Sible Hedingham business up for award and £19K prize fund

Qualified primary teacher Louise McCabe has lived in the village for the past decade, and has been running her own business, Infulprint Co, from her home since 2019.

She said: “I previously got into teaching, which I still love but when I had my son, I thought I could make some pocket money on the side.

“I started selling portraits and lino prints on Etsy and it’s grown and got bigger every year.”

At work - Louise said she has always had a passion for art (Image: Louise McCabe)

The 37-year-old mum of two has always had a passion for art and graduated from university in 2008, after studying illustration.

“I managed to turn my passion into a full-time job," she said.

“It’s really amazing to do something you love.”

Inkfulprint Co offers handmade lino prints and portraits of local villages, landscapes, buildings, homes and pets – as well as wedding portraits and venues.

Louise mainly works on a commission basis, and has created many prints of landmarks, houses and architecture in Halstead, Sible Hedingham, Castle Hedingham, Lavenham, Southwold, and Mersea Island.

Recently, Etsy reached out to Louise inviting her to enter Inkfulprint Co for the sixth annual Etsy Design Awards, a global award programme that celebrates the high-quality and well-crafted items on Etsy, while spotlighting the creative entrepreneurs from around the world.

“At first, I was a bit dubious, but my family were telling me to go for it, so I entered.” Lousie said.

Inkfulprint Co was shortlisted in ‘the weddings & celebrations’ category, making finalist with the opportunity to win a £19K prize fund – with the winner selected by Naomi Osaka and Drew Barrymore.

Happy - Louise has been running her own business since 2019 (Image: Louise McCabe)

Louise said: “It was very exciting, it’s really good to get some recognition.

“It’s really odd to think that Naomi Osaka and Drew Barrymore have seen it - we’re big tennis fans in my house too, it’s very surreal.

“I’ve worked on the business for so long, it’s so lovely working with my customers they always give me really good feedback about my business but to get recognition on this scale is really exciting.

“This opportunity will help me to grow, its growing already but it will enable me to keep developing.

“A studio would be the dream.

“I’m currently working in my dining room, which is not ideal, so developing workspace would be really helpful and would help the business grow even more.”

The winner of the Etsy Design award will be announced next month.

For more information, visit etsy.com/uk/shop/InkfulPrintCo