Student turns passion for art into business

Creating greeting cards and wall art through the mediums of water colouring, inking and photography began as a passionate hobby for Milda Isganaityte, but she has now turned it into her very own business.

ArteMiArt Studio was established by University of Salford student Milda this year. Her Etsy online store is stocked with an array of artwork ranging from plant paintings and greeting cards to nautical photographs and graphic posters.

Milda, originally from Lithuania, but now living in Manchester, said: “Being away from my family during the lockdown last year was very emotional, I was missing them a lot and found comfort in reconnecting with a hobby I had as a child.

“It started out as a therapeutic outlet to cope with the pandemic, has now evolved into something I want to share.”

Milda likes to refer to her business as her childhood reimagined, using memories of picking wildflowers with her mum and granny as a child back in Lithuania to inspire her work. She has found great comfort within her passion for painting and hopes her customers can too.

Nature and botanicals are major themes within Milda’s work and she’s expressed how important it is to help protect the environment so only uses recycled paper for her cards and recycled/recyclable materials for packaging.

Milda sought help from business incubator Launch@Salford when establishing her business.

Launch@Salford is a purpose-built business incubator set up in 2018 to aid students and alumni in starting their own businesses. It offers the students and alumni access to office space, financial aid and advice from expert business advisors.

Milda said: “Launch has been incredibly useful.

“I knew I wanted to turn my passion into a business but didn’t know how, Launch helped me go about it properly by creating a business plan and taking time to evaluate the market and competitors.”

Milda is currently completing a foundation year in Art and Design and hopes to move towards studying BA Graphic Design later this year, she aims to incorporate the skills she’ll learn in graphic design with her passion for hand crafted artwork and turn her business into a career, with the possibility to one day launch her own range of wallpaper and wrapping paper.

You can view Milda’s portfolio of artwork and purchase her items.