Alsager Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses and organisations over the coming weeks called 'Up Close in Alsager'.

This week we caught up with Nicole Taylor, of Art by Nikkie T, a local art business based in Alsager.

Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from when producing art? Is there a particular artist or role model who had a big influence on you?

I was in born in South Africa, so a lot of the animals I draw as prints are African animals, which brings me a little closer to home, I guess.

If anyone knows me, they know I have a crazy amount of love for dogs and have done a lot of custom work of people's puppies too.

My love for art started at a very young age, too young for me to remember and I used to watch a lot of Bob Ross!

So, when I began experimenting, a lot of my acrylic paintings that I have done in the past were inspired by him.

Now, I just do weird and wacky stuff and let my crazy noggin do most of the painting!! I do not know whether that is a good thing or bad thing!!

Tell me about your journey, have you always aspired to become an artist? Is it something you studied at college or university? Or was it a hobby that has turned into a business venture?

To be honest, art was always going to be a hobby for me, it was never going to turn into a business because it was something for me.

I always thought that it wouldn't be able to become a career path, that's why I didn't study it at school or college, which is one of my biggest regrets.

Luckily during the first lockdown back in 2020, which sounds bizarre, I sold a couple of my acrylic paintings to make some extra money and I did not anyone would buy them.

But they did, which sparked 'Art by Nikkie T'.

When did you decide to launch your business through Etsy, did Covid-19 and lockdown have an impact on your decision and describe the range of prints you offer to customers?

I opened my Etsy shop middle of last year during the first lockdown, I decided to do it after the purchase of the very first prints I did (the butterfly, springbok and the lion) that were bought by The Brownlow Inn, which led to a lot of demand after restaurants were back open and people saw my work.

The impact of Covid-19 on 'Art by Nikkie T' was nothing but positive, the drive that the public had to support local and small businesses were immense and I do hope it continues when all of this malarkey is over and one with and it was not just for the lockdown or social media trends.

A lot of my art involves combining animals with tropical floral designs, I have done a lion, butterfly, elephant and the very well-known giraffe.

Is there a specific type of print that is your favourite to produce and carries an extra meaning?

Gosh, dogs are just the best and I could not pick a favourite that I have done, and I wish I could meet them all.

I think the one that carries extra meaning is the two dogs I did of a mini dachshund and an old English sheep dog called Dudley and Ruby; they are quite the pair.

Ruby is unfortunately blind, and Dudley is fairly old, the story of these two beauties was quite special, I feel honoured to have drawn them.

Has any of your work featured in any exhibitions, workshops or studios and what are your long-term aspirations? Would you like to have your own full-time shop, possibly even in Alsager?

A lot of my work is online based, so nothing has been featured in exhibitions or workshops as of yet.

I have not given it much thought to be honest, I am kind of going with the flow and seeing where this takes me and who knows I might have a little shop in Alsager.

I'm just happy that people like what I do, and it makes me feel very extra special (especially when you ask me to draw your dogs).

At this moment in time, it is not really about the money, it is more about the creativity I'm sharing.

Is there a particular print, item or style which has proven the most popular with your customers?

The most popular one is the 'happy giraffe' hands down, he is so cute and really brings a room to life because it's the first thing you see when you walk in, he's just this little happy giraffe with loads of tropical flowers and it just looks amazing in the frame!

What does your art consist of?

Mt art consists of tropical flowers, vines, leaves and that has kind of been my little niche.

I mainly do prints now as it appeals more to the public, I find acrylic or oil paintings harder as I am very inconsistent when it comes to painting.

One day I could feel like I want to paint a landscape with mountains, but the next day I could paint an abstract face, there's no in between.

Plus, with paintings a lot of people like certain types of art and with paintings, it's something you either like or you don't in my opinion.

Talk us through the ordering process with your business, what radius do you deliver to and what's the expected delivery time?

With custom pieces I will always do a rough sketch of the idea that customers have described to me, so that gives me an opportunity to change anything that you're not happy with.

Once you're happy I will go ahead and take full payment and start the drawing process of your piece.

Once finished I make sure you're happy and send it to my printer (Nigel Kirby photography), who locally prints on high quality gloss finish paper and frames it for me.

So, you're not just supporting one business, you're supporting two!

From start to finish, if it's a custom piece it can take up to three to five working days to get it to you.

If it's a print that I have already done it can take one to three working days to be delivered. It will be the same across all of my platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Etsy!

How would you describe the response to your business? After a crazy year, do you feel like there is a new-found love to support local businesses?

It has been a very loopy year for sure and I'm certain everyone in Alsager can agree with me.

The amount of support I have received is crazy. All the likes and shares everyone has done has helped so much and I cannot thank the local people enough, it has really helped me share my work and creativity.

Not many people know it, but when you purchase something from a small business that business owner does a little dance and it isn't just me!

I am sure a lot of small businesses in Alsager can say the same.

There is definitely a newfound love of supporting local and little, my family and I bought most of our Christmas gifts from Etsy where you can find small businesses on there.

It's amazing, please keep shopping little and local and be the reason a business owner does a happy little dance.

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at what I can create, it means the whole world to me!