Boldly by name, boldly by nature
Hi, we’re Amy and James the faces behind Boldly Whittle. We’re a husband-and-wife team, which back in 2019 when we first got married, I never believed I would ever say. But here we are running our family business together making personalised gifts, party decor and homeware from our home studio and workshop on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. If you don’t know where that is then we are slap bang in the middle between Blackpool (cue lights and feather boas) and Preston (the birthplace of Wallace and Gromit), just outside of Lytham St. Annes.
Our journeys to now
We both started our career paths very differently; I studied Media Studies at college and went onto volunteer at a web design company before becoming their senior graphic designer. James went to university to study sports science before climbing the ladder and eventually becoming general manager in the Leisure and Fitness industry.
It’s been a bit of rollercoaster ride as to how we’ve ended up right where we are. But like the word ‘boldly’ suggests it was with courage and the willingness to take risks (or stupidity as some may say) that we are doing this thing!
Meet team Boldly
Bringing our passions to life within our business makes it all worthwhile.
Amy
My love for art started at a really young age, growing up around a dad who was a desktop publisher and a grandfather who was a printer made it easy for me to get lost in the world of design. My great-grandfather was the famous artist Otto Schubert, and even though I never got to meet him I like to think his artistic traits run through my blood.
My happy place is sitting under a cosy blanket drawing on my iPad or colouring with our son, and so you’ll find some of my hand drawn designs across our art prints, greeting cards and homeware.
Fun facts: I love films (I own around 500+ DVDs, shame they haven’t aged well), contemporary country music, reading on my kindle, walks with my family and I’m much happier doing something fun like crazy golf or bowling than going for a fancy meal.
James
His love for fitness has definitely not stopped since leaving the industry. And now if he’s not working you will likely find him running, usually head to toe in some crazy colourful ensemble. He loves nothing more than getting out whatever the weather, whatever the distance, challenging himself to get that new PB no matter if its for a 5k or a half marathon.
This passion has inspired our best-selling range of medal hangers, running route plaques and map coasters as they make great gifts for runners and other athletes.
Fun facts: He loves pizza (he’ll admit he runs so he doesn’t have to give it up), rock music, watching athletics, football and F1, getting outside and playing Scalextric with our son (which they now have set up in our loft thank goodness).
We care about the little details in all we do
Our roles within the biz
We love running our own business, don’t get me wrong, it's not without its challenges. But being creative and working for yourself really does fill our cups. James is great on the technical aspects of product creation and is a whizz with the laser, whereas I’m more at home with designing the visual aspects. This means we work well as a team, most of the time, it does help that James is out in the workshop and I’m in the studio inside, that has definitely helped us run our business together as spouses, as we aren’t in each other’s pockets all day.
It's all in the detail
Our quality promise
Not to toot our own horn, but we know that the products we produce are of high quality because we care about the little details in all we do. From the materials we source, to the way it’s designed and developed, all the way to how we package and present our brand to you when you receive your parcel through the door. It’s just as important to us as it is to you, that everything we create is done with the care and attention it deserves.
Our core materials
We’re able to add this layer of finesse to our range as we truly understand the materials we work with, this is due to only working with 4 key materials across our whole product range. Card, Plywood, Slate and Acrylic. This allows us to know its limitations and how best to get the desired results on our products. We spend a lot of time before launching a new range testing and trialling different ideas before we sign it off, we are kind of perfectionists like that.
Create boldly
Our brand belief
Our product ranges are developed through our belief that a gift should be something to keep and treasure, a memory or moment in time that you want to hold on to, or an occasion worth celebrating no matter how big or small. We want our products to break through the noise (and definitely avoid the bits and bobs drawer of doom, you know you have one) and be proudly displayed for years to come. That’s why we create boldly, and we hope that’s why you're here too.
love Team Boldly x
