Red Hen Originals is now a fully-fledged venture (From Gazette & Herald)

Red Hen Originals is now a fully-fledged venture

2:12pm Wednesday 24th June 2009

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Natalya Wilson talks to a Ryedale artist who has turned the credit crunch to her advantage.

THANKS to the recession, the past 12 months have been a difficult time for many people, with jobs being lost, wages frozen and people struggling to make ends meet.

Hardly a conducive time for starting a new business, one might think, but that is exactly what Ryedale-based artist Julia Burns has done with her new venture, Red Hen Originals.

While the recession has spelled out a message of doom and gloom across the globe, Julia’s quirky and successful business venture – selling original images of her trademark red hens at affordable prices – has been flourishing.

Using the age-old method of potato printing as the base for her paintings, Julia adds her own artistic flair to ensure that each individual composition is unique and, as a result, no two images are alike.

Julia said: “It’s been fantastic. The idea is to make original art affordable for all, but also to make the red hens collectable by changing and introducing new designs.”

Julia is a well-respected and world-renowned artist, whose large abstract works sell for thousands of pounds.

A native of County Durham, she graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in 1985, and when she moved to North Yorkshire, continued to sell her work through dealers in London.

“I had established a degree of reputation in the art world and people liked my work, so when I moved to North Yorkshire, I could paint to my heart’s content and could make good money from it,” she said.

Her first red hen came about that year when she made Christmas cards for friends and family, a potato print of a red hen in snow which would define her new rural location.

“Everyone loved them, and many kept and framed them,” she said.

Over the years, the red hen idea evolved and had many incarnations, most notably in 2005, when one of Julia’s original red hen paintings was auctioned at Sotheby’s, along with the work of other internationally renowned artists and celebrities, to help raise funds for the victims of the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. Julia’s image raised more than £700.

However, it was not until November 2008, when Julia and her husband, Simon Kershaw – feeling the grip of the credit crunch tighten – decided to turn the red hen idea into a fully-fledged business venture.

Prompted by the opportunity of a lifestyle change, when Simon was offered a job with Bon Coeur Fine Wines in Masham, taking a wage cut in the process, meant that Julia would have to generate a regular income. This also meant they had to put their beloved home in Oswaldkirk on the market.

Julia says that their house, which features in 25 Beautiful Homes magazine in July, and which is currently on the market, has been a huge inspiration for her artwork, especially the Red Hen Original range, as there is a constant flurry of wonderful birds in their garden.

“I will, of course, miss the house terribly – we both will,” said Julia.

“From our position at the top of Oswaldkirk bank, one cannot help but be blown away by the breathtaking views across the Howardian Hills to the south and the Vale of Pickering and the moors to the north.”

But, even though it’s time for Julia and Simon to move on, the current economic climate is far from being a negative factor in their lives. Indeed, it has forced them to reassess their lifestyle and grasp creative and exciting opportunities which might otherwise have never been realised.

“We are very keen to stay in the Ryedale area,” said Julia.

“We will miss the stunning views, but all in all our successful fledgling business and Simon’s job are both very positive lifestyle changes to have come out of the credit crunch, and we relish the challenge.”

Red Hen Originals are available online at www.redhenoriginals.co.uk and at several outlets, including the Saltbox Gallery in Helmsley, the White Swan in Pickering and the Durham Ox in Crayke.

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