Fancypantsrodgers: a childhood passion turned business

Fancypantsrodgers Illustration is a one-person, female-owned small business offering art prints, greeting cards, pocket mirrors, postcards, stickers and more.

Here, founder Jen Rodgers tells us about what prompted her to start the business, the challenges she faced as a new business owner and how Grow London Local has supported her business journey.

Tell us about your business and how it started.

I'm Jen, founder of Fancypantsrodgers Illustration and a freelance illustrator. I create colourful, quirky art prints, greeting cards and other lifestyle products for the bold and brave among us!

My work is a little different from what you'd find on the high street – ranging from whimsical nursery art and atmospheric dinosaur prints to pop-culture portraits celebrating LGBTQ+ icons.

My vision is to inject magic and sparkle into shops, markets and homes with collectable artworks that remain affordable for everyday shoppers.

I've been drawing my whole life. My grandfather used to bring home large design-plan sheets from his work, and I would draw anything and everything around me.

This eventually led to a BTEC in Art and Design, a degree in illustration from Kingston University, greeting card licensing work through The Bright Agency and having my prints stocked in the Signed & Numbered gallery in Melbourne, Australia.

For years, I balanced my art alongside full-time and part-time jobs so I could keep living in London. But in 2023, my health declined while I was working a part-time job that was essentially full-time hours, leaving little time for illustration.

With support from friends and family, I decided to take the leap and go full-time with my business in October 2023. The income isn't as regular as traditional employment, but I absolutely love it – it's my world!

What challenges have you've faced as a business owner?

Financially, it's been tough. I've been bootstrapping my business using savings and (at the moment), I'm not yet at the point where I can pay myself a regular salary.

You have to sacrifice quite a lot to build a business – you can't really spend on luxuries, it's more about just surviving.

Another challenge is the cost-of-living crisis. I go to a lot of markets during summer and Christmas and I've noticed people are more hesitant to buy non-essential items. You really have to work harder on social media and marketing to get your products out there.

Building a business while managing a chronic health condition has also been incredibly challenging! I couldn't have done it without the unwavering support from those around me.

How do you balance the creative side of your work with running a business?

Most creatives will tell you they spend about 80% of their time doing everything except the creative stuff.

Tasks like social media, finance, marketing, packing, posting and admin take up most of your time! So, my actual creative time is quite scarce.

To stay organised, I have a whiteboard in my workspace where I stick and rearrange Post-It notes for my weekly tasks.

I try to commit to those plans as much as possible, but of course, things sometimes get in the way. It's all about staying focused.

How did you hear about Grow London Local and what support did you receive?

It was through an Instagram advert for their Coffee Friday networking events.

I didn't really know anything about Grow London Local at the time, but I decided to go along. At that point, I wasn't even officially registered as a small business.

Once I had registered my business, I had a call with Winnie (a Business Support Manager) who explained how it all works.

She connected me with Digital Boost for marketing and business mentoring and encouraged me to join the Hatch Launchpad Programme, which I completed in September 2024.

What impact has the support you've received had on your business?

Digital Boost included sessions with various experts, which were really helpful.

The Hatch Launchpad Programme ran for three months and covered everything from finance to marketing, your brand story, how to write grant applications and how to pitch – all the essentials of running a business.

At the end, I even received a small business grant of £1,000, which helped me to create new work.

It also gave me access to a small business community. Everyone from the programme still keeps in touch through a group chat and we continue to support each other.

Would you recommend Grow London Local to other small businesses?

Definitely! It's been invaluable. You can pick and choose which parts of the support are most useful to you.

Learning about the Hatch Launchpad programme from Winnie opened new doors and made me aware of how much free support is available for small businesses.

What are you most proud of?

Getting my first UK stockist was a big milestone for me. I had a stockist while living in Australia, but having one here in the UK felt really important.

This year, my goal was to get my work stocked with four or five shops, and I'm proud to say I now have three: one in Brighton, Tooting Market and Bexhill-on-Sea.

I've also been reviewing my prices and increasing them slightly to make wholesale more viable. It's a great way to make money upfront rather than relying on commission-based sales.

What advice would you give to other creatives thinking about turning their passion into a business?

I'd say it's not for the faint-hearted, but if you're passionate enough about your business idea, just go for it!

I spent years wanting to take the leap. It's hard, especially financially, but you only live once. I didn't want to look back and wonder "what if?"

My second piece of advice is to take advantage of every bit of support you can find, whether that's from friends, family, other small business owners or organisations like Grow London Local.

I would also recommend signing up to relevant small business mailing lists to discover what other support is out there. 

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