Meet Kay Halliwell-Sutton

IndigoBlu are a small British company run by husband and wife team, Alfie and Kay Halliwell-Sutton. IndigoBlu design and manufacture unique, highly detailed, high quality, red rubber stamps.

They also have a wide range of excellent quality own brand products including, Luscious Pigment powder, Mixed Media paint, Stencils, Slap it On Mediums (Matte, Gloss, Fabric and Super Thick), FlitterGlu Stamping Adhesive and Gilding Flakes. See their range at CraftStash

We thought we'd ask Kay some questions so we can get to know her a little better before we settle down to her first CraftWorld masterclass on wednesday 26th August at 1pm.

Can you tell us how you ended up becoming a professional paper crafter, what was your journey into this career?

From bring a child I have always been very arty – ‘arty-farty’ as my Father would call it. I always asked for crayons or pens or paint for Birthdays or Christmas. I went on to study Fine Art and eventually photography and became a professional photographer for many years. I always specialised in people. I was sponsored by a couple of companies who asked me to teach and demonstrate specialist techniques at trade shows. As a photographer I picked up quite a few awards along the way and really enjoyed my career. Alfie and I started IndigoBlu after a friend suggested we borrow a redundant rubber vulcaniser for stamp making. It was important for us to make products that were of an exceptional quality at a reasonable price. At the time there was a lot of low quality out there for crafters and we wanted to offer something different. We are still a small family firm, and we still give time to chat to our customers on the phone. The lovely thing about art and craft is that you never stop learning from those around you and it is a wonderful thing to share tips, techniques and knowledge with those around you.

Can you tell us about your range of products

Our core products are high quality, deep etched red rubber stamps. All other products we develop work in conjunction with these and allow you to do more with your stamps than just stamp with ink. We developed Flitterglu stamping adhesive to work with gilding flakes, which gives you a gilded stamped image. More recently we have developed a growing range of Mixed Media acrylic paints which work on any surface including fabric. We also have a range of Luscious pigment powders which can be mixed with water to create your own paint or can be used with any of our mediums as well as air drying polymer clay. We also have our own resin – Diamond Resin – which is a jeweller’s grade, crystal clear resin great for use in jewellery and Mixed Media projects.

What are your main influences when it comes to inspiring your new ranges

This literally can come from anywhere - whilst out walking the dogs, flowers in our garden, or visiting a fabulous art exhibition. Some of my favourite artists/designers are the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Jane and William Morris, Julia Margaret Cameron, Gustav Klimt, Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Carlow, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jenny Saville.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps and make crafting their full time job?

If you wish to make crafting your full-time job you need to be aware that unless you are incredibly fortunate, it is not going to make you financially rich. If however you are more interested in doing something to feed your soul and spend your time doing something you are passionate about, then crafting will bring you fulfilment.

Can you let us know what you’ve got coming up?

We will continue to work with guest designers and will be increasing our range of products into exciting new areas including Artist papers – Kay’s own designs printed onto rice paper, and ink sprays. We will also be bringing out our Mixed Media Magazines 3 and 4 in 2021. Our Dirty Weekends will be back on the road from September this year (fully socially distanced)