The Bounce Back Club: Artfirmations to Brighten Your Day!

For years, I refused to admit that I was struggling with my mental health. I’m not sure whether I was pretending to be ok, or I was ashamed to admit I was struggling, but I soon learnt that hiding from my difficulties wasn’t going to solve anything – it would only make them worse.

I have always been someone who loves to stay busy, but this often led to me neglecting any self-care time for me to relax and recharge.

The world around us seems to be constantly changing, which can feel extremely overwhelming – it has never been more important to appreciate the small wins in life, look after yourself and remind yourself that you are strong enough to take on the world.

Confidence, self-love and self-esteem should be embraced, not something that we are ashamed of. I’ll admit, when someone suggested the idea of affirmations in the mirror to give me a confidence boost, it seemed a little embarrassing.

I needed a little pick-me-up I could see to brighten my day (sometimes listening to my favourite song or making my favourite food wasn’t enough!).

I recently met Sophie, the Founder of the Bounce Back Club. Her incredible hand lettered Artfirmations are guaranteed to give you that positivity boost you need to take on the day! Complete with vibrant colours and gorgeous designs, her Artfirmations make your words look the way they feel. Whether you keep it in your wallet, on your desk at work, or on your mirror in your bedroom, Sophie’s Artfirmations are your instant dose of confidence, positivity and joy!

I spoke to Sophie about the journey of the Bounce Back Club, her creative process, the importance of self-love and her plans for the year ahead!

When did the Bounce Back Club begin (and what was the inspiration behind this)?

The Bounce Back Club began by accident.

I was at a really low place mentally and personally, literally rock bottom, and I took to doodling my very own words of encouragement. It was whatever I needed to hear to get me through the day – it was the only reason I got out of bed. This was during COVID and I would doodle for hours, creating these little confident boosts or ‘paper hugs’ in crazy amounts of detail!

I did this for myself, creating a new phrase or affirmation every day to lift me up. I started to think that I wanted to share this with other people, so I created lots of little postcards that said, ‘Live, Love, Laugh through Lockdown’.

The minute we were allowed to go for our walks, I would go and put them in random post-boxes and share them with strangers to make their day.

I started to get asked to do bespoke birthday and celebration cards and that escalated – I did a lot for Christmas and other celebrations. The more celebration cards I did, the more I realised that I wanted to go back to making designs that were not for occasions, but for the purpose of making someone smile.

I realised that the more creative I was, the better I felt about myself and, slowly but surely, I was fuelling by own bounce back from rock bottom. I started sharing my designs online and it snowballed!

It made my day every time I got a like, comment, or someone said, ‘ I really needed this today’. I then decided to get them professionally printed and released my first collection. I went to an event with suppliers and buyers and pitched my cards and got them in stores!

The difference between my cards and others is that I specifically got them printed from a perforated fold so you could tear the front off and it could become a mini print. This made it more than just a card, it was a daily reminder that you could put up on your wall!

I specialise in making words look the way they feel. Words hold so many emotions and feelings behind them.

I am such a visual person, so I wanted to fill the words with power and impact and purpose.

I love the way that you can create a bigger meaning by making them look the way that they feel.

Where do you look for inspiration for your artwork/ affirmations?

My inspiration comes from within.

I hand letter whatever the words are that I need to hear. I love affirmations, but they are often very generic, unpersonal and overly positive. When you need to hear it most, those super cheesy and fluffy words aren’t always what you need, and they don’t land or connect.

I imagine that if my best friend was in my position and I was offering them whatever they needed to lift them up, but on a level that will help them and acknowledge what they are going through, what would I need to tell them. I turn these words into an Artfirmation using colour theory, my personal connection to different colours and designs that I like that I’ve seen in art, fashion and everyday life.

Describe your creative process (from discovering a new affirmation to the final design!).

My creative process changes depending on what I am designing and who it is for.

If it is one of my personal designs, just as a card or a print, the initial process starts by me hearing something that I think is such a lovely phrase or I do a check-in and decide what I need to hear from my paper hug. I then visually work out how I want the composition to sit on the page (but always pick out the hero word that needs to stand out).

I use my inks for the base layer and then build my Artfirmations like you bake a cake! You get the base layer down for the lettering (that is baking the cake), you have to let the ink dry (letting the cupcake cool!), then you add the shadow or outline (the cake icing!) and all of the sparkles and additional colour at the end (the sprinkles!).

If its for someone else, I will make sure I know their favourite colours and how they want the piece to look and feel like. I design it to fit this and change the styles, vibrancy and the feelings according to this.

What do you hope to achieve through your artwork?

The purpose of my art is to help people bounce back. As an artist, I always want to spread smiles!

Everything I create aims to make someone feel better -whether they’re coming back from a big challenge, taking on something different, overcoming a breakup, or helping someone else.

I want everyone to feel a little brighter in this crazy world!

How important is colour to your work?

Colour is everything in what I do!

Colour theory, the meaning behind colour and people’s personal relationships with colours is exactly how I turn my designs from just words into Artfirmations.

The choice of colour is SO purposeful, considered and personal – the way I may connect to one colour might be different to someone else, so I have to consider the person receiving it to ensure it has the impact I intend for it to have.

In a world that seems to be full of criticism and comparison due to the ever-growing presence of social media, how important is it to embrace self-love and affirmations? And how can we develop a positive and empowering mindset that reminds us that self-love isn’t selfish, it’s important?

Self-love is the most important form of love that you can give and receive.

Ultimately, the longest and most important relationship you will ever be in is the one with yourself. It impacts every element of your life – everyday when you look at yourself, the way you feel in every moment, how you can give and show love.

If you don’t have a really good relationship with yourself, you’re not able to be totally present in another relationship or be that stable presence in someone else’s life.

I don’t think it is spoken about enough or taken seriously enough – I think that people who are dating don’t consider that they need a really strong relationship with themselves in order to be open and vulnerable for any other relationships.

I think when you’re in a relationship, it is very easy to let the level of self-love slip or not be tuned in to how much self-love you have because you are receiving it and giving it to others.

However, self-love is so important because when you feel that love for yourself, you feel worthy and confident and have that inbuilt self esteem that will lift you up and give you that validation in everything you want (your extra sparkle!).

It doesn’t have to be actions or words, it can be anything that is a way that shows you value yourself, you’ve got your own back and you’re listening to your body.

I believe that if you don’t have a healthy relationship with yourself, then affirmations are a really great way to practice self-love.

Doing it through Artfirmations means they’re not cheesy and they’re not generic – they’re personal and are words that are coming from within, to within. It allows you to build a genuine, authentic connection.

You don’t have to say it out loud – once you’ve turned it into your little postcard, having your own words written down and placing somewhere that you see it daily is so important. Having it somewhere where you know you will need at a certain moment; your subconscious will read it every time you see it. You are then practicing self-love and, the more that you do that, your subconscious will start to train yourself and soon you will be able to see a difference.

These messages saved my life and lifted me up from rock bottom. To start with, they gave me glimmers of hope. Then, when I felt a little bit better, it gave me the confidence and the energy to get up, be active and pursue something. Each time I needed a new message or affirmation, I would create my new design with my own words and replace it (or add it to the ones that were already there!). It retrained my brain into self-love and then came the actions because of that.

What do you enjoy most about your events and collaborations with local businesses?

I love doing my workshops and events with other local businesses, communities and artists! It’s amazing to work together to create these experiences which leads to double the power and fun!

I’ve never had an event which hasn’t been 100% enjoyment rate – which is something I am very proud. Everyone loves the workshops and the conversations and people I connect with are amazing – it feels like an ever-expanding circle by collaborating and working with communities.

I love that everyone appreciates that I bring the experience and the creativity and they bring that group of people who are all together and enjoy the feeling of working together on something. This genuine, authentic connection (which is away from the screen) is so important – we are building something, are present and we are tuned in.

I have experienced friends meeting and going off after the event to continue that friendship. In the digital world, while social media can be amazing and valuable, I do believe the most genuine and heartwarming connection are the ones face to face. From this, you can experience their energy, and you get the feeling of people coming together.

I am all about celebrating each other, rather than competing. There is enough room in the world for all of the creatives to find their niche. Collaborating is an amazing way of creating newness – it’s all about unique experiences!

Every workshop I do is completely unique for that group – it is in their own words and allows them to get the most out of their experience.

Some of us may feel anxious to speak about how we’re feeling and reach out for help. How important do you think it is to speak about our mental health? And, how does your art/ lettering help to empower people to speak out?

Talking about any mental health, whether it’s good mental health, you’re struggling with mental health, you’re supporting someone who is going through difficulties, is hard. It’s been a taboo for so long that it now feels like it’s only ok to talk about it if you’re working through it or you’ve recovered.

When you’re in the middle of it, and you need the help, that is when it is hardest. It’s often not the case that you don’t want to, it’s that you don’t have the energy or the words to explain something. Sometimes you know that if you open up to someone, your relationship with them will be shifted.

I always struggled with not wanting to be pitied when I was at my lowest – I didn’t want people to look at me with pity and feel like they had to be delicate around me. I found talking to people who weren’t so close in my circle about the fact I wasn’t having a great day was enough to acknowledge my feelings.

Through my art, it has naturally opened conversations with so many people. It can be a paper hug of reassurance that you’re there for someone and a visual reminder that you care and love someone. It shows that you know that they’re going through something, but when they’re ready, they will come to you.

My art opens up the conversations that are often unsaid. They’re to support you through things that are not openly shared enough – I am really proud of that.

Some of my favourite conversations at markets are with customers that end up telling me their entire life story because they are buying a card or a print for someone that is going through something. It is the most heartwarming and genuine thing I do – it fills me with purpose and fuels me knowing how my artwork is helping others.

What plans do you have for 2026?

I have big plans for 2026!

I have lots of different concepts for workshops that I would like to bring to different communities.

I loved my workshop with the Social Sisters and I would love nothing more than taking my self-love letters and Artfirmations to all sort of girl group communities across the UK!

I often say that if I can take my suitcase, I can get to you – my entire workshop fits in a little case and I can take me wherever the self-love letters travel!

The dream would be to work with people like the Lonely Girls Club, Gals Who, We Got You Boo and Girls in the Big City and create friendships through my artwork.

I would also love to get my Coligraphy (colouring + calligraphy!) into spaces like waiting rooms – spaces where you experience anxiety – to use my artwork to help people get through difficult times. The calming effect of colouring and lettering will help to chill out your nervous system. Wherever you wait, whether that’s to receive good or bad news, I would like my colouring sheets to be there for a little support.

I would love to take my workshops to wellbeing festivals and get into work places for more corporate events. I have a little ‘Do Not Disturb’ workshop which is a fun lunch break activity where you can create your own workplace mantra and turn it into a laptop wallpaper or a mug or coaster!

I am developing a colour book for Coligraphy which is super exciting! It isn’t just any colouring book – it has reflective prompts, journalling prompts, QR codes to meditation recordings to link with the Artfirmations!

I am also going to be doing lots of window designs – I am bringing my Artfirmations to your window and shop fronts!

I am in conversation and am developing a new wedding set of stationary where I give you handmade, bespoke letters that you write from the Bride to the Groom or any of the wedding guests. They’re all going to be lovely keepsakes from your big day (and will be hopefully developed and ready for the summer of wedding season!).

I have lots to be keeping me busy which is so exciting!

I am always on the look for charities and groups that think that this could help them – I want to work with them. If I can bring smiles with my work and help someone, that is the most fulfilling and rewarding work I can do!

To keep up to date with the incredible work of The Bounce Back Club, you can head to her Instagram (@thebouncebackclub)!

You can also get involved with Sophie’s next event, ‘Hand Lettering Wall Art & Artfirmations Workshop’ at Willow Gallery on 15^th May! To get your ticket, head to –

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hand-lettering-wall-art-artfirmations-workshop-tickets-1987256329176