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Trapped by Lockdown: A Mother’s Fight for Sanity and Success
Episode 5514th May 2024 • What's the Story? • CROWD Church
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Join us on this episode of What's The Story, featuring the remarkable Anna Hamill. Hear her journey from deep personal challenges to launching a thriving business during lockdown.

  1. From Crisis to Creation: How Anna transformed severe lockdown challenges into a groundbreaking creative venture.
  2. Building Blocks of Success: Discover the steps Anna took from battling depression and isolation to founding And Hope Designs.
  3. Inspiration in Adversity: Learn how Anna's faith and the support of her community played pivotal roles in her success.
  4. Entrepreneurial Wisdom: Anna shares crucial advice for anyone navigating personal crises while building a business.

Explore More:

  • Check out And Hope Designs to see Anna’s work.
  • Follow us for more stories of courage and creativity.

Don’t miss out on more inspiring stories—subscribe to What's The Story? Podcast and share this episode to spread hope and motivation!

Transcripts

Sadaf Beynon:

Hey there and welcome to What's the Story.

Sadaf Beynon:

We're an inquisitive bunch of hosts from the What's the Story team on a

Sadaf Beynon:

mission to uncover stories about faith and courage from everyday people.

Sadaf Beynon:

In doing that, we get the privilege of chatting with amazing guests and

Sadaf Beynon:

have the opportunity to delve into their faith journey, the hurdles

Sadaf Beynon:

they've overcome, and the life lessons they have learned along the way.

Sadaf Beynon:

If podcast, don't forget to subscribe and sign up for our weekly newsletter

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at our website, whatsthestorypodcast.

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com.

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It's your direct line to the latest episodes and detailed show notes,

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delivered straight into your inbox.

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And the best part, it's totally free.

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What's the Story is brought to you by Crowd Church who fully understand that

Sadaf Beynon:

stepping into a traditional church might not be everyone's cup of joe.

Sadaf Beynon:

Crowd Church provides a digital sanctuary, a safe space to explore

Sadaf Beynon:

the Christian faith where you can engage in meaningful conversations,

Sadaf Beynon:

rather than just simply spectating.

Sadaf Beynon:

So whether you're new to the Christian faith or in search of

Sadaf Beynon:

a new church family, visit crowd.

Sadaf Beynon:

church.

Sadaf Beynon:

And if you have any questions at all, just drop them an email, hello at crowd.

Sadaf Beynon:

church.

Sadaf Beynon:

They would love to connect with you.

Sadaf Beynon:

And now, let's meet your host and our special guest for today.

Anna Kettle:

Hi there and welcome to another episode

Anna Kettle:

of What's the Story Podcast.

Anna Kettle:

Today I am joined by guest Anna Hammel, who is a mum of four

Anna Kettle:

children living in Belfast, and she's the owner of And Hope Designs.

Anna Kettle:

Now that's the business that she started just before we entered into

Anna Kettle:

lockdown, a crazy time for us all.

Anna Kettle:

And it was a business that really grew out the need to be creative

Anna Kettle:

when various other things in life felt like they were falling apart.

Anna Kettle:

Anna, I know we'll get into more of that detail as we move through

Anna Kettle:

your stories, but shall we start at, shall we start at the beginning?

Anna Kettle:

Just tell us a little bit about you your background Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Tell, tell us how your early life looked.

Anna Kettle:

Where did you grow up, were you always a Christian?

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, so I'm Anna and I was born in London and lived there until

Anna Hamill:

I was five and I am a missionary kid.

Anna Hamill:

My parents moved us all me and my brother and them over to

Anna Hamill:

Paris in France when I was five.

Anna Hamill:

And yeah, as I say, I'm a missionary kid, so they are Christians, and I

Anna Hamill:

grew up in a Christian household.

Anna Hamill:

And I would say I gave my life to Jesus.

Anna Hamill:

When I went to a festival in England.

Anna Hamill:

When I was about 12 so it's called Soul Survivor, and I went there by myself

Anna Hamill:

with a friend from England so having that space where it was just me and not

Anna Hamill:

my parents and my parents faith gave that space to explore a bit more and to

Anna Hamill:

make that faith my own So yeah that's when I became a Christian for myself.

Anna Hamill:

I can't put a date on it really.

Anna Hamill:

But, so I say that my faith anniversary is on my baptism, which was Easter

Anna Hamill:

Sunday when I was 16, so in 2001.

Anna Hamill:

Okay, cool.

Anna Hamill:

. That, that's it really.

Anna Hamill:

I've gone to church my whole life and.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, I've grown up knowing about Jesus and being taught about him.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah,

Anna Kettle:

it's interesting because I am from a Christian family as well.

Anna Kettle:

I'm a pastor's kid, so I very much grew up in church, going

Anna Kettle:

to church every week as well.

Anna Kettle:

And, but I think it's interesting that so often talk to people who are like, even

Anna Kettle:

if you grow up around faith, there's still this moment or this season of, as you

Anna Kettle:

get a bit older, having to find it being real for yourself and Yeah, absolutely.

Anna Kettle:

Absolutely.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, it's interesting that you say that, because that so often seems to be the

Anna Kettle:

case, that people are like but there's a point moving away from your parents and

Anna Kettle:

finding Kind of your own faith as well, so it's really interesting you say that.

Anna Kettle:

I think it's brave as well just to go to a festival on your own with,

Anna Kettle:

just a friend of that age and just think, explore this, so that's cool.

Anna Kettle:

So that's your like earliest years, and then tell us moving into adulthood

Anna Kettle:

then, so you came back to the UK for university, is that right?

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, so I went to Edinburgh University.

Anna Hamill:

I grew up in France throughout my teenage years.

Anna Hamill:

And I went to Edinburgh for university when I was 18.

Anna Hamill:

And so that was the first time that it was fully by myself.

Anna Hamill:

And very much.

Anna Hamill:

And my mom came over on the airplane with me the first time I went to Edinburgh,

Anna Hamill:

but after that, I was on my own.

Anna Hamill:

And one of the first things that I did was look for a church because I

Anna Hamill:

knew that would be a place where I would be able to connect and get to

Anna Hamill:

know people who were similar to me.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, there was a lot of other stuff that I was very nervous about, but Yeah,

Anna Hamill:

going to church was something that I felt like I really had to nail down early on.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, it's funny though, because I ended up at one church for a term,

Anna Hamill:

and then ended up going elsewhere.

Anna Hamill:

And from then on, and throughout the rest of university, it just

Anna Hamill:

sometimes takes a while to find the place that you want to call home.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

And university was a season in life where you met your

Anna Kettle:

husband as well, is that right?

Anna Hamill:

I actually met him after I graduated, but we met in Edinburgh, yeah.

Anna Kettle:

And he was he still a student or?

Anna Kettle:

Yeah,

Anna Hamill:

so I'm five years older than him.

Anna Hamill:

Okay.

Anna Hamill:

So I'd graduated and I met him and he was we started dating

Anna Hamill:

when he was in second year,

Anna Kettle:

which seems, when you're that age, seems like it's a really

Anna Kettle:

big gap, but now you look back at it, yeah, 20 years later or whatever it

Anna Kettle:

is, yeah, it's not huge, like it's no big deal, or a few years is it?

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, it's funny.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, it's just funny though, when when we first started

Anna Hamill:

going out, people asked me, like his friends asked me what I'm studying.

Anna Hamill:

I was like, Oh, actually I've already graduated.

Anna Kettle:

I've got a job.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Tell us a bit about early adulthood then you graduated, what did you do work wise?

Anna Kettle:

You obviously had this fellow on the scene who was a few years younger than you what

Anna Kettle:

did work look like in early life there?

Anna Hamill:

So I studied environmental science at university and quickly

Anna Hamill:

realised that was I didn't want to do that, much more than that, but while

Anna Hamill:

I was at university, because I went to school in France and grew up in France, I

Anna Hamill:

couldn't get a student loan, so I had to basically fund myself through university,

Anna Hamill:

and I, through university, I got a job.

Anna Hamill:

in afterschool care, so looked after children after school and throughout

Anna Hamill:

the school holidays and things.

Anna Hamill:

So really wanted to work with children.

Anna Hamill:

And then I ended up getting a job in a special needs school after university.

Anna Hamill:

So I was a, like a learning assistant for children who had autism

Anna Hamill:

and other severe special needs.

Anna Hamill:

So a lot were nonverbal amongst many other issues.

Anna Hamill:

But that was really, Really interesting, really full on.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

Three or four years of doing that.

Anna Hamill:

I felt like I was close to burning out and needed, I just needed a break from that.

Anna Hamill:

So actually when Ian and I decided we were gonna get married we

Anna Hamill:

decided, so I each month was saving up to be able to quit that job.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

And I wanted to start a wedding photography business.

Anna Hamill:

Okay.

Anna Hamill:

So I managed to do that and that kind of, I did that for the first four years that

Anna Hamill:

we were married so yeah, that in its own way was quite stressful and there was no

Anna Hamill:

small pressure to be the photographer at someone's wedding but absolutely loved

Anna Hamill:

it and really thrived on having that creative outlet and Yeah, just met some

Anna Hamill:

really cool people as well doing that.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah that's really what I was doing.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, just trying to work out what I wanted to do each step, kind of thing.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah,

Anna Kettle:

and it's funny, isn't it, how one sort of thing

Anna Kettle:

leads you into the next, so

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

And it's interesting that you found that a creative job was, I'm sure that's

Anna Kettle:

maybe a better fit for you, after a few years in that sort of like educational

Anna Kettle:

setting with special needs kids.

Anna Kettle:

Like as much as I'm sure that was like fulfilling in some ways as well.

Anna Kettle:

But obviously it wasn't quite, looking back in retrospect now, knowing that

Anna Kettle:

you're running a creative business is like obviously it wasn't quite scratching

Anna Kettle:

that creative itch in the same way.

Anna Kettle:

Perhaps it's interesting.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

But it like you didn't know at then but it's like the early sort

Anna Kettle:

of crumbs of where you're going is already there by the way.

Anna Kettle:

So that's like early life and sets the scene for us, which is great.

Anna Kettle:

But I know if we fast forward a bit to more recent times, I know

Anna Kettle:

you've faced some really challenging seasons as well, haven't you?

Anna Kettle:

Like actually when you said you went through one period of depression, like

Anna Kettle:

before lockdown and stuff like that.

Anna Kettle:

Do you want to tell us a little bit about kind of the context of that and

Anna Kettle:

just like as much as you're comfortable with, but I'm really interested in this

Anna Kettle:

whole idea that even though life is good and you're Christian and you have

Anna Kettle:

a strong faith that's really central, it doesn't mean that life is always easy.

Anna Kettle:

So

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, and compared to other people, my life

Anna Hamill:

has been really quite easy.

Anna Hamill:

But I think I have a tendency and a personality that tends

Anna Hamill:

towards glass half empty.

Anna Hamill:

And I had in second year at university, I had a season, maybe just a term where I

Anna Hamill:

was quite depressed and ended up going to see a counsellor for a couple of sessions

Anna Hamill:

which I didn't find hugely helpful because I didn't really know what was going on.

Anna Hamill:

So when they were asking me questions, I didn't really know how to answer.

Anna Hamill:

But yeah, I think it was mainly just my hopes and expectations

Anna Hamill:

of university weren't realized.

Anna Hamill:

And that kind of led to that season of depression, and it lifted fairly

Anna Hamill:

quickly but then in, so 20, when was this, 2018, I had our third child,

Anna Hamill:

so I had three children at this point, three children, three and under.

Anna Kettle:

That's a lot for a first, that's a lot.

Anna Hamill:

Place together.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

I was very much kind of head just above the water, just

Anna Hamill:

about keeping going and yeah.

Anna Hamill:

Everything was just about Okay.

Anna Hamill:

And then when he was six months old, I found out I was expecting a

Anna Hamill:

fourth child, which was not expected.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

And at that point I felt, oh, I'm going to sink.

Anna Hamill:

My head is no longer above the water.

Anna Hamill:

I really struggle in pregnancy, so I get really sore pelvic

Anna Hamill:

bone and hips and things, which means that I can barely walk.

Anna Hamill:

So with three small children, that's not ideal.

Anna Hamill:

That's

Anna Kettle:

basically, you did it three times already do you know what I mean?

Anna Kettle:

You said four wasn't planned, but yeah, I'm afraid to keep doing it.

Anna Kettle:

Just

Anna Hamill:

decided no, three, three is the limit.

Anna Hamill:

I can't really do much more, but God had other plans.

Anna Hamill:

And so at that point.

Anna Hamill:

And I went to the doctor and said, look, I am not coping with this.

Anna Hamill:

This is not ideal.

Anna Hamill:

Is there anything that you can do?

Anna Hamill:

But because I was breastfeeding and pregnant, I couldn't, they couldn't give

Anna Hamill:

me any kind of medication or anything.

Anna Hamill:

So I just said you're going to need to, look for alternative

Anna Hamill:

ways to be able to cope.

Anna Hamill:

And my husband had mentioned in passing a few times, oh, we should, what do you

Anna Hamill:

think of moving to Northern Ireland?

Anna Hamill:

And every time I said, no, I don't want to move to Northern Ireland.

Anna Hamill:

But this time he said what do you think?

Anna Hamill:

And I was like, okay, fine, let's go.

Anna Hamill:

So his parents live in Northern Ireland and they both have, at the

Anna Hamill:

time they both had jobs that enabled them to be able to come and help

Anna Hamill:

and to give that assistance, etc.

Anna Hamill:

And was that the thing that kind

Anna Kettle:

of swung it for you, like feeling like you needed

Anna Kettle:

extra help with the kids and you were drowning a little bit?

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Practically?

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, I would have their support like they're really wonderful

Anna Hamill:

and supportive and just basically just do anything that they needed.

Anna Hamill:

think will help.

Anna Hamill:

And so they were keen to have the children over for sleepovers, and

Anna Hamill:

even just coming over for an afternoon and just an extra pair of hands.

Anna Hamill:

And that was really appealing at that time, especially because Yeah,

Anna Hamill:

I knew that in the next four or five months, I'd barely be able to walk.

Anna Hamill:

And so we moved over and we decided, I think, in the November, my husband

Anna Hamill:

got a job in the December and we moved over in the beginning of March.

Anna Hamill:

Wow, so

Anna Kettle:

that's

Anna Hamill:

quite short, not much time difference.

Anna Hamill:

It was really quick.

Anna Hamill:

It was really quick.

Anna Hamill:

How long had you been

Anna Kettle:

in, because you were living in the northeast

Anna Kettle:

of England before that, right?

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, we were in Newcastle at this point.

Anna Hamill:

How long had you been in that area?

Anna Hamill:

I think we lived there seven years.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, seven years.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

So my parents lived about an hour away from us there.

Anna Hamill:

But they both had jobs, which meant they could barely help.

Anna Hamill:

My mum's a palliative care nurse and she works shifts.

Anna Hamill:

She can't say in advance when she can work.

Anna Hamill:

And my dad was caring for church.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, it was the complete opposite.

Anna Hamill:

Whereas my in laws could help and could come, like they were fairly

Anna Hamill:

reliable in terms of when they could come and when they're available.

Anna Hamill:

Whereas my parents were the complete opposite when they just didn't

Anna Hamill:

know when they could come and help.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, we, we decided to move and when I realized just how soon

Anna Hamill:

it would be, I best into tears.

Anna Hamill:

'cause I, yeah, I needed a bit more time to process.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

But actually that worked out really well because we moved in March

Anna Hamill:

and I was six months pregnant and that was the point where.

Anna Hamill:

I really barely could walk.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, we ended up living with my in laws for six months.

Anna Hamill:

So Daniel was born whilst we were there.

Anna Kettle:

That really is close, isn't it?

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, it was yeah, it was it was insane.

Anna Hamill:

But it turned out incredibly because Daniel was quite poorly.

Anna Hamill:

He had colic, which, is a medical name for goodness knows whatever

Anna Hamill:

is going on with his tummy.

Anna Hamill:

So he cried a lot and didn't settle very well.

Anna Hamill:

Which means you're not getting a lot of sleep, right?

Anna Hamill:

Exactly.

Anna Hamill:

And yeah, so that was a really tricky time.

Anna Hamill:

And we finally moved into our house in September 2019.

Anna Hamill:

And within a couple of months, Daniel developed a rash.

Anna Hamill:

Which I think is potentially his 16 week vaccine related because it was the

Anna Hamill:

day after his vaccines but we have no idea what it is or what it was, and it

Anna Hamill:

just caused his skin to go extremely dry and cracked and very sore and

Anna Hamill:

painful for him so that continued on until he was diagnosed with SARS CoV 2.

Anna Hamill:

Until Covid happened, because I remember going to the hospital and feeling like I

Anna Hamill:

really shouldn't be there because there were other people who had so much worse

Anna Hamill:

things going on, but they said you need to go to the dermatologist, so we did.

Anna Hamill:

And they gave him some creams and a week long treatment.

Anna Hamill:

regimen of putting it on twice a day and eventually that did help.

Anna Hamill:

But yeah, so it was a, I don't know, a deep dive straight in the deep end

Anna Hamill:

of parenting with four children then.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, you've got

Anna Kettle:

on, you've got one child who's got some health problems, you've

Anna Kettle:

had quite difficult pregnancies, and then you've got like this major relocation,

Anna Kettle:

so quite a fast change as well, so you've not had much time to you know,

Anna Kettle:

close off and say bye to everyone in the Northeast and then you're suddenly trying

Anna Kettle:

to get to grips with a whole new life.

Anna Kettle:

But that's quite tricky as well when you're, like, I know what it's like being

Anna Kettle:

at home with a little person when you've got several of them that all need you.

Anna Kettle:

It doesn't make it particularly easy to get to grips with a

Anna Kettle:

new place and find friends.

Anna Kettle:

Also, deep friendships anyway, that that takes time, doesn't it?

Anna Kettle:

I can imagine.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Lonely at points, but quite challenging.

Anna Kettle:

So it's a brave thing to

Anna Hamill:

do.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

And I think having moved quite a lot in my life, so moving from England over to

Anna Hamill:

France, and then we moved a few times when I was in France, and then over

Anna Hamill:

to Edinburgh and then to Newcastle.

Anna Hamill:

I'm just used to somewhere not being home.

Anna Hamill:

I've never really felt like somewhere is home.

Anna Hamill:

And so in that kind of way, settling.

Anna Hamill:

Was quite quick.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah,

Anna Hamill:

and maybe

Anna Kettle:

moving is like not such a big deal because you're not so attached.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, I mean I have no friends from primary school at all, or secondary

Anna Hamill:

school my oldest friends are from university so yeah, I feel like it is

Anna Hamill:

in some senses easier to move somewhere and settle because I don't have that

Anna Hamill:

many routes to pull up from elsewhere.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

But

Anna Kettle:

then, all of that happened, and then, obviously, as you just alluded

Anna Kettle:

to, quite soon after you'd moved, and you were just getting to grips with your

Anna Kettle:

new life in Belfast, COVID happened and we were suddenly we found ourselves in

Anna Kettle:

that really weird time where we weren't really allowed to socialise, we spent

Anna Kettle:

a lot of time at home, suddenly quite isolated all of us, and I think that

Anna Kettle:

wasn't an easy time for anyone's mental health, I don't think, it was just so

Anna Kettle:

out of the normal for all of us, but I'm guessing that meant you spent a lot of

Anna Kettle:

time at home with little ones, and, yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Like, how was that a season?

Anna Kettle:

Because you said you were struggling a bit even before that,

Anna Hamill:

yeah it was horrendous.

Anna Hamill:

It was absolutely awful.

Anna Hamill:

And when people now, these days, sometimes say, oh, I wish lockdown I loved lockdown.

Anna Hamill:

Lockdown was amazing.

Anna Hamill:

No, it was not.

Anna Hamill:

I had to look after, so I had to do primary school for a P2 and a P1, so

Anna Hamill:

that's reception and P1 in England, but P2 and P1, and have a toddler and

Anna Hamill:

a baby at home, and my husband was also suddenly working from home as

Anna Hamill:

well, so we needed to be quiet for this work, and yeah, it was intense work.

Anna Hamill:

One silver lining from that time, though, was because.

Anna Hamill:

We had Church Online.

Anna Hamill:

We didn't really know very many people at all, but because everyone

Anna Hamill:

had their names on the screen, we got to know people's names quite quickly

Anna Hamill:

and recognize people in church.

Anna Hamill:

And then when we saw them in real life, it was amazing.

Anna Hamill:

It was like, Oh, hello.

Anna Hamill:

And I actually knew their names.

Anna Hamill:

So that was one silver lining.

Anna Hamill:

Obviously Church Online got old quite quickly.

Anna Hamill:

But yeah, so that was actually really helpful.

Anna Hamill:

And then when we went on our.

Anna Hamill:

Daily walk, running into people that we'd seen on a screen was really nice

Anna Hamill:

as well, and I don't know if it made us settle faster, but it certainly felt

Anna Hamill:

like that kind of eased the process slightly so yeah, and we also live

Anna Hamill:

an eight minute walk from church.

Anna Hamill:

Meaning that a lot of people from church also live really close by and that was,

Anna Hamill:

I think that is definitely something that helped us to settle a lot faster.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, that's good.

Anna Hamill:

But yeah, the reason that we moved was to get extra support and that

Anna Hamill:

we weren't allowed to see them.

Anna Hamill:

Because you didn't have that

Anna Kettle:

extra support that you'd moved for quite a while.

Anna Hamill:

No.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, it was, yeah, I think I've blocked out quite

Anna Hamill:

a lot of it, to be honest.

Anna Kettle:

I think when all that, I feel like I was working as a key worker

Anna Kettle:

a little bit during the pandemic, but I also had a, I only had one job.

Anna Kettle:

I had a receptionist child, aged child in the house who was supposed

Anna Kettle:

to be teaching at the same time.

Anna Kettle:

So we did very little I think within the first week I decided no

Anna Kettle:

school was happening in this house.

Anna Kettle:

It's just not going to happen.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, we did very little school as well.

Anna Kettle:

We struggled at times just with one, so I can't even imagine what it's

Anna Kettle:

like to have four or different needs.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

But

Anna Hamill:

I think they definitely kept each other entertained and each

Anna Hamill:

other company which again was such a blessing because, yeah, single children

Anna Hamill:

maybe struggled more in that sense.

Anna Hamill:

But yeah.

Anna Kettle:

And then obviously the other big sort of change is like in your work.

Anna Kettle:

So obviously you're working before that as a wedding photographer.

Anna Kettle:

When you were still in the Northeast in Newcastle, and obviously

Anna Kettle:

that's not happening in COVID.

Anna Kettle:

There's no one having weddings, or certainly not weddings you want

Anna Kettle:

to take photographs of anyway.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

So what is that kind of where the seeds of your new business came from?

Anna Kettle:

Tell us how did your business start?

Anna Kettle:

Tell us a little bit more about it then.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, so I paused wedding photography.

Anna Hamill:

And figured I would pick it up again when Daniel was a little bit

Anna Hamill:

older, when I was more settled in Northern Ireland, because obviously

Anna Hamill:

my website is keyworded to Newcastle.

Anna Hamill:

So I had to restart all that kind of marketing stuff all over and

Anna Hamill:

I just did not have the energy to do that, nor really the time to

Anna Hamill:

actually photograph any weddings.

Anna Hamill:

So I put it on pause for a while and figured I would wait until he's

Anna Hamill:

maybe one and then start up again.

Anna Hamill:

When he was nine months old, COVID happened.

Anna Hamill:

So that paused that for longer.

Anna Hamill:

But actually, even before that at the end of 2019, I was getting antsy and

Anna Hamill:

really needed to do something creative to get some brain space and get out

Anna Hamill:

of, everything that was going on and just give myself some time for me, some

Anna Hamill:

time to do something that I enjoyed rather than looking after a poorly

Anna Hamill:

baby who I didn't know how to help.

Anna Hamill:

So I actually was thinking earlier on, I don't actually know where these paints

Anna Hamill:

came from because I don't remember buying them or anyone getting them for me, but

Anna Hamill:

I had a little set of watercolour paints.

Anna Hamill:

So I took that, picked those up and started just doodling and I'd

Anna Hamill:

always seen, the really nice hand lettered things and thought that

Anna Hamill:

would be so amazing to be able to do.

Anna Hamill:

But every time I picked up a brush, it just looked horrendous and I just gave up.

Anna Hamill:

So I just painted like watercolor illustrations instead.

Anna Hamill:

The first one that I did was like an elephant and I was really pleased with it.

Anna Hamill:

So I thought, Oh, this is actually quite fun to do something.

Anna Hamill:

And actually like the result as well is positive.

Anna Hamill:

So that kind of spurred me on and I kept going with that.

Anna Hamill:

And then I still really wanted to do the hand lettering, but yeah,

Anna Hamill:

I couldn't do it just on paper.

Anna Hamill:

So I invested in an iPad and practiced on that, and that process was a lot

Anna Hamill:

faster, just the way you press down, etc.

Anna Hamill:

It's much easier to know, yeah, get to do what you actually are wanting

Anna Hamill:

the pencil to do, whereas a brush kind of, it can go wherever it wants to but

Anna Hamill:

on the iPad it's much more controlled so that improved quite quickly.

Anna Hamill:

And I was really pleased with that as well.

Anna Hamill:

And then, so over maybe a period of three or four months, I came up with

Anna Hamill:

some designs that I thought, oh, these would be quite nice as greetings cards.

Anna Hamill:

So I thought I may as well just put them on Etsy and see what happens.

Anna Hamill:

So I printed some of these off and yeah, put them on Etsy and actually I meant,

Anna Hamill:

I think I must have mentioned them on my Facebook page or like my Facebook profile.

Anna Hamill:

And a few of my friends bought them and then one, one of my friends bought 10.

Anna Hamill:

I was like, oh, this is actually something that someone really wants.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

So it was a quote by Curry boom.

Anna Hamill:

That says never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God and little

Anna Hamill:

did I know that would be the perfect card to send what was about to come.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, I felt in retrospect, I definitely feel that God

Anna Hamill:

was moving me towards this and changing my path and career.

Anna Hamill:

And yeah, so that's really how it came about, was partly intentional

Anna Hamill:

and partly by accident moving towards a different form of creativity.

Anna Hamill:

And yeah, that it's, just grown from there in the last four and a bit years.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

And so

Anna Kettle:

your business is called And Hope Designs.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

And that's what it grew into, like this, just initially doodling on

Anna Kettle:

an iPad, as it were, and selling a few bits and pieces on Etsy.

Anna Kettle:

So it's grown into this whole business and Hope Designs, which does, I've

Anna Kettle:

had a look at the website, it's beautiful, so everyone check it out.

Anna Kettle:

Great stuff on there.

Anna Kettle:

But what was the inspiration?

Anna Kettle:

Like, where did that name come from?

Anna Kettle:

Did it yeah.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

From the 1st of January 2020, I decided that I was going to read a page of the

Anna Hamill:

Bible a day, and that's how I was going to read the Bible, because I didn't, I could

Anna Hamill:

not find any notes that I really wanted to go through or anything like that.

Anna Hamill:

So I decided I'll just read a page of the Bible a day, and I started in Romans.

Anna Hamill:

I don't really know why, but I just did.

Anna Hamill:

And then in Romans 5, it says, we also glory in our sufferings because we know

Anna Hamill:

that suffering produces perseverance character and character hope.

Anna Hamill:

And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured

Anna Hamill:

out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Anna Hamill:

So those words and hope is where it came from.

Anna Hamill:

And really it's because of suffering and those words.

Anna Hamill:

Tough times.

Anna Hamill:

I felt that's what had brought about this business.

Anna Hamill:

So I wanted to yeah, include that in, in the name.

Anna Hamill:

And really, yeah, it's funny because I remember as a teenager praying that God

Anna Hamill:

would change my character and make it more like his and all these kinds of things.

Anna Hamill:

And then reading that, I realized, ah, that's how he

Anna Hamill:

makes characters, by suffering.

Anna Hamill:

And then the character produces hope.

Anna Hamill:

Which I've read that verse before, so I must have somehow assimilated it into

Anna Hamill:

my brain, but it really hit home then.

Anna Hamill:

Oh, this is how character is going to build is through these

Anna Hamill:

times of suffering, big or small.

Anna Hamill:

But that is, that's how God works and how God changes us.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, that's beautiful.

Anna Kettle:

I really like that scripture.

Anna Kettle:

And and I just think it sums up that season of life so well, doesn't it?

Anna Kettle:

I just think it's amazing that God had that plan in mind for you, that

Anna Kettle:

he turned what was like, essentially really hard and in some ways quite

Anna Kettle:

hopeless season not just for you, but for like lots of people around you as

Anna Kettle:

well, for lots of us into this business and ministry that it's all about.

Anna Kettle:

Spreading hope to others, essentially.

Anna Kettle:

And I love that God does that.

Anna Kettle:

Like you say, he takes our suffering and he turns it into something that we can do.

Anna Kettle:

It's hopeful and actually can spread hope to others and if we

Anna Kettle:

let him engage in our stories.

Anna Kettle:

So yeah, I just love the fact that you've got such a clear example

Anna Kettle:

of that kind of redeeming thing that God does with our suffering.

Anna Kettle:

It's amazing.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

I wanted to unpick a little bit more as well about this whole idea

Anna Kettle:

of art because it's a theme through your life and I just wondered about

Anna Kettle:

like that whole sort of idea of art as therapy because initially we were

Anna Kettle:

doing it, just, fiddling about and stuff to help you express stuff, for you to

Anna Kettle:

process stuff during a difficult season.

Anna Kettle:

Thank you.

Anna Kettle:

Have you always used art in that way, or is that something new, or

Anna Kettle:

I'm just interested in art really as an outlet, creativity as an outlet

Anna Kettle:

really, in terms of helping us manage mental health and process life,

Anna Kettle:

and yeah, just interested in that.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah I've always been creative, and I remember as a child

Anna Hamill:

I enjoyed making things out of beads and then as a teenager I always had

Anna Hamill:

a friendship bracelet attached to my jeans that I just do as and when.

Anna Hamill:

I love to scrapbook and yeah, so I've always been creative and it is definitely

Anna Hamill:

something that I lean towards and just do.

Anna Hamill:

I don't know if I always did it to process things, but it definitely calms

Anna Hamill:

me and it gives you space to focus on something, but you can be thinking

Anna Hamill:

about something completely else.

Anna Hamill:

So it keeps your hands busy whilst your brain is working on something else.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, definitely, it is definitely a way to process things.

Anna Hamill:

I would also journal but interestingly, I have no journals from 2019 or 2020.

Anna Hamill:

There's nothing.

Anna Hamill:

I just.

Anna Hamill:

I don't think I could bring myself to write anything down.

Anna Hamill:

It was just too much.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, just used art instead.

Anna Hamill:

And none of it has anything to do with anything that I was going

Anna Hamill:

through, apart from some quotes that I practiced hand lettering.

Anna Hamill:

But all the paintings and things that, yeah, completely unrelated.

Anna Hamill:

It's just scottish mountain scenes.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah I know you write and you use that.

Anna Hamill:

I can't say that I would do the same, but I'm sure kind of different

Anna Hamill:

creative outlets have the same impact and the same effect on mental health.

Anna Hamill:

And

Anna Kettle:

I think so much of it is about the way you use it.

Anna Kettle:

God wires us each, doesn't it?

Anna Kettle:

So for you, God's wired you as an artistic, creative person.

Anna Kettle:

Like I'm creative, but I'm not an artist.

Anna Kettle:

Like I wouldn't dream of trying to draw anything.

Anna Kettle:

Like it would be horrible.

Anna Kettle:

That is not my gifting at all.

Anna Kettle:

But that's something God's made you to love and to be good at.

Anna Kettle:

And so of course it figures that's how you would, one, process a hot

Anna Kettle:

season, but two, just enjoy doing.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, enjoy it as a business, enjoy blessing others through it, connect with

Anna Kettle:

God even through it yeah, whereas, as you say, I use writing quite a lot, that's

Anna Kettle:

my creative outlet, but it's interesting, isn't it, that God will use and connect

Anna Kettle:

with us through whatever, however he's made us, and what he's made us good at

Anna Hamill:

yeah.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, I went to a place called Hutchmoot last year, and there are a lot of

Anna Hamill:

songwriters and it made me think as well, like a lot of people do write

Anna Hamill:

songs or write music as a form of therapy as well, just to process things.

Anna Hamill:

And there are a lot of songs, sad songs and whatever, which probably

Anna Hamill:

people are using for that as well.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, it's really true.

Anna Kettle:

My husband, Andy, is a musician and he spends a lot of time just tinkering away.

Anna Kettle:

I think music's the way he processes and just yeah, scratches

Anna Kettle:

that creative itch really.

Anna Kettle:

So that's his thing.

Anna Kettle:

So I think, yeah, you're absolutely right.

Anna Kettle:

So I wonder then, can you tell us a bit more about, so that was

Anna Kettle:

how your business started and all of that, where are you to now?

Anna Kettle:

Like, how's it?

Anna Kettle:

Because it's gone from strength to strength, hasn't it?

Anna Kettle:

So can you tell us a bit more about what you've been doing more recently, what's

Anna Kettle:

next for Unhope yeah, tell us a bit more.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah so I've done quite a lot of commissions which has been really

Anna Hamill:

fun, actually, to get an email from someone saying, I would like to do this.

Anna Hamill:

I don't really know exactly what if you have any ideas, and to collaborate that

Anna Hamill:

in that way with someone, and to come up to use their ideas and their situation

Anna Hamill:

and be able to bring something into that.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, a lot of collaborations and commissions of both.

Anna Hamill:

So I paint houses these days, which again, I don't really know how it came about.

Anna Hamill:

But yeah, it's been really fun as well to there's been a lot of church paintings

Anna Hamill:

to commemorate and celebrate baptisms and weddings which has been really nice.

Anna Hamill:

And people's houses, people moving home, first home, the memories from childhood.

Anna Hamill:

So someone who's recently lost a granny wanted a picture of the granny's home

Anna Hamill:

because they were selling the house.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, a lot of things like that.

Anna Hamill:

And then I have over 200 card designs now, starting from five.

Anna Hamill:

I have more than 200 for so many different situations and like birthdays and

Anna Hamill:

baptisms and ordinations and condolence cards, new home, new baby, just.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, so

Anna Hamill:

many different things.

Anna Hamill:

And I've taught myself to pour candles.

Anna Hamill:

Wow.

Anna Hamill:

So

Anna Kettle:

I have

Anna Hamill:

a range of, currently three, but soon a fourth candle.

Anna Hamill:

So the soy wax candles.

Anna Hamill:

And I've used different words.

Anna Hamill:

That I felt both matched the scent of the candle and also the feeling that I

Anna Hamill:

want people to have when they have it.

Anna Hamill:

There's one called Comfort, which is, I want it to be homely and welcoming and a

Anna Hamill:

memory of Yeah, it's warm apple pie scent.

Anna Hamill:

So that would bring that kind of yeah, hospitality into it.

Anna Hamill:

Anyway yeah, so there's loads of things.

Anna Hamill:

It's verging more on homeware these days, as well as stationery.

Anna Hamill:

And it's been so exciting.

Anna Hamill:

I've had people asking if they can stock my things in their shops so

Anna Hamill:

I'm stocked in, I think, 16 different shops across the world some in America,

Anna Hamill:

some here and my first one in Northern Ireland, which was really exciting.

Anna Hamill:

And then I'm going to a thing called Big Church Festival next

Anna Hamill:

month, so I'll have a stall there which I'm really excited about.

Anna Hamill:

I'm really nervous because apparently 30, 000 people go to this festival

Anna Hamill:

so yeah, that's really exciting.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, things are increasing year on year and pretty much any time I come

Anna Hamill:

up with an idea, I just jot it down and work with it and sometimes it

Anna Hamill:

becomes something and sometimes it doesn't, but it's still definitely

Anna Hamill:

working for me is being creative.

Anna Hamill:

And yeah, it's, I love it.

Anna Hamill:

It's really exciting.

Anna Hamill:

And I've met so many people, both customers and other small business owners.

Anna Hamill:

And it's just, it feels like a really lovely community to be a part of.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, I think in a way, it's also helped me settle here and

Anna Hamill:

feel like I'm a part of life here.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, it's just been fantastic.

Anna Hamill:

I love it.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, it really comes across I think, when people are

Anna Kettle:

looking for a card or whatever it is, a commissioned piece of work, it's I

Anna Kettle:

think that kind of passion and love for what you do really comes across in it.

Anna Kettle:

That's what people are looking for quite often, isn't it, rather than just

Anna Kettle:

something that's been mass produced and perhaps not made with the same kind of,

Anna Kettle:

connection by the artist and the same kind of, yeah so I really love that.

Anna Kettle:

I love the fact that the intention is to bless each individual through, bring

Anna Kettle:

some of that hope into each person as you sell stuff and create stuff for them.

Anna Kettle:

So yeah it's really beautiful what you're doing.

Anna Kettle:

And if anyone's going to, what is it called?

Anna Kettle:

The Big Feast, or did you say?

Anna Hamill:

Big Church Festival,

Anna Kettle:

yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, so if anyone's going there, obviously look up Anna.

Anna Kettle:

If you happen to be going, but check out her website.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, there's a

Anna Hamill:

few small businesses in the tea garden.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, there's a bunch of us

Anna Kettle:

going.

Anna Kettle:

Brilliant.

Anna Kettle:

So look out for her there or just check out her website if not.

Anna Kettle:

So that's a little bit about your business, Anna.

Anna Kettle:

I suppose the other thing I'm interested in is what's your takeaway?

Anna Kettle:

So you've been through this journey where you've had some big upheavals in life, a

Anna Kettle:

big relocation a difficult season, some struggles with your mental health through

Anna Kettle:

that, and that whole season of overwhelm, like pre and during lockdown and then

Anna Kettle:

this whole new sort of calling, as it were, because it is a calling really,

Anna Kettle:

isn't it, and business growing out of that God's really clearly led you into.

Anna Kettle:

So what's the learning out of all of that?

Anna Kettle:

What's the takeaway point?

Anna Kettle:

What's the thing you've learned through it all, if you could pull out one thing?

Anna Kettle:

I know that's a tricky question, but we always ask it.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah I think that quote by Corrie ten Boom, never be

Anna Hamill:

afraid to trust an unknown God, an unknown future with, to a known God.

Anna Hamill:

This is not the life that I would have chosen if I'd been given,

Anna Hamill:

okay, what do you want to do?

Anna Hamill:

I would not have moved to Northern Ireland.

Anna Hamill:

I would not have had four children, I would not have homeschooled for a

Anna Hamill:

season, and those are three things that I said I wouldn't do, and God has

Anna Hamill:

clearly moved me to do those things and to be here, and he knows best,

Anna Hamill:

yeah, I've been thinking about this a lot, and

Anna Hamill:

I don't think I would be as happy and as fulfilled if I was doing the things that

Anna Hamill:

I do now would have chosen for myself.

Anna Hamill:

And, that image of the tapestry and all we see is the back of the tapestry.

Anna Hamill:

And, but God sees the front of the tapestry, and he knows what he's doing,

Anna Hamill:

and he is making something beautiful.

Anna Hamill:

And, yeah, I think it's taught me to just trust him.

Anna Hamill:

Even though that's hard and you can ask questions.

Anna Hamill:

You can say, why God?

Anna Hamill:

Why are you doing this?

Anna Hamill:

What are you doing?

Anna Hamill:

Where are you taking me?

Anna Hamill:

But ultimately there is, there needs to be a deep seated trust that he knows best

Anna Hamill:

and that, he is doing something good and he has a purpose and a reason to take

Anna Hamill:

you where he is taking you and to do the things that he is doing and yeah,

Anna Hamill:

I know I'm saying this from a life that is quite difficult, quite comfortable.

Anna Hamill:

But even in those dark seasons when I felt really depressed and really down

Anna Hamill:

and there was no way out, looking back, I can see that there was a way out

Anna Hamill:

and that he was working in those times and that he has, he's made something

Anna Hamill:

beautiful, not just for me, not just for us as a family as well, but for

Anna Hamill:

the people that get in contact with me and say, oh, I need help with this.

Anna Hamill:

Or could you do this?

Anna Hamill:

There have been some really cool.

Anna Hamill:

I felt really privileged to be a part of some of the messages that

Anna Hamill:

people have sent to each other.

Anna Hamill:

And I was sending cards directly to people as well.

Anna Hamill:

So I had a lady last week who was in hospital, so couldn't write the

Anna Hamill:

card herself physically, but really wanted to send a card to a friend

Anna Hamill:

who just lost her dad and said, are you able to do that for me?

Anna Hamill:

I said, absolutely, of course I can, just let me know what message.

Anna Hamill:

And I was able to do that for her.

Anna Hamill:

So yeah, just to be able to be there for other people and bless

Anna Hamill:

other people and encourage them.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, it's just amazing.

Anna Hamill:

Incredible what God has done, really, just looking back.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah, I love it.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, it really is.

Anna Kettle:

I love that quote from Corey 10 Beam.

Anna Kettle:

It's really cool.

Anna Kettle:

And I think it's really clear, like what you're saying, in terms of you wouldn't

Anna Kettle:

have picked what you're doing right now, or you wouldn't have, it's not the life

Anna Kettle:

you would've chosen necessarily, but Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Actually really love it and, yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

I think it's so challenging, but so encouraging to hear, and I

Anna Kettle:

think it's really encouraging.

Anna Kettle:

Maybe for listeners who are still right in the middle of something really difficult

Anna Kettle:

right now to hear that, you couldn't necessarily see it in the middle of the

Anna Kettle:

pain and the mess and the darkest days.

Anna Kettle:

But he didn't know what he was doing, even in the middle of it.

Anna Kettle:

And now you at the other side, you can see more of that.

Anna Kettle:

And I think you're right.

Anna Kettle:

It's that thing of we can trust God to Yeah, he, because he knows us, and

Anna Kettle:

actually he's quite often, like you say, he knows us better than we know

Anna Kettle:

ourselves, and he knows what's good for us probably better than we know,

Anna Kettle:

or choose better things for us than we would choose for ourselves sometimes,

Anna Kettle:

and that's so challenging, isn't it, when you're in the middle of it.

Anna Kettle:

So encouraging to hear your testimony, though, to hear that's your experience.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

He is good.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah, no, it's really good.

Anna Kettle:

And that's what, why we do What's The Story, really, we want to

Anna Kettle:

share these stories and encourage people who are facing challenges.

Anna Kettle:

So yeah, it's really good.

Anna Kettle:

So tell us then, just to finish, where can people reach out to

Anna Kettle:

you if they want to connect?

Anna Kettle:

Like, how can they find out more about your business?

Anna Kettle:

Tell us about, website, social links tell us all the things.

Anna Kettle:

Where do people find you?

Anna Hamill:

Yeah my website is andhopedesigns.

Anna Hamill:

com and I am at andhopedesigns everywhere you could think.

Anna Hamill:

I've probably got some kind of profile but you're more likely to get in touch

Anna Hamill:

with me if on Instagram or Facebook the others are just more like placeholders.

Anna Hamill:

You'll probably not find me on LinkedIn, I'm afraid.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Hamill:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Yeah.

Anna Kettle:

Fair enough.

Anna Kettle:

Brilliant.

Anna Kettle:

That's so great.

Anna Kettle:

And I definitely encourage anyone who's listening to, to check

Anna Kettle:

it out if you're interested.

Anna Kettle:

Looking for any art, or cards, or candles, or anything else, just go and check it

Anna Kettle:

out because it's some beautiful stuff and it makes great gifts yeah thank you

Anna Kettle:

so much for joining us today, Anna it's been really great to hear your story,

Anna Kettle:

thank you for giving up your time and sharing a bit of your story with us,

Anna Kettle:

appreciate that, and guys, thank you for listening in today, and we'll see

Anna Kettle:

you again soon on What's The Story.

Sadaf Beynon:

And just like that, we've reached the end of

Sadaf Beynon:

another fascinating conversation.

Sadaf Beynon:

Remember to check out Crowd Online Church at www.

Sadaf Beynon:

crowd.

Sadaf Beynon:

church.

Sadaf Beynon:

Don't forget to subscribe to What's the Story on your favourite podcast app.

Sadaf Beynon:

We've got a treasure trove of inspiring stories coming your way and we'd

Sadaf Beynon:

hate for you to miss any of them.

Sadaf Beynon:

What's the Story is a production of Crowd Online Church.

Sadaf Beynon:

Our fantastic team, including Anna Kettle, Matt Edmundson, Tanya Hutsuliak, and

Sadaf Beynon:

myself, Sadaf Beynon, work behind the scenes to bring these stories to life.

Sadaf Beynon:

Our theme song is a creative work of Josh Edmundson.

Sadaf Beynon:

If you're interested in the transcript or show notes, head over to our

Sadaf Beynon:

website, whatsthestorypodcast.

Sadaf Beynon:

com.

Sadaf Beynon:

And while you're there, sign up for our free newsletter to get all the goodness

Sadaf Beynon:

delivered straight to your inbox.

Sadaf Beynon:

That's all from us this week.

Sadaf Beynon:

Thank you so much for tuning in and we'll catch you in the next episode.

Sadaf Beynon:

Bye for now.

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