Meet the entrepreneurs behind some of the Fylde coast's up-and-coming Etsy brands

"Women are 81 per cent less likely than men to feel they can access start-up funds for businesses," according to the Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship 2019.

The report also said that women were "twice as likely as men to state that one of the barriers for starting their own business was caring responsibilities."

But in the face of adversity, from gender pay gaps to the coronavirus pandemic, women across the Fylde coast are breaking the mould - and doing it anyway.

Between looking after their children and working full-time jobs, the women behind these businesses still find the time to get creative and run their Etsy stores.

The stores were born from passion, determination, and often from friends and family encouraging them to monetise their talents.

For 32-year-old Nicola Boyes, a part-time retail worker from Bispham, her store Just Dreams Shop was created after she made her friend's daughter a dream-catcher for her birthday.

Despite only having her store for just over a week, Nicola has sold four of her items and has high hopes that it will become a successful sideline to supplement her employment.

"I made a dream-catcher for my friend's daughter and I received a lot of lovely compliments about it," Nicola said.

"People were asking me if I sell them, so I decided to start a little business. I also started to make macrame rainbows because I thought they were gorgeous wall pieces for nurseries, children's bedrooms, just as home decor in general."

Nicola has two young sons, Mason, five and Alfie, two, and spends her evenings making products for her store.

42-year-old Vicci Thornley from Bispham also juggles looking after her children with her Etsy store, Tiggy Belle Creations.

After taking care of Teigan-Isobel, two, and Cameron, 15, and completing a degree in teaching and learning support last year, she uses her evenings to create cross-stitched bookmarks.

Vicci said: "I decided to start my Etsy store when the lockdown began, because I'm busy with my toddler during the day but I can stitch in the evenings.

"I've done cross-stitching since I was 16, and I really enjoy it. But it can take anywhere from a couple of hours to five days to make the bookmarks, depending on how much detail they have."

Chelsea Ladish, 38, from South Shore, is mum to Rook, seven, and a tattoo artist at St Annes studio Lynx Roux by day.

But in her spare time she designs and paints portraits for her Etsy store Blockhead Ave.

Chelsea explained how setting up on Etsy was a "lifeline" for her, after the Covid-19 pandemic meant she could not work in her studio.

"I genuinely don't know what I would have done without setting up the Etsy store," she said.

"I've been a tattooist for 11 years and I've always loved painting anyway, but after I couldn't work in the studio during lockdown I needed something to keep up my creativity.

"It's been such a lifeline for me, and it's something I love to do."

Not all of the entrepreneurs' products are made exclusively for humans, though.

45-year-old Heather Wall's Etsy store Sew Poochie, which opened in 2018, showcases some of the latest fashion statements - for dogs.

Her doggy-bandana store was born out of a partnership with one of her 9-5 office job colleagues, who ran a part-time dog grooming business, Dog Grooming by Jane in Carleton.

Heather, from Thornton, said: "I'd been sewing for a while selling bunting and baby blankets, when Jane asked if I could make her some dog bandanas to give out to her furry clients when she sends them home.

"She was ordering 50-100 at a time, and before I knew it Sew Poochie was born. My favourite part of having the the shop is seeing all the photos of my customers' dogs in their bandanas, and it lets me express my creative side.

"Ironically, I'm allergic to dogs, so I think I get my cute dog fix by looking through the photos."