Artist of the Month - August 2018

August 09, 2018

Artist of the Month - August 2018

This month we introduce an inspiring young lady as Artist of the Month. Probably the youngest handmade seller in Malta; at 13 years old she is already selling her creations via her Facebook business page and an Etsy store, with the assistance of her mother, who supports her 100%. The future looks bright for Kathleen Flask.

When did you start creating?

I started creating Patchyz when I was about 9 years old.

How did you start the business and how did it evolve today?

I drew a character cat, when my mother saw the drawing she told me that it would be nice to do it in felt, she bought some colourful felt and I did my first Patchyz creation. Then bit by bit my mother started helping me out to do more and she started selling them to her friends. As they were doing so well and everyone loved them, I started designing different characters. Today my mum has opened an Etsy shop where we are selling and doing well and also to friends on Facebook. I have sold to places like America, England, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and Gozo.

How do you manage the study/work balance?

(This question is answered by Kathleen's mom, Sue Flask)
Kathleen draws during every second of the day, even at school during lessons. During her first Parent's Day, in year 1 the teacher told us that we had to tell her to stop drawing during lessons, but when we asked her what was happening during class, she always could answer, meaning she is also a very bright child, but next year would be harder. She is in form 2 and she still draws during the lessons, I explain that it is her way of knowing what is happening during their explanation, and it has always worked and I have never had to stop her from drawing. At home I insist a bit more for her to do those 15 minutes of study, which are enough for her to get good marks, if she studies a bit more she would get 100s but still I'm happy with her performance.