My Creative Story

 ⟐ A creative journey born from my own family needs ⟐

Hey, my name is Codie ~ I am an Australian artist based on the east coast of New South Wales. I'm so glad you are interested in my work, and I hope you enjoy what I have to share.

Sunlit Folk is an Australian-based small business with a commitment to creating handmade sustainable toys and sentimental keepsakes. Our wooden and felt toys are ideal for creative, imaginative and open-ended play. These small batch natural toys embody the magic of holistic play.

Everything is lovingly designed, hand-painted, or hand-stitched by me. I create original wooden mini folk ~ as well as embroidered fibre and wool felt art.

Key features of our product collection include:

• Sunlit Folk wooden toys are handcrafted locally by an Australian woodworker, and hand-painted by me.
• Our felt toys are handmade with divine 100% pure wool felt that has been hand-dyed in Mullumbimby, Northern NSW.
• My original artworks have been digitised and printed onto quality organic canvas to produce unique textile products.

Sunlit Folk strives to support handmade quality over mass production, Australian made local products & natural materials. 

We focus on creating magical toys and heirloom keepsakes.

⟐ Where it all started ⟐

With a background in environmental science, I started my career as a consultant and have worked in that industry for 15 years. But I've always been creative at heart, and in 2018 I made a significant career change.

My Dad has always been extremely creative & throughout my entire life has encouraged me to colour, paint, draw, write, create. As a young child he would make me my own handmade birthday cards every year, and hand-drawn colouring-in books ~ I would honestly spend hours buried in paints, crayons and pencils.

He bought me my very first journal when I was 8 years old, and it soon became one of my favourite pastimes. I have such fond memories writing my little heart out every night before bed, and drawing accompanying landscapes and animals.
He would ask me questions and give me subtle prompts, which helped me capture all of our adventures each day. I still have that journal now... a beautiful reminder and snapshot of my childhood. 

After the birth of my second daughter in 2018, I found myself a little lost... I was no long truly satisfied with my career writing environmental impact assessments. Although an extremely important role in preserving our precious ecosystems, I personally needed a change.

I had reached a time in my life where I felt sooooo strongly about the environment, and the current climate crisis that was unfolding. While extreme changes need to take place on both a corporate and governmental scale, I felt there were still many ways individuals can make a big difference. Being eco-conscious at a community level is a huge positive step towards reducing our impact to the planet.

So, my goal and mindset shifted, I wanted to be proactive & focus on supporting our future generations in a unique creative way.

⟐ Growth Mindset⟐

I really resonated with Carol Dweck's book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In it she explains that while in this "growth" mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development.

"This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments, everyone can change and grow through application and experience."

So I turned my focus to something that nurtured my own needs while simultaneously helping others. To find that creative spark that had been lost during 15 years of a busy, corporate, fast-paced, reactive lifestyle.

It was time to slow down and breathe in these years while my two girls were still young. This transformation involved a lot of personal growth and resulted in a strong desire to make a career change. I redefined my goals and wanted to focus on making a meaningful difference in our community.

I felt that a small creative business would be good for my own wellbeing while also allowing me to connect with other like-minded people. I wanted to maintain a good work-life balance, so that I could be home for my children when they needed me the most.

There was also this sense of 'legacy'... what sort of impression did I want to leave? Was I brave enough to step way out of my comfort zone and start something that I was truly passionate about? I wanted to practice what I preached.... to teach my daughters that HOW we choose to live our lives is extremely important. 

During this time my 4 year old daughter was also going through some separation anxiety at preschool, & I desperately wanted to help alleviate her worries.

I starting painting little wooden toys with quotes and themes that appealed to her. She would put these in her pocket or bag before preschool, and they provided comfort and reassurance throughout the day.

So, with a new sense of direction, a little bit of courage, and a whole lot of coffee ~ my creative adventure unfolded.   

⟐ Rediscover thoughtfulness & be intentional with our spending ⟐

With more people becoming aware of the challenges ahead of us with climate change, there is a much needed drive to reduce our environmental footprints.

“Green purchasing” means making decisions with the environment in mind, whether at the grocery store, your local market or online.

As a working mother of two, I have a keen interest in the footprint that we are leaving our children, and the ethics of how we treat each other. I have no doubt that the majority of our community would be happy to change a small component of their lives if it meant that our planet would be sustainable for our children.

Despite the growing accessibility of digital media, I believe that giving handmade & sustainable gifts is highly valued in our community. I would love for all of us to rediscover thoughtfulness & be more intentional with our spending.

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Cheers,
Codie
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 Sunlit Folk :  ˈsʌn.lɪt ⟐ fəʊk  ⟐ 
༄ a group of people receiving light from the sun  ༄