A fledgling entrepreneur whose husband suddenly died, has launched a new business venture aimed at keeping her husband’s memory alive.
After being unable to find pictures they liked for their son Oskar’s nursery, artist Saira Zhang and late husband Jingbo decided to paint their own. When Oskar was just six months old, Jingbo tragically died of sudden adult death syndrome, a condition which is thought to cause 500 deaths a year in the UK.
Saira officially launched Caterpillar Art, providing posters, prints and cards for children, in June of this year, two years after her husband sadly passed away.
She said; “We’d been trying for children for a while and had lost a couple of babies and finally after a few years it looked like we had the family we wanted - then my husband died. Some people collapse into a heap and go into dark depression but I have a child and I wasn’t going to let him pay the price for losing his Dad.
“Shortly after Jingbo’s death, I received a letter from Government asking if I wanted to go back to work, suggesting I put my baby in nursery. I just couldn’t bear the thought of that so I decided to launch my own business. It made a lot of sense to continue what we’d started – painting pictures, especially children’s art. It was good for me as it was very therapeutic.
“The business is a way to distract myself and keep myself busy in every possible way. It also helps to keep my husband alive in my own head.”
With support from Glasgow South East Regeneration Agency and Women into Enterprise, Saira says she is working at a “tortoise pace” to get her business up and running, spending time getting her images just right.
She said: “I was very raw trying to get into this. Trying to launch a business when you’re mourning and you’ve got a very young child who needs all your attention isn’t easy.
“I’d love to have a great business head, but the business side of things is very difficult for creative people although I’m always looking for new opportunities. I need to take things one day at a time, and I can’t think too far into the future, but I won’t give up.
“I attempted to do a business plan but I couldn’t concentrate on it at all. My projected income is if I can pay the next bill, then that will be great. Once my son goes to school I’ll look at building up the business but for now, it’s all about building reputation.”
Spurred on by the news that industry experts predict the recession could lead to a baby boom, Saira firmly believes that she can make a go of the work that her and her late husband started.
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