Hi, I’m Melissa. I’m the illustrator and founder of Western Sketch a greeting card company which i started during my babies nap times.

I have 3 children and now juggle my business around the school run.

When I graduated with an illustration degree in my twenties I had no idea what to do next with it and instead found myself working in retail, where I stayed for 15 years! I became a Children’s Wear Buyer and enjoyed my job, but after being made redundant whilst pregnant with my 2nd child I struggled to find a job which I could work flexibly around my two young children which is when I started watercolour painting during my babies nap time.

It wasn’t until a year later that I realised I’d built up a large collection of illustrations and wondered could this form the start of something? A local Summer show was looking for stall holders and I decided I had nothing to loose and so applied for a pitch with the idea to turn my illustrations into Greeting Cards and other products.

The show went really well and really was the starting point of Western Sketch which has been going strong ever since that day in 2018.

I’ve built my Greeting Card business gradually over the past 8 years. It’s enabled me to look after my 3 Children and each year has built a new milestone and achievement for me. In 2021 after the Covid pandemic I decided it was now or never and took the plunge into starting to wholesale my Cards and Gift Wrap. I have since created exclusive greeting card collections for Harvey Nichols and am proud to call Fortum and Mason, John Lewis and Waitrose stockists of my cards, alongside many wonderful and eclectic Independent shops across the UK.

My passion lies in painting using watercolour but bringing this into the modern day, you wont find landscapes on my greeting cards, rather cakes with smiley faces or animals wearing party hats.

As an ex Buyer I have always been interested in how and where something is made. I apply this knowledge as a card publisher. I only use the very best paper across all of my products which are printed in the UK supporting British suppliers.

I am always looking for beautiful new stockists and would love to hear from you here