with a bright yellow star with the words "my head hurts" in alternative blue, green, red and pink hand-drawn lettering. keyring clasp is a purple lobster clasp.
3cm wooden keyring painted with a lilac background with a bright yellow star with the words "my head hurts" in alternative blue, green, red and pink hand-drawn lettering. keyring clasp is a purple lobster clasp.
circular keyring painted bright green with a dark sage green grub/bug painted on with 1 light yellow star each side. keyring is a pastel green lobster clasp.