The vast majority of us spend our lives doing something that is not what we want to do and does not bring us happiness, and we believe that we don’t have a choice. Mortgages and bills have to be paid, little mouths need to be fed, etc., etc., and so your dreams stay on hold.

Designing and making greeting cards had been my passion for as long as I can remember and I used to satisfy my dream when we lived in the UK by supplying a number of shops and doing craft fairs. It seemed that every second person was doing the same – making cards. I often dreamed of having my own greeting card business, but that’s all it ever was – a dream.

In 2002, my husband and myself moved to the beautiful Charente region of France. With language difficulties, starting a business in a foreign land was not even on the horizon. However, as time went by, an opportunity presented itself one day and I took it. The rest, as they say, is history. Simply Unique Greeting Cards was created as a result of that opportunity. I love what I now do and cannot ever imagine going back to my old life. My only regret – why did I wait so long?

The one question that I am asked time and time again, and I’m sure that most card creators can relate to this is “where do you get your ideas/inspiration from?” My answer is always the same – the designs just come to me. I never force a design, or create something just for the sake of creating it. If there is nothing there, then I’ll wait until there is, and it might be days before that “something” comes. I gather my inspiration from lots of places and things, but the one source of inspiration that never fails me is my surroundings. A photograph cannot capture the beauty of the place, with the smells and the sounds. And each season has its own specialness. The one problem that I really struggle with is trying to come up with Christmas designs in the middle of summer!

One thing I’ve learned in life is that nothing is impossible. Always follow your dreams – no matter how long it takes!

Kindest regards,
Sue Slingsby