WHEN artist Pia Elliot needed help in growing her fledgling business, a SWEF Enterprise grant from Dorset Community Foundation helped her attract more customers.
The 26-year-old, from Wareham, received £1,999 from the fund, which awards grants to young people aged 18 to 30 of up to £500 to start-up businesses or up to £2,000 for businesses that have been running for less than two years.
She has been inspired by a life-long love of the natural world, producing intricate pen and ink drawings of wildlife. It was only after being made redundant in 2024 that she launched her business Pia Elliot Art, alongside a part-time job.
“I’ve always loved drawing animals and had an eye for pattern,” she said. “I used to doodle mandalas at school and decided to experiment with combining the two ideas together. I had quite bad anxiety at the time and it helped me switch off.
“I’ve always loved wildlife and feel a real connection to the natural world, so I enjoy depicting the characters I’ve been lucky enough to observe, translating a sense of their personality through ink.”
She has had success in selling her work through the website she built, as well as at craft fairs and exhibitions, but felt she needed financial help to promote her business further. “I was getting frustrated because there were things I wanted to improve, like equipment for shows and marketing materials, but I didn’t have the funds,” she said.
Her friend Becky Walker told her how a SWEF Enterprise grant had helped transform her jewellery business. “I decided to give it a go,” said Pia. “The application process was quite easy, although the interview with the grant panel was nerve-wracking to begin with. By the end, I was happy with how it went.”
The anxious wait ended with an email to say she had been successful. “I was elated,” she said. “It was amazing to get the grant and felt like validation that I’m taking the right steps. The grant has helped me massively.”
It was amazing to get the grant and felt like validation that I’m taking the right steps. The grant has helped me massively.
She has been able to buy a new gazebo for shows with lighting and banners, as well as marketing materials to send out with orders. “It is a professional set up now and I often receive comments of how great it looks,” she said. “When I send orders out, the upgraded marketing material that goes out with them has encouraged people to read my story and then return their custom so it has definitely helped.”
She takes orders through her website as well as working with customers to create bespoke commission work. A number of galleries across the UK now stock her work. “At the start I was petrified approaching the galleries, but the more you do it, the easier it gets,” she said.
Her new-found confidence and success this year has also prompted her to look beyond the home studio. “I’m currently in talks to take over a studio space at Walford Mill in Wimborne and am really excited about the possibilities that this could bring to my creative practice. I’m looking forward to sharing my pen and ink process with visitors and giving them an insight into the hours of practice and dedication that go into my work.”
If she’s not in her studio she’ll be found out in nature recharging her creative batteries. “Most of my free time is spent outdoors,” she said. “I love to explore Dorset’s woodlands and the coast. It’s a very inspirational area.”
Find out more about SWEF Enterprise Fund grants here and see Pia’s work at piaelliotart.com, or on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
