Tracey Schulz started Uniquely Creative in 2017 by making 20 scrapbooking kits as a maternity leave side hustle. Today, the Adelaide-based business generates $14 million in revenue, ships thousands of kits monthly to subscribers worldwide, and stocks products in more than 300 stores across the USA, Canada, Europe, South Africa, and New Zealand.
When Tracey Schulz’s mum walked into her Adelaide papercraft store asking for supplies to make cards, neither of them imagined it would spark a business generating $14 million in revenue.
In her late thirties, Schulz owned two bricks-and-mortar stores selling paper, decorations, and scrapbooking supplies across South Australia. Business was going well until life threw a curveball.
“I was almost 40 years old and, surprise! We were having a baby! I had two grown children who were 18 and 21,” Schulz said. “I wasn’t sure if I could run the two stores while juggling a newborn.”
The moment that changed everything
When her mum, who lived regionally without access to a local craft store, visited in 2017 wanting to make cards for family, Schulz gathered coordinating supplies and laid them out on the counter as a complete kit.
“She wanted to make some cards for family, so I gathered a bunch of supplies to make up a kit,” Schulz said. “About five customers came up and said, ‘that looks amazing! Can you do that for me too?'”
That moment revealed a gap in the Australian market. No one was creating comprehensive cardmaking or scrapbooking kits with everything needed to complete a project: a “craft class in a box” perfect for people in remote areas or those unable to attend in-person workshops.
The Creative Kit Club, now called Uniquely Creative, was born. Schulz made 20 kits in the first month, then 100 the next. With a baby on the way, she downsized the bricks-and-mortar business, thinking the Kit Club would be her maternity leave side hustle.
“We were making 600 kits by the time Pearl [my daughter] was one year old. By the time she was three years old we were making 1000 kits a month,” she said.
Crisis and resilience
The business faced its first major crisis when Schulz’s graphic designer left unexpectedly due to personal issues. At the time, Schulz didn’t know how to create the designs needed for printing.
“That weekend I suffered a miscarriage and ended up in hospital. Everything was falling apart. I was the lowest of the low, but I made a choice to learn how to do absolutely everything in my business,” she said.
She opened YouTube, taught herself Adobe Illustrator over the weekend, and released the next collection. In February 2020, she launched her first collection with all in-house materials: paper, stamps, dyes, tools, and embellishments designed by her and her in-house graphic designer.
One month later, Australia went into lockdown.
“I thought ‘what have I done?’ I’ve put all our life savings into this. We had staff we were responsible for,” Schulz said. “But during COVID everyone stayed home and crafted. I had the website, I had six months of kits ready to go, I had the customer base and when other businesses had to pivot, we flourished.”
Pandemic boom and post-lockdown pivot
Uniquely Creative was deemed an essential service for people’s mental health during lockdowns. The business scaled from $300,000 to $3 million in two years as Australians sought creative outlets at home.
When the world reopened, however, many wholesale customers who had relied on Uniquely Creative during restricted international supply chains suddenly had access to overseas brands again.
“They dropped us almost overnight. It was a huge setback and a confronting moment for our business,” Schulz said.
Instead of accepting defeat, Schulz and her team hit the road, travelling around Australia to visit retail partners and teach workshops in their stores. They also turned outward, pitching products directly to the American market: the “motherland” of scrapbooking.
“That decision completely changed the trajectory of our business. Today, Uniquely Creative products are stocked in more than 300 stores worldwide, including in the USA, Canada, Europe, South Africa, and New Zealand,” she said.
Innovation from personal need
Uniquely Creative’s product innovations stem directly from Schulz’s own crafting challenges. She designed 12×12 storage pockets because she couldn’t find a practical way to store her own layouts and papers.
The Flip Folio Albums emerged from recognising that time-poor crafters found large scrapbook projects overwhelming. The smaller format can be completed in an afternoon, makes a beautiful handmade gift, and still captures special memories.
“That’s really our approach to innovation, listening to our customers, putting myself in their shoes, and creating products that solve real problems in creative, accessible ways. If I need it, chances are thousands of other crafters do too,” Schulz said.
Building authentic community
One key strategy has been connecting authentically with customers- primarily women over 50-on Facebook, where they spend their time. Uniquely Creative shares behind-the-scenes content, creative processes, and free tutorials teaching people how to make cards and layouts.
The approach has built genuine community rather than just followers. Today, the business has 1,500 subscribers ordering craft kits monthly, a 98% return customer rate, and 80% return on email marketing.
Schulz remains completely self-funded, reinvesting every cent of profit back into the business to enable sustainable growth without overextending.
“I have family members who ask how my ‘hobby business’ is going,” Schulz laughed. “I just say ‘yeah, it’s going pretty well’.”
For aspiring entrepreneurs, Schulz emphasises the importance of identifying genuine market gaps: “It’s not enough to simply make something you love, you need to make something that people need.”
She added: “There will be highs and lows, and you’ll have to adapt like we’re doing now with changing tariffs and shifting markets. The key is to stay flexible, keep learning, and never take your success for granted. Always do your best work, because consistency and resilience are what keep a business strong.”
Related: For more founder stories and entrepreneurial insights, explore Dynamic Business’s Founder Friday features.
Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
