Art has always played a big part in our family. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting beside my mum as she painted at her easel, while I happily made paint splats and circles that loosely resembled little faces.
I began illustrating pets and ponies, and at just 13 years old I sold my first piece of art at an exhibition – a comical illustration of a cat in a wonky kitchen, attempting to knock a goldfish bowl from the table. I continued with animal illustration until 2015, when I decided to tackle something I had always struggled with: sculpting.
I enrolled in pottery classes and spent the entire summer focused on learning the craft. I longed to create something of real quality, something that could be physically held, turned, and studied. I had a clear vision of making cute animal sculptures from polymer clay that would be instantly recognisable as my own.
I named the sculptures Poppits, and they quickly gained a following on Facebook. Commissions soon followed, providing both the encouragement and the financial means to continue developing my work.
During the 2020 lockdown, I began sharing videos of my sculpting process on TikTok. The account grew rapidly, reaching 105,000 followers. Balancing this sudden growth alongside full-time work as an NHS physiotherapist and veterinary physiotherapist soon became overwhelming, so I stepped back from social media for a period to focus quietly on my clinical work and commissions behind the scenes.
At the end of 2025, I made the decision to leave the NHS, allowing me the time and space to focus fully on my art alongside my veterinary physiotherapy career.
