Hey, I'm Becca,
Creator and Owner of RebelJones, a Kawaii Stationery Business ✿
Welcome to my first-ever Blog post.
Now before I talk your ears off (or eyes because you're reading this)
I want to state that due to my dyslexia, I'm not the best at writing, my punctuation could be a lot better but there isn't much I can do about that and I want to be my true self whilst writing these blog posts, so please try not to judge me too much ♥️
Let's crack on and talk about how the frick I ended up running my own Stationery Shop.
✿ MY FIRST PASSION ✿
From the age of 4 my dream was to sing, any opportunity I would get to belt out a song, I would be there demanding everyone to sit down and listen.
With this being my only passion in life, I went for my dream and worked my butt off to succeed in music and become a famous singer.
From singing lessons to local competitions, I was determined to be known.
Fast forward to 2014 - the year I was on X-Factor.
Yes, I went down that path and thank frick I did because it changed my life for the better.
I must have made an impression on the X-Factor team because I was given special treatment and was chosen to be filmed and shown on TV.
This was weird but very exciting; my dreams were coming true and I was finally being seen.
*I want to quickly interject and let you know that before I got to sing in front of the judges, there were 3 auditions prior to that, that weren't filmed and were in front of producers only*
So to finally get to this stage was HUGE for me.
✦ THE X-FACTOR STORY ✦
The first round was great, I had 3 yeses and 1 no, and I got to film celebrating my 18th Birthday on the Xtra Factor as I was there from 7am to midnight (that part was not fun).
I then had to wait to hear from my producer what I was going to sing for the next audition at Wembley.
They asked me to choose 3 songs, one being a song that was quite emotional for me that they urged me to have on my list but one I didn't really want to sing.
The first song I chose was 'Girls Just Want to have fun' by the amazing Cyndi Lauper. This was a HIT, I was told that it was Simon Cowell's favourite song and so of course I felt very confident and excited for my next audition.
That day came very quickly and I knew something was strange as soon as I got there.
My producer wouldn't speak to me and I wasn't being filmed as much as last time and you just knew that something was up? Well, It didn't feel good but I had to stay positive because it was my time to get on stage and sing in front of 3000 people.
I said hello to the judges and told them the song I had chosen, the music started and I began to sing...
20 seconds in Simon Cowell raises his hand to stop the music and proceeds to tell me that he hates this song and doesn't know why I chose it.
My heart dropped. There I was, standing in front of 3000 strangers, realising that I had been chosen to make a fool out of myself by the show and now I had to sing the song I didn't want to sing.
Simon asked If I had another song choice which I did, and he asked me why I had chosen this song. I had to explain the reason for my choice, I got very upset and was then told by Simon that they don't have time for tears and to just sing the song.
I did (not all the way through, I was stopped again) but I finished my audition and got 2 no's and 2 yes's which meant I hadn't gotten through to the next round.
I was gutted but I knew that I had 3 years of a commercial music course in Bath Spa University waiting for me so I was excited to start that new chapter in my life.
Creator and Owner of RebelJones, a Kawaii Stationery Business ✿
Welcome to my first-ever Blog post.
Now before I talk your ears off (or eyes because you're reading this)
I want to state that due to my dyslexia, I'm not the best at writing, my punctuation could be a lot better but there isn't much I can do about that and I want to be my true self whilst writing these blog posts, so please try not to judge me too much ♥️
Let's crack on and talk about how the frick I ended up running my own Stationery Shop.
✿ MY FIRST PASSION ✿
From the age of 4 my dream was to sing, any opportunity I would get to belt out a song, I would be there demanding everyone to sit down and listen.
With this being my only passion in life, I went for my dream and worked my butt off to succeed in music and become a famous singer.
From singing lessons to local competitions, I was determined to be known.
Fast forward to 2014 - the year I was on X-Factor.
Yes, I went down that path and thank frick I did because it changed my life for the better.
I must have made an impression on the X-Factor team because I was given special treatment and was chosen to be filmed and shown on TV.
This was weird but very exciting; my dreams were coming true and I was finally being seen.
*I want to quickly interject and let you know that before I got to sing in front of the judges, there were 3 auditions prior to that, that weren't filmed and were in front of producers only*
So to finally get to this stage was HUGE for me.
✦ THE X-FACTOR STORY ✦
The first round was great, I had 3 yeses and 1 no, and I got to film celebrating my 18th Birthday on the Xtra Factor as I was there from 7am to midnight (that part was not fun).
I then had to wait to hear from my producer what I was going to sing for the next audition at Wembley.
They asked me to choose 3 songs, one being a song that was quite emotional for me that they urged me to have on my list but one I didn't really want to sing.
The first song I chose was 'Girls Just Want to have fun' by the amazing Cyndi Lauper. This was a HIT, I was told that it was Simon Cowell's favourite song and so of course I felt very confident and excited for my next audition.
That day came very quickly and I knew something was strange as soon as I got there.
My producer wouldn't speak to me and I wasn't being filmed as much as last time and you just knew that something was up? Well, It didn't feel good but I had to stay positive because it was my time to get on stage and sing in front of 3000 people.
I said hello to the judges and told them the song I had chosen, the music started and I began to sing...
20 seconds in Simon Cowell raises his hand to stop the music and proceeds to tell me that he hates this song and doesn't know why I chose it.
My heart dropped. There I was, standing in front of 3000 strangers, realising that I had been chosen to make a fool out of myself by the show and now I had to sing the song I didn't want to sing.
Simon asked If I had another song choice which I did, and he asked me why I had chosen this song. I had to explain the reason for my choice, I got very upset and was then told by Simon that they don't have time for tears and to just sing the song.
I did (not all the way through, I was stopped again) but I finished my audition and got 2 no's and 2 yes's which meant I hadn't gotten through to the next round.
I was gutted but I knew that I had 3 years of a commercial music course in Bath Spa University waiting for me so I was excited to start that new chapter in my life.
✦ THE X-FACTOR AFTERMATH ✦
I had to wait MONTHS for it all to be aired on TV and the day finally came in September and there I was, on the Xtra Factor a whole section on me. It was bizarre but the coolest thing that had happened to me. I started to get messages after messages but as soon as my second audition was aired, that's when things got really strange for me.
I was getting noticed by sooo many people.
They would come up to me in my place of work, ask me for photos and when I started my course in Uni I had people butting in trying to talk to me whilst I was trying to talk to Tom who is now my husband-to-be (he had no clue I was on X-Factor lol). I had people cheering my name on double-decker buses.
My "Dream" had come true but I quickly realised I didn't like it.
Crap, I don't want to be a famous singer anymore but now I have 3 years on a commercial music course to finish.
☁ HOW I GOT INTO DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION ☁
On came the next chapter, saying yes to designing a logo for my band.
Growing up I HATED drawing, I was rubbish at it and it bored me so when I put my name forward to design my band's logo and music artwork, I wasn't sure why I did it but thankfully I did because I fell IN LOVE with the whole process and wanted to learn more and get better at it.
So the remaining 2 years in Bath I taught myself some graphic design, got an iPad Pro (which changed my life) and began to find my style.
✿ Fast forward to now - 2024 ✿
I have a 6-year-old business all about designing and illustrating kawaii stationery which I then sell online, in shops and at conventions. WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!
This business is my passion and I am so proud of how far I have come.
I have had to learn everything from scratch by myself from drawing to setting up an online shop and so much more that comes to running your own business BUT I wouldn't change it for the world.
My possibilities are endless and I can't wait to have this as my full-time job one day but for now, I am still working a part-time job at Starbucks and building up RebelJones.
I know I will get there, it may take longer than others but I will and I can't wait to have you come with me on this journey.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and if you have ever ordered from my shop in the past or future, thank you from the bottom of my heart ♥
I can keep this business going because of YOU!
Here are some of my favourite products in my shop ♥
Before I finally leave you I would like to mention that you can also watch my weekly studio vlogs on YouTube here
I am also on Instagram where you get daily updates on life in the studio, packing orders live and loads more here
And if you are a fellow small business reading this and looking for a safe, supportive and kind community, come and join us Rebels on Patreon here The community I have built over there has not just helped me and my business but so many others and I can guarantee you will LOVE it!