A fed-up mum dropped everything she knew and found a new career through an unusual hobby.
Jen Newton-Prosser, from Liverpool, was a photography lecturer for more than a decade. Despite her lengthy career, the 46-year-old reached a point where she felt her mental health was impacted by her daily lifestyle. In 2022, Jen decided to take a step back and focus on herself.
She told the ECHO: "When a job just gets to a point where it affects you mentally you have to walk away. Once I quit, I had the headspace to think about what is wanted to do. If anyone's been in that situation it can be really scary. I took time off and didn't do much but it was then I started to pick up a hobby."
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Jen ordered stained glass-making kits to feed her creative side, she continued to pick up the craft until deciding to sell the items online. She said: "I was making pieces in the box room at home then launched a website. It blew me away that people actually bought them."
The business, Olive Can Fly, sold handmade stained glass items and decorative pressed flower pieces, with a former student acting as Jen's first customer. The orders came in fast inspiring Jen to move out of the box room and to a craft market to sell her pieces in person.
She added: "I booked my first in-person market at Camp and Furnace with Craft & Flea, who I now trade with regularly in London and Manchester. I was so nervous and it was so busy that I didn't know what to do. But it went well and kind of went from there."
Jen upscaled the business once again from a market stall to a studio all her own. She
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