From Visual Merchandiser to House Painter & Mural Artist – Pamela's Creative Career Journey

In this inspiring episode, I sit down with Pamela from Pamela’s Painted Spaces, a professional house painter and mural artist, to explore her journey from working in visual merchandising to building a fulfilling career as a self-employed creative professional. Pamela shares what it’s like to transition into the world of residential painting and wall mural design, including the challenges, rewards, and creative freedom that come with running your own painting business.

She opens up about integrating technology in her artistic workflow, including how using a VR headset has enhanced her mural planning and design process. Pamela also discusses navigating health challenges, the importance of work-life balance, and how continuous learning keeps her inspired in an ever-evolving industry.

We wrap up with a fun and revealing quickfire round, where Pamela shares her favourite tools, daily habits, and what drives her as a creative business woman.

Key Takeaways

• Pamela transitioned from visual merchandising to self-employment in painting and murals after being made redundant.
• The flexibility of self-employment has allowed Pamela to balance work and family life effectively.
• Embracing technology, like the VR headset, has transformed Pamela's mural creation process.
• Pamela emphasizes the importance of not overloading herself with work to avoid stress.
• Health challenges, such as osteoarthritis, have influenced Pamela's decision to focus on smaller jobs.
• Continuous learning and artistic growth are essential to Pamela's journey as an artist.
• Pamela enjoys the creative process and finds joy in her work, especially in murals.
• Building a supportive community through social media has been beneficial for Pamela's business.
• Pamela values happiness in her work over financial gain, prioritizing fulfilment.
• Yoga and physical fitness play a crucial role in managing Pamela's health and well-being.

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

00:20 Transition to Self-Employment

03:47 Finding Work-Life Balance

06:35 Embracing Technology in Art

09:00 The Impact of VR on Murals

15:39 Creative Process and Artistic Freedom

21:35 Navigating Challenges in Painting and Decorating

24:58 Adjusting to Change: Passion and Pain

26:33 The Importance of Physical Fitness in Trades

27:10 Exploring Artistic Growth and Life Drawing

31:45 Quickfire Questions: Personal Preferences and Insights

35:38  Future Guests and Collaborations

40:10 Thanks you

Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11)

Hi, my name's Pamela. I am an interior house painter and I also offer personalised hand-painted wall art and murals.

Speaker 2 (00:20)

Thanks for joining me today, Pamela. It's great to have you here. You're welcome. So let's just get straight into it. How did you get into painting and murals?

Speaker 1 (00:31)

So

I was working for John Lewis actually, so we're going back a few years. was working for them, this is before the pandemic in 2020. I was a visual merchandiser for them and I loved that job and I did loads of painting in that job, which just sounds weird because I should be doing that. I was doing lots of visual merchandising but also behind the scenes painting and some murals behind the scenes for partners for all sorts of reasons. But when the pandemic hit, I was made redundant.

as were thousands of other people. Yeah, I loved the job, I loved doing it and I'd only really started doing it for like two and a half years so I wanted to continue. However, got, the store didn't reopen and we got made redundant and I just didn't know what to do and it was my husband that said, I had quite a few months to sort of think about what I was gonna do with my life. Never worked for myself before. He said, you're really good at painting, why don't you give it a shot? Why don't you give it a go?

start working for yourself, set up your own little business. And I was, you know, I was like, I've never done that before. just, I'm a woman, you know, it's such a man's world, you know, but, you know, and we're only talking five years ago, but I thought that's how I felt back then. I was like, how do I, how do I do this? How do I get into this? So I had a friend actually, whose husband has been a painter and decorator for a number of years. And he kind of went to my, helped me with my first job and we did it together. Just to give me bit of encouragement and guidance and ⁓

I think it was November 2020, I got my first proper paid job as setting up my own business. Honestly, it just spiraled from there. The artwork side of it and the mural side of it only really came about after the first year, I'd say. My son is in primary school and his friends, parents, or can you do my son or daughter's bedroom and they really love butterflies or he's a gamer, he wants something gaming on the wall. Could you do that?

So from there came another job, came another job, came another job. Can you do a floor rolls? you, you know, and that's kind of where it came from really. And so, I mean, I did a fine art degree, you know, a hundred years ago, up at Manchester, Manchester university. And so I graduated with a BA honours fine art degree and then never really did anything with it until now. So yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:38)

Okay.

There you go. Sometimes the degrees do come in handy and they are eventually used.

Speaker 1 (02:58)

Well,

yeah, I mean, I'm probably more qualified to do the artwork side of it than I am the other side of it. I've painted, I've always been creative all my life. painted, you know, I love having a paintbrush in my hand is my favorite, you know, it's my happy place. And I've always loved art anyway. You know, just my dad was a painter and decorator all his life. I have fond memories of watching him, you know, painting with a really thick gloss back in the 80s. He was an old school decorator.

Okay. And he was doing it, you know, at 70, 71, he was still doing it. Wow. So, you know, if he were to see me now, I'm sure he'd be very proud to see that I'm doing what he did. And that, you know, that makes me really happy inside that I'm now doing what he did all his life. So yeah, I guess that's where it's come from really. I had to find a new job. I was made redundant. And this is where I am five years on. And honestly, it's been an amazing journey so far.

Speaker 2 (03:58)

Do you find having the flexibility of being self-employed a massive plus for you, especially with having a young son? ⁓

Speaker 1 (04:05)

I

I do indeed. So he's now 11, but certainly for, you know, and he's about to go into secondary school in September. know. Yeah. But for the last five years, being able to go, I'm not going to work that February half term. can finish early because I need to be at school for some reason. It has been amazing. That's the great thing about working for yourself, I'd say, the flexibility and being able to take that time off when you need it. ⁓ And that was really important for me to have that balance. Now, obviously.

I've worked, I was in catering for 20 years. wow. And I worked all the hours you could possibly imagine every single weekend, up until two, three in the morning. I worked it all. And so I thought to myself, if I'm going to set my own business up and I'm going to work for myself, I've got to make it work for me and what's right for me and my family now. And that was really important. I've done all the working, all hours, either end and all the weekends.

It's got to be, it's got to work for me and it's got to work for my family and I've got to be flexible. It's got to be flexible and it has been, and that's the great thing about working for yourself, isn't it? It's that you can work that. And he's a really easy, you know, he's a really easy 11 year old. I call him my angel because he kind of is my little angel. only have one kid, but I've taken him to jobs before I've picked him up from school and taken him back with me. I've not quite finished something and I didn't want to leave it as it was.

Speaker 2 (05:08)

is

Speaker 1 (05:27)

I tend to work locally to where I live anyway. ⁓ He comes back with me and just sits and plays on my phone or whatever. He's a really chilled out dude, so I'm really lucky in that respect. But it's important to have that work-life balance, I think, for sure.

Speaker 2 (05:40)

Absolutely, absolutely. mean, that's exactly why I got back into it. I had a bit of a career break from decorating. I did a stint of about four years and then had a seven year break. And then I came back into it a couple of years ago and it makes me wonder why I ever had a break. I mean, I know why, but I absolutely love it for a lot of the reasons you've just said. The whole flexibility and the, it's just, I mean, if you've...

done decorating or something creative and that's the way you are inclined. It's your happy place, isn't it? ⁓

Speaker 1 (06:14)

I've liked all the jobs I've ever done in my life, but I kind of feel like I've gone full, like I'm really supposed to be where I am right now. That's how I feel about what I'm doing right now. I'm supposed to be doing this and it's taken me a really long time to get here.

Speaker 2 (06:32)

Sometimes it does, sometimes it-

Speaker 1 (06:33)

does. know, here we are. And just, it's really nice not to have to go to somebody to ask for a week off for, you know, or plan so far in advance that you have to. And I think that's one of the biggest things for me is being in full control. Yeah, you know, and being being my own boss and being able to plan my diary, you know, quite often, I'll have a Friday off and that will be my

Speaker 2 (06:46)

Definitely.

Speaker 1 (06:54)

days where I can do my admin and get any materials for the following job and do any design work I need to do if there's any murals coming up. You know, so just it works and that's what's great about it.

Speaker 2 (07:04)

It's funny you say that actually, because the more people I speak to, especially women in the trades, the more apparent it is that we're doing a four day week as opposed to a typical Monday to Friday. I I myself do a Tuesday to Friday, I don't work Mondays, but I do work them in the way that I'm buying materials and I'm doing quotes and paperwork, cetera.

Speaker 1 (07:30)

still

work, but it's not on the job. It's not a physical on the job work. Again, getting those quotes done. A site visit, for instance, you know, quite often on a Friday, I'll get a call or somebody wants to, you know, me to go and have a good job and I'll plan that in on a Friday. And I also don't tend to cram like, again, it's all about work life balance. I think I've gotten to that age now where I'm like, it's got to be, you know, I don't

Like being stressed out about something, it's not worth it. So I won't cram two jobs into one week. I'm very much, I'm going to that one job in that one week, do other things I need to do and plan my diary like that. know, because again, it's not worth being stressed out, being stressed out about cramming too much or trying to finish things to start the next job in that same week. I just don't think it's good for anyone. Absolutely. you know, your own self, you know, so yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:22)

Yeah, I totally agree. I quite like having the four days for one job and then, you know, going like that. I mean, if I have to split a week between two jobs, you have to be extra prepared with materials, don't you, for both of them? Yeah. So I totally agree with you on the whole. Yeah. Don't cram, don't stress. It's worth it. is not for stressing. We're doing a job we love while stressing.

Speaker 1 (08:39)

Absolutely.

What the?

I know exactly. It's it's not worth it. If you can do it that way, if it's possible if you do it that way, then I think it's really worth it.

Speaker 2 (08:58)

Absolutely,

absolutely. I have recently seen that you've started using a special gadget for your murals. Tell us about the VR headset.

Speaker 1 (09:09)

Honestly, so it's so I started seeing it again, Instagram, know, social media, so it's a wonderful thing. I was I saw a couple of murals muralists using the VR headset. And so we bought our son one for Christmas. Okay, right. So we bought him this, you know, the Meta 3S I think it is.

Speaker 2 (09:31)

Okay.

Speaker 1 (09:36)

we bought it for Christmas. And at that point, I had no idea about using it for this purpose, right? It was for him. And then all of a sudden I started seeing things start popping up like this mural using this VR headset to, you know, transfer the image onto a really big wall or whatever they were doing. And I was like, my son's face when he when he he's seen what I was doing and taking his VR headset, it was like for me. That's mine. I'm just borrowing it for a moment. Just borrow it.

So I'm a bit of a technophobe. When I create designs, when I put designs together, I'm very much a physical pencil, paper, and I work things out in a physical way. Maybe I ought to, I don't know, but I really like the physicality of drawing something. So I always create my designs that way first. So going into this headset, this VR headset thing was a

I really like, yeah, I was a bit like, I don't know what I'm doing, what the heck, but a bit of research, getting the right equipment, like you need a specific thing to plug in and to plug into it. can't just be any USB cable. It has to be specific cable, downloading the app onto the actual VR headset. But once I'd mastered and done all of those things, honestly, it's like, it's a game changer. Wow. Yeah. And I had this mural that I was doing for this customer.

where I was doing this hallway stairs and landing for them. And I had to, she asked me if I would like to paint these big flowers on her really up high. Okay. And although I could have, you know, freehand drawn those, it probably would have taken me a fair few hours to do because I was having to use a platform and ladders. So I got this image onto the contour app, which is inside the headset. And once I got that, downloaded that onto there, pinning it to the wall, it was

and making it the size you want, honestly, just made life so much easier and quicker. The process is incredible. The quality of the image, like you can make things really, you can make things fade so that you can see the wall and only just see about outline, or you can make the image really bright and bold. So all you see is the image and you can't see the wall. There's loads of things you can do. You can tweak it, know, can tweak the angles and everything. I mean, I've only just started using it.

You know, my headset journey has only just began, but I'm going to carry on using it. It's a must. And the next mural I get, ⁓ I will definitely try and use this as well. I just, the thing is, I've read loads of people saying, you you're cheating. You're not a true artist. You've created the design yourself, physically drawn it on a piece of paper or whatever. You've got that image. Your image is just on a bigger scale and you're just transferring that image onto the wall. So it's not, you know, you're not.

you're not as if you're, it's your image basically that you're trying to.

Speaker 2 (12:37)

Okay, so it's not, you're not just scouting some sort of website for an image that matches the description that your client wants. You've literally drawn it yourself.

Speaker 1 (12:48)

unless they want something.

Speaker 2 (12:49)

Yeah, like, I don't know, like a character of some sort. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (12:53)

But the tulips that I created for that customer, I drew them out. I did a bit of a colorway for her and then I just transferred. took a photo of that image, put it on an email, transferred it across to the app and there it was a massive scale. And the great thing about that is that you can take the image and you can show the customer what it looks like on their wall. So they can put the headset on because you're there in their house. They can put the headset on.

Speaker 2 (13:15)

goodness of course

Speaker 1 (13:22)

And because you've pinned it to their wall, you've made it the size it needs and the scale it needs to be, they can put it on and they can see exactly what it looks like before you even put anything on that wall.

Speaker 2 (13:31)

You

go, it's like that TV show. Have you seen that TV show where they get put, renovate people's houses and they put them in the room?

Speaker 1 (13:40)

The room.

Exactly. And it gives them a really good idea. And if they wanted it to be bigger or smaller, or they decide that they, you know, they don't want that particular thing in a certain space area. It's, it's really great. It's a really great tool, I think. And I don't know whether I would have, see, I'm really okay. We already had it. My son already had it. And it was a, it was a bit of an accident that I came across the fact that I could, you know, use it. Now I just can't stop banging on about it. I love it so much.

⁓ the problem is that I don't do murals all the time because it's quite niche. Certainly where I live, the area I it's quite a niche thing. people that have had murals for me in the past are like, it's lovely because they say to me, like the tulip, the customer that had the tulips, was

I sit in the top of my step and I look up at those tulips and they just make me smile. And that's such a, I've created that joy for her and I love that. And I have had customers that say that about the pieces of artwork that I've created, but it's not for everyone. And it is not, it's not a usual thing that people ask for.

Speaker 2 (14:48)

Yeah, it's a very unique niche, isn't it?

Speaker 1 (14:51)

Yeah, exactly. had my son not had the VR set, I'm not sure whether I would have bought and potentially, I mean, I might have done because sometimes I'm like, if it's gonna make my life easier, I'm going to invest the money in a bit like my Dussler Sander, right? yeah, like I was like, I'm gonna need that. That will pay back, you know, it will pay itself back in time. And I can't live without that. You know, it's been an amazing thing for like three years I've had it. So the same with VR headset. ⁓

My son doesn't know it yet, but you know, it's It's his anymore, it's mine. Definitely mine.

Speaker 2 (15:25)

90 % yours, 10 % his. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (15:28)

You can have it at the weekend, you know, it's fine. You can have it at the weekend.

Speaker 2 (15:32)

Blessing.

Speaker 1 (15:33)

Yeah, it's definitely my new love and it's transformative.

Speaker 2 (15:39)

It looks

it. looks it. mean, any tech that we can get in the game to make the jobs quicker, more efficient, you know, why not?

Speaker 1 (15:50)

And it's just to draw out the image. It's to make it quicker, the process quicker, so that when you do get to paint, it comes off, you know, as soon as you've drawn out and you've got your outline, it comes off and that's it, it's done with. And then you can, you you pick up your paintbrush and then that's it, you you're away. Okay. And depending on how complicated or simple the design is you're trying to create, you know, it could be a matter of saving an hour, an hour a half, two hours of your time. And that's a lot.

when you're doing a mural, you know, because like, you know, don't want, want to be spending more than two days, depending on what the design is doing it. So to save that time so you can concentrate on the painting of it is great. It really is great.

Speaker 2 (16:30)

Have you got any more booked in with the old VR headset yet?

Speaker 1 (16:34)

So

I've got a couple of potentials, not definite yet. one of them, well, they're both actual sort of floral botanicals, which is my love. Yeah. My love. I love anything that's, you know, of that, of that nature. That is, so they're both just potentials at the moment. I'll work on them. Hopefully they'll say that they want them. And I will probably use the VR for that because again,

Speaker 2 (16:38)

Okay.

Speaker 1 (16:58)

But also it's really fun. It's a fun thing to do. Just yeah, and they can see it. That's the thing I love about it is they can physically see what they're getting before I've even started. I'm not going to say any more than that because I haven't actually got the jobs. They're in the works, shall we say. Certainly whilst I'm not doing any murals for customers, honestly, the walls in my house are sort of turning into different parts of my house have got artwork all over them. know, like this thing behind me downstairs in the bathroom.

Speaker 2 (17:27)

It's

stunning behind you, it's like, ⁓

Speaker 1 (17:30)

Yeah, it's like silver birch. I've got my hall waived in my bathroom. There's other places I can work on. And I think for me, I really love doing it and I want to do it all the time. the more I do it, the better I come. It's about just being doing it. And the more I do it, the more I learn about how to do things differently and how it's just honing the craft, I guess, at the end of the day.

Speaker 2 (17:33)

Fabulous

Speaker 1 (17:59)

if I do it more and even if I'm just doing it in own house, it shows and I post it, it shows that I'm doing it and the different things that I can do, you know.

Speaker 2 (18:09)

Leaves

to consistency, it? Yeah. I saw one of your pieces, the flamingos. That is stunning. If anybody wants to see any work of Pamela's, go on her Instagram and look at the first pinned post of the flamingos. It is stunning.

Speaker 1 (18:11)

Absolutely,

Thanks Laura. I've pinned to that because I think it's probably one of my all-time favorites I've done, I have to say. And when she first texted me and asked me to do that job, I was a little bit like, I can't do that. You're kidding me. Flamingos. And again, I kind of feel like sometimes I've got this imposter syndrome, like I'm not good enough. How am going to create that image for that person? How am I going to... Like as far as the painting and decorating goes, know, that...

side of it. Every day is a learning day for me on that as well. I'm always learning. Creating a mural or a large piece of artwork on someone's wall is a little bit different because it's quite a specific thing. ⁓ She said about these flamingos and I was like, and then she said, well, actually it's a flamingo, but it's got a flower as the body. As soon as she said that, I was all in. was like, it's floral. Lovely. I love it. She just said, I want these three flamingos.

and you can do whatever else you like in the room. It's entirely up to you what else you do. And that for me is perfect. That's my ultimate dream. So she's given me full artistic license to do whatever I want. And also the fact that it was a whole room mural. It was on a ceiling, around the door frame, down past the mirror, on the walls. It was everywhere, behind the loo. It was just an all-encompassing. And in fact,

going back there to do the dog mural, which is the same customers. ⁓ I went to use that Lou whilst I was out. I sat on the Lou and I was like, this still looks great. This still looks really great. sat in my, you pat myself on the back here, but like it just looked, still look so good. Still look good. Yeah, the flamingo is probably one of my favorite and really enjoyable pieces that I've done, I'd say.

Speaker 2 (19:59)

Okay.

Yeah.

You did

it freehand, you just...

Speaker 1 (20:25)

So what I did was to get the, she was quite specific about the scale of those birds and she wanted three birds and she wanted them to be kind of one really big, one a little smaller and one a little smaller I think. I can't remember how it was and where she wanted them placed and she was, she wanted a tree coming in the corner and coming out. So those are the three bits that she asked for and everything else she said I could do myself. So I create a stencil.

just like a, just a blank of the shape. Basically I used a projector to project the image onto a wall. And then I just got a big piece of cardboard and drew around that, cut it out and then place that on the wall. And then I got her to come and have a look to see what the placement looked like because I couldn't project an image because the space was too small. By that point, if I'd had the VR headset at that point, I would have been like, Oh, it would have been.

Speaker 2 (21:14)

Yeah.

You'd have been away, wouldn't you?

Speaker 1 (21:21)

Damn it, I discovered the VR thing last year. ⁓ But yeah, ⁓ I just used a blank, literally just to create the outline of the flamingo. And then I just freehand everything else I freehanded.

Speaker 2 (21:37)

Wow. Yeah, very impressive. I don't blame you, so do I. Between the decorating and the mural painting, would you say, obviously you've just said that flamingo is probably your most favourite. Have you come across anything that's been quite challenging for you on either end of the scale of painting and decorating?

Speaker 1 (21:40)

Yeah, I love that one.

think so with regards to the paints and decorating side of things, suppose any certainly recently any large job that is in, in tell doing like a hallway stairs and landing, I've just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my hands. no. And obviously, you know, these are the tools that we need. the pain that I've encountered recently is off the scale.

pain. And again, think, I mean, I don't know whether anybody else of my age, I'm over 50, anyone else that's, anybody out there that has also experienced osteoarthritis, all in my left hand, a little bit in my right, but all in my left. So I've been, the hallway stairs and landing thing for me is really challenging, really, really challenging because it's lengthy, it's involved.

Speaker 2 (22:54)

It's and down, it's different heights, different...

Speaker 1 (22:56)

Yeah,

all of that, all aspects. There's loads and of woodwork normally, countless doors, spindles, in-stairs skirts, you name it. And after each one of those I've done over the last six months, the pain has been off the scale. So I've had to say no, that, unfortunately, but that's just life. that was a challenge for me, was doing that side of the job.

and feeling like I can't do it. I'm really struggling to do it. So I'm saying no to those jobs now.

Speaker 2 (23:34)

That's the joy of being self-employed, isn't it? You can pick and choose which jobs you want to do. It has been horse-stairs and landing season as of late.

Speaker 1 (23:44)

I've turned down three, I think, the last month and a half. And a full house, a complete full house makeover as well, I've turned down. I've just said, do you know what? It's really like, I hate turning work down. I really do. It's horrible. But also on the flip side, it's also quite empowering and it makes me feel like I'm in complete control and I can say no. can say no and I don't, you know, it's not worth the pain.

Speaker 2 (23:47)

Really? Yeah.

Absolutely.

No. And I mean, it's that whole thing of would somebody else do that for you? Probably not. you know, everybody's got to look after themselves, especially health wise, when you are self-employed, especially because no one pays a sick pay. So you've got to be careful with the workload and how much stress that puts on your body, especially as we're all getting older.

Speaker 1 (24:26)

Yeah.

is the

thing, I've noticed that. So when I started I was 45, know, 46, now I'm over 50 and the difference in how my body feels and it's only been like five years, but it's incredible that the difference of that and certainly the pain, the osteoarthritis in my hand, the pain is, it's just too much. And so, you know, my tagline now is no job is too small. Basically, I will, you know, I'll do the small jobs that

downstairs loo, the living rooms, the kitchens, the bathrooms, all those small individual spaces, happy to do that. so yeah, that's the challenge for me recently is the juggling of the pain and then ultimately coming to the decision of saying no to those jobs and not being able to do those jobs anymore. I want to do more artwork. That's where

you know, that's what I really want to do. That's my real passion. And that's my happy place is the murals and the artwork. That's the thing. And that's loads less taxing on the body.

Speaker 2 (25:38)

can imagine. Yeah, it's a slower pace, obviously, because you've got to be precise.

Speaker 1 (25:42)

Yeah, exactly. Look, yeah, like I said, I'm more qualified to do that job. I'm, you know, at the end of the day, although it was, like I said, 100 years ago that I did that. But yeah, that's the challenge definitely for me recently.

Speaker 2 (25:50)

Not that long ago.

think as women in physical trades, it does seem like it takes more of a toll on our bodies than the guys. mean, their muscles are obviously built different to ours. I do feel like maybe we suffer more with joints and back pain a lot. So I've been speaking to a lot of ladies who've said that obviously keeping physically fit.

outside of a work environment is important because it gives you that different range of motion and works different muscles, it? Obviously each to their own, everybody lives a different life.

Speaker 1 (26:33)

Yeah, and it's about trying to fit it in as well. Again, like you say, it's really tricky. I I don't know whether it sounds like a cliche, but I've been doing yoga for 10 years, right? Oh, So, a regular yoga is my way of just feeling, getting to know what aches and pains I've got and stretching out my body a bit. And that's like, know, once or twice a week. And I've done that for the last 10 years. And I think that's really helped, you know, makes you bit more flexible and just, you know, you're a bit more aware of what...

how your body feels on a regular basis. So, yeah. And also it's lovely just to escape life and just be on a mat for an hour and a half and not have to think about anything else. That's what's so lovely about yoga too.

Speaker 2 (27:12)

Brilliant, brilliant. Okay, so we've actually touched on quite a lot already. One thing I did want to bring up, I've obviously done a bit of your Instagram profile, your life drawing classes, do you still do?

Speaker 1 (27:22)

Yep.

No. So the artist that runs those, Gail, she is an incredible artist. She's a painter and she was running these life drawing classes and I hadn't done life drawing since university, since my university days. I just, again, I was a little bit like doing something out of my comfort zone, this for instance, doing something outside of my comfort zone. And I hadn't done it for however long, 25 years, how long it was. I just really wanted to

do it again, just to see if I could do it again. I remember doing it at university. I remember really enjoying it and just charcoal, pencil, paper, body, lovely. Again, three hours of just doing that and zoning in on that thing. It was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Would I do it again? I don't know whether I would do it again. Maybe. It satisfied my curiosity to see if I could do it again. ⁓

And again, it's just another doing another practice. You know, it was over a course of a number of weeks, a fair number of weeks. And it was really nice just to sort of get back to that basic looking drawing and look in studying, you know. So yeah, really, really enjoyed that. Definitely. I think it's really important to just, you know, I think I probably could do with doing some more courses and

Speaker 2 (28:49)

Get

yourself out of that comfort zone. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (28:51)

Expanding

a little bit on other things. I met up with Anna yesterday of AW decorating and we had a coffee. Now, again, that's the wonderful thing about Instagram and making those connections. And we've been chatting, I chat to a few people and we were chatting and she was asking about the artwork. And I said, let's just meet up because we're fairly local to each other. And she was telling me that she'd been on a spray course and a wallpaper course.

Speaker 2 (28:58)

Lovely.

Speaker 1 (29:21)

That's just brilliant, you know, just to get yourself, you know, get a little bit of learning in. It's always worth it, think, for sure.

Speaker 2 (29:28)

Absolutely,

because things like with the VR headset, everything is constantly evolving. So we've got to keep up in our skill set and stay on top of things, haven't we?

Speaker 1 (29:38)

Yeah, definitely. mean, you know, there's a part of me that thinks I should maybe do a spray course or something, you know, like have a look at it. Do you? I mean, again, you know, it's another thing that you can offer. I don't know how much I'd use it though.

Speaker 2 (29:45)

I think the same.

This is what I've said. Like I went to a trade day at my local paint suppliers on Monday, actually. And there was a spray company there and I went in in the morning and I actually dodged that stall because I didn't want to waste his time or my time because I wasn't going to buy a sprayer. I wasn't going to go on a course because it's just not, I didn't feel it was right for me. So I mooched around.

then I left, but then I had to go back in the afternoon because I needed to get more paint for a quote that had just come through. And lo and behold, everybody but him had gone. So I had to speak to him because he was stood at the counter and I says, I'm really sorry, but I did dodge you earlier. said, don't worry about it, honestly. And we actually spoke about it a little bit. And I said, I don't know if I do enough properties that are suitable for spraying. obviously he went in the whole...

Even if you spray just the ceiling, you've saved yourself probably half an hour or this, that and the other. If you've got a whole house to do, you can do all the ceilings in one go, blah, blah. Yes, I do see the appeal that there is obviously quite a significant outlay to start with, with the training and the equipment. That's something you've obviously got to factor in.

Speaker 1 (31:05)

together.

I don't know whether that's the thing. I don't know whether I would use it enough to warrant investing in all that gear. It's always in the back of my head though. And when I see you go online and you see them spraying stuff, you just think that looks awesome. Yeah. Look at the finish on that. was quick or whatever. And you just think, man, it would be really good to do that. Yeah. It's always in the back of my mind. I'm always thinking about it, but yeah. Weighing. Yeah. Weighing it up.

Speaker 2 (31:41)

We'll see. We'll see.

That's it. That's it. Okay. So, I'm going to jump into our quick fire questions now. It's just to get to know you a little bit more, totally random. Some painting related, some not. So, you ready? Let's go. Driver or passenger?

Speaker 1 (31:53)

lordy.

Right here. Yep, go for it.

Driver. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (32:08)

Same. Wooster or two fussy blokes?

Speaker 1 (32:15)

two fussy blokes. Yeah, love I that's all I use the mini roll the mini, you know, the little. Yeah, the rollers, mini rollers, the microfiber ones, two fussy blokes have used those for four years, I think now.

Speaker 2 (32:21)

Tiny Roller.

Brilliant. Tea or coffee?

Speaker 1 (32:30)

Tea in the morning, coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon. I love them both. I'm a fussy bugger though when it comes to coffee. I've got to have oat milk. Okay. Yeah, no, just, I do. And yeah, but I love a brew in the morning and a brew in the afternoon. If I had to definitely choose one, it would probably be coffee.

Speaker 2 (32:49)

Yeah, I'm not a tea person. I'm coffee or herbal tea.

Speaker 1 (32:54)

Would you like a cup of pappermint tea and eat?

Speaker 2 (32:56)

Yes, yes, a nice digestive. A sunshine holiday or a cold holiday.

Speaker 1 (33:01)

sunshine holiday all day long. Give me a beach. give me the sea. Definitely. Yes. For sure.

Speaker 2 (33:08)

Geometric design or freehand painting.

Speaker 1 (33:12)

freehand painting. I've done both actually. I've done a geometric. I've done both, you know, using lots of tape and triangles and they've been really fun. But give me a freehand floral hand, you know, paint it, you know, that's, that's where I'm, I love, I love doing that. So that one, definitely.

Speaker 2 (33:30)

Cool. Cats or dogs?

Speaker 1 (33:33)

dogs. I've got a cat and I hate him. Sorry. He's a typical cat and he just literally, he's only out for himself and he comes around you when he wakes us up at half four in the morning. Yeah. So rude. ⁓ Dogs. ⁓ joyful all day long dogs. In fact, when I did the dog mural, I had some dog visitors. Some of the dogs that were in the mural came to visit me.

Speaker 2 (33:38)

See you!

That's amazing! ⁓

Speaker 1 (34:04)

And you know, just joyful, lovely, love them.

Speaker 2 (34:08)

Awesome. A glass of fizz or a bottle of beer? Fizz. Fizz all day. And a starter or a dessert? Yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:14)

starter.

Yeah, not really puddings. Yeah, it's all about the savory. Give me a bag of crisps any day.

Speaker 2 (34:24)

Definitely. Don't. Okay. So nearing the end now and I've got just two, maybe three more questions, just short ones. So I ask this to everybody and if you could be another trade, what would it be and why?

Speaker 1 (34:39)

Lord,

another trade. Laura, you've got me there. don't...

Speaker 2 (34:45)

So far I've had electricians because people seem to think that's where the money is and who else did I have?

Speaker 1 (34:53)

See, I know we do this job to make money, right? I get that. We have to live and it's really nice to make a really good living from it. like, I don't know. Like, I don't know whether I could do. That's not the answer you want. I know.

Speaker 2 (35:06)

No,

but that's controversial. That's alright. I don't know-

Speaker 1 (35:09)

whether

I could do anything else. I don't want to do anything else and I wouldn't want to do that job because it'd earn me more money because I'd rather be happy. And again, it sounds a bit rubbish, but I'd rather be happy doing what I'm doing and earn less.

Speaker 2 (35:24)

Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Absolutely. That's brilliant. That just goes to show that you're doing the job that's for you.

Speaker 1 (35:32)

I think so. think that's where I'm at currently. which is, which I'm very lucky. I love it.

Speaker 2 (35:37)

Amazing. Perfect. So for my next guest, what trade or who do you think I should have on the show next? Who would you like to listen to?

Speaker 1 (35:49)

Who would I like to listen to?

Speaker 2 (35:51)

or what trade would you like to listen to? ⁓

Speaker 1 (35:53)

It'd really

nice to hear from, you know, experiences from another woman, obviously, because that's why we're doing this, Yeah, that's what we're here for. And I guess it'd be really nice to hear from someone else that does what I do as well, a similar job to what I do. Right. So just very recently, I connected with Homes Sweet Homes and that's Bryna, I think she's an interesting name and I'm not sure how to pronounce it.

Speaker 2 (35:59)

for.

Speaker 1 (36:23)

but she also does like wall art and murals as well as the decorating. And I follow her, but I didn't realize she did both until I sort of delved a bit deeper. And we're hopefully gonna get together physically. She is, she is. So connecting with Anna yesterday is sort of, hopefully is gonna open up a little bit of a get together connection with other women doing what we do and decorating.

Speaker 2 (36:34)

She's UK based as well.

Speaker 1 (36:50)

So I'm really hoping, so we did this yesterday and I've sent a message to a few and like hopefully in this sort of, so nobody has to travel too far, we can get together. So hearing from someone else that does kind of what I do, the artwork and know, interior painting as well would be fab, I guess.

Speaker 2 (37:08)

Brilliant. No one's ever said that. So that's cool. Yeah. it. Brilliant. So just to end on things then, where can people find you on social media? What's your name on Instagram and Facebook?

Speaker 1 (37:20)

I am Pamela's Painted Spaces on Facebook and on Instagram and I'm on TikTok. That's a recent thing. That was the beginning of this year. I just, I dipped my toe just to see, you know, I'd spoken to a few people and they were like, you should get on TikTok, you know, post your videos on there. And it's hard keeping up with everything, doing life and then posting constantly and trying to get everything and editing videos and getting them on that platform, getting them on that platform.

But I did, I set up an account on TikTok and I've posted some stuff on there as well. Pretty much the same stuff that I've posted everywhere else. They're just short creative videos. It's more for the artwork. TikTok's more for the artwork. So I'm on there as Pamela's Painted Spaces too. So all three Pamela's Painted Spaces, you can find me there. And yeah, I hope that people find my reels and things fun and informative and they like what I do.

And just, yeah, I just want to show. And also the Facebook thing as well. That's where I get most of my customers. That's where most people go. Whenever I ask potential new clients, whenever I go and see them, I ask them where they've heard about me. And 90 % of them say, I saw you on Facebook. I saw your page on Facebook. I went through your work on Facebook. I read your reviews on Facebook. So Facebook is important for that aspect of my business. And that's where I get most of the jobs that I do. Instagram's more fun, TikTok's.

funner still and it's for the artwork. Instagram's for the painting and decorating and also Instagram's great for learning stuff and again making those connections with other painters, getting advice as well. I've asked lots of questions and DM'd various people to ask advice and help and everyone's really helpful. It's a really great community I think.

Speaker 2 (39:09)

agree, it's really friendly, isn't it? Everyone just likes to help each other.

Speaker 1 (39:14)

It's a really great community. again, know, social media, it can be your friend or foe. I guess it's how you use it and how you can make it work for your business. And I think if you do everything right and it just kind of nice and you know, it can really work for you. And I think it's really worked for me so far and I've got loads of advice and learned loads from it. And hopefully moving forward, making some lovely connections with people will be really good. Yeah. And doing this obviously as well.

Speaker 2 (39:40)

doing this. Absolutely. Brilliant. That's wonderful. Well, thank you very much for your time today. It's been really good getting to know you and listening to how passionate you are about your work. And yeah, can't wait to keep seeing your murals on your Instagram, etc.

Speaker 1 (39:58)

Thanks

Laura, it's been a pleasure. It's been really nice to talk to you too and I really appreciate you having me on and spending the time with me today. So that's great.

Speaker 2 (40:05)

No worries. Thank you very much Pamela. I'll speak to you soon. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (40:09)

Bye!