Emily Coxhead

Case Study

How would you like to be described?

A fluffy-haired designer, illustrator, author and happy thing maker who always tries to look for the good.

How would you describe what you do?

It’s really hard to describe what I do every day. Sometimes I spend all day reading and replying to emails and other days I sit and draw and doodle all day (guess which days I prefer!). In everything I do, I aim to make someone smile. There’s so much negativity in the world I think it’s so important to look for and share the good stuff as best as we can.

What is your greatest achievement? 

Turning The Happy Newspaper from an idea into a reality. I am so proud that I’ve managed to take an idea that was whirling around my brain and turn it into something that so many people enjoy and benefit from.

What was the cause or ’trigger for this journey of making the world a better place through being useful and kind? And how old were you? When did you realise you could make a difference? 

Negativity is something that has always hit me hard. From a really young age I could feel when people were upset or something bad had happened and I think that must be what’s lead to me wanting to search for the good. When I first created The Happy Newspaper, I was 22 and going through some really tough times personally. I found that the two things impacting my mental health in a negative way were social media and the news. At times it seemed like there were only awful things happening in the world, because that’s all we often hear about but I knew there were good stories and great people out there that needed to be shared and celebrated. I just hoped that The Happy Newspaper could bring a little smile to anyone who read it and that they would share that with a few people they knew.

Was it something your parents are/would have been proud of and encouraged?

My parents are very proud! They didn’t always understand why I was doing what I was doing in the early days - why I had to be up until 4am working on the Newspaper and still in bed at lunchtime the next day but they have always been amazing at encouraging me to be who I wanted to be, not who I thought the world wanted me to be. My Mum has always told me to ‘create my own path and leave something positive behind’, and that’s just what I’m doing.

Who or what were your early influences? 

My earliest influence was probably my mum, I think she recognised how much I loved being creative when I was younger and encouraged me to draw, paint and doodle. This freedom is what lead me into creative courses at school and taught me that I can create my own style and be brave enough to do it alone. Along the way certain teachers who saw something in me that I hadn’t even recognised myself were a big influence now when I look back, even people like my dance teacher who taught me to push myself, be brave and have discipline. Creatively, Jaqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt was a big influence as was Quentin Blake.

What were you doing at 16? 

I was in my final year at high school and left in the spring to go to college in the Autumn. As somebody who didn’t love a lot of academic courses and just wanted to be creative, I was excited to have the opportunity at college to be focusing on what I love (Digital Photography, Graphic Design and English Language).

What advice would you give your 16-year-old self? 

Keep dreaming and working hard! If you are passionate enough and willing to put in the work you can make anything happen.

What advice would you give to other young people? 

Try not to worry. I remember growing up and always being told “you won’t make anything of yourself being creative” or “you can’t do two creative courses, it’s too much work” or “you need to get good grades to be able to go to college”. It’s important that you do what you have to do, listen to your teachers and to your parents. But don’t lose sight of who you want to be and remember that your life isn’t decided at 16 when you leave school or 18, if you go to college. There’s plenty of time to figure stuff out! .

What has been the most difficult challenge on the way and how did you overcome it? 

One of the toughest things has been becoming a businesswoman. I always wanted to be creative and never liked the idea of working for someone else and not being able to use my own style, but I never thought I’d be a business owner. When I first started, I had no idea about taxes, invoices or how much to charge people, they don’t teach these things at school. I bought a book ‘Freelancing for Dummies’... I never read it. Now I’m still not always sure what taxes I have to pay and never really want to know. I have overcome this by asking other people for help, I now have a small network of people working with me and supporting me, which of course wasn’t always possible but as the business has grown I’ve had to learn to delegate and realise that it’s important to share the load. Being a business owner isn’t easy, there’s a lot of pressure, but when someone gets in touch to say The Happy Newspaper has turned their day around or put a smile on their face it makes it all worth it.

What do you think are the changes we need to see in the world and how can being U&K help solve those things? 

We need more kindness! News and social media platforms have become such negative places where we’re constantly reminded of the bad things happening in the world or made to feel like we’re not good enough as we are. Being kinder to yourself and others can be so rewarding and encourages that behaviour to be passed on, creating a ripple effect far wider than you realise. I think the best way we can be useful is to keep sharing the positivity and celebrating those who do good and inspire others to do the same! From picking up a piece of litter to smiling at a stranger or writing to your grandparents, small acts of kindness have such a big impact.  

How are you useful and kind to yourself - what helps and hinders? 

It’s sometimes tough to be kind to yourself when you’re super busy but what I love more than anything is to escape to the beach. I have always loved the beach, but the secret to enjoying an escape is being able to let go of your stresses, if I constantly kept my mind spinning with all the things I want or need to do it would be too much. Downtime is so important, and the biggest hindrance is distraction. Try to have time away from social media or TV and really relax or do something that brings you joy.

How are you both useful and kind to others (the easy ones and those who are more difficult to be U&K to)? 

For me, being useful for others is just being there for them when they need me. If someone is struggling with something the most important thing to do is listen to how they’re feeling. I may not always know the right thing to say to fix things or make it better but being able to really listen is something I think many people forget the importance of. Although it’s not always easy to understand, most people who are difficult to be kind to have a story or a reason for being that way, it’s important to show those people kindness and encourage them to see the world more positively.

What is your biggest challenge in the future?

There are a lot of challenges ahead for me and The Happy Newspaper. The world is constantly changing, and I want to make sure that the newspaper is always there to support good causes and encourage positive change. I guess the challenge for sharing positivity is trying not to feel too much of the weight of the negative news and media and realise that even when things are at their absolute worst, there is always something positive to be found. As a business in this overgrowing world we are constantly faced with challenges where we need to make sure that the business is moving in the right direction and looking at certain things we can change or improve which will have a wider impact on our customers or planet.

What do you wish you had done differently? 

I think to wish you had done something differently in the past is to say that you’re not happy with how things are in the present. I try not to think of what I could have done differently and focus on the things that I’ve done that I’m proud of or have changed my life for the better. Even things that haven’t worked out the way you wanted all add to you learning and figuring out who you want to be or what you want to do - don’t be afraid to make mistakes.