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10 | InTouch APRIL 2022 Emma Shewan’s always had a love of arts and crafts which she has turned into her very own business, ‘Stampin Up! with Emma’. The 41-year-old Blenheim resident started scrap-booking when she was pregnant with her now 19-year-old daughter, Jessica, and today is a certified demonstrator for Stampin’Up! Having previously worked at her local museum, Emma found the long periods of standing and walking too painful.“I started to spend more time working on my hobby and after friends invited me to a Stampin’Up! event, I was hooked. I can’t walk long distances or lift heavy items so finding work that worked for me was my aim.” Stampin’Up is a worldwide company providing high- quality products for customers to create handmade cards, scrapbook pages, DIY décor, or other paper projects designed to help capture meaningful moments in life. Demonstrators can earn supplemental income and other benefits through selling creative products that bring people together. Emma has Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD) which causes muscle weakness and pain. When she first started showing signs of weak muscles as a baby, genetic testing was not readily available, and doctors thought she had Welander Kugelberg Syndrome or Spinal Muscular Dystrophy. “Doctors told my parents I’d never be able to have children or drive a car!” Stampin’Up was brought to New Zealand in 2007 and Emma’s crafty friends introduced her to the company at an event making greeting cards. “I went to a few courses over the years to get more skills and learn the products before I decided to join up as a demonstrator.” Craft has always been a hobby for Emma Shewan, but once her condition worsened she decided to turn these skills into work. Crafting her way to success STAMPIN’ UP! WITH EMMA FEATURE Emma now runs her own monthly Stampin’Up! Workshops and designs around four greeting cards at a time. She makes up the kits required to create the cards and charges her customers a small fee to cover costs and a small profit for herself. Most of her work is sold online as it’s physically too demanding having to set up and sell at markets. “I would love to be able to sell my cards at more places but it’s hard to get out and showcase my crafts to retailers.” The Covid-19 pandemic made Emma shape her business differently and at times she hasn’t been able to run workshops due to alert levels. To combat this, Emma literally got crafty and made her business work by delivering the kits to her customers to make at home. “Shipping delays have also impacted my business, but I just do what I can with what I have to make it work.” Emma’s disability doesn’t hold her back and despite weakness in her arms and legs, she has overcome many obstacles running her small part-time enterprise. “I can’t just pack up my gear and go,”she says but daughter Jessica and Mum Jeanette, with whom she lives with, are great supporters and helpers of her craft business. When asked what advice she would give others with a disability wanting to start their own business she said, “just go for it!” “Don’t sit back and think you can’t do something because your disability holds you back. Make it work for you.” Emma with daughter Jessica. Right: Some of Emma’s greeting cards. For info about Emma’s workshops or to purchase one of her craft designs, check out Stampin Up! with Emma on Facebook