By Ewen McRae
Six years after turning her back on a burgeoning law career, Kirsty Milne is making her mark in a more creative field.
Looking for more flexibility in her work as she started a family, the Woodlea mother of two now juggles her home graphic design business Peg & Pencil with family life, and said it’s been a long journey to get to this point.
“With the hours I was working in the law, and knowing I wanted to start a family, I started to explore what I felt I wanted to do,” Ms Milne said. “I started teaching myself graphic design through YouTube tutorials, and doing workshops to learn from others, so it all started from there.
“I then had two kids so working full time wasn’t really an option for me, so I took the plunge to become my own boss.
“I had to build up a client base and make sure I could sustain a business and so far it’s been fantastic.”
Now running her business from her home studio, she began by designing wedding invitations, and now does everything from social media, business logos, websites and marketing templates.
“When you run your own business from home … you do have to be very diligent.
“It’s great to have that time at home with the kids, but you’ve also got to focus and have your goals when crunch time comes.”
