Burgundy banner which reads the from tuckshop to takeover

The Hustle Started in Bike Shorts

I was seven. Armed with pencils, glitter pens, and zero restraint.

Before Sip & Sass, there was Year 3 and a very questionable Pikachu sketch

Kids would crowd around my desk, placing orders for custom drawings mostly pets,

Powerpuff Girls, or whatever cartoon was trending.

I charged 50 cents per masterpiece and reinvested every coin into hash browns and frozen zooper doopers.

High art, high return.

Turns out, I was building a passion long before I knew what it could lead to.

Art That Made People Smile

My drawings weren’t exactly… technically sound. But people loved them.

They’d laugh, show their friends, come back for more. It wasn’t about the detail.

it was about the feeling. That’s when I realised I could create something fun, and people would actually pay for it.

Early Days of Print On Demand

But I also wanted to play at lunch, not sit glued to my sketchpad.

So I got clever. I snuck my drawings into the teachers’ homework notes to get them printed.

Twenty-eight copies, sold out before big lunch. Instant scale. Same art, less labour.

Operations & Delegation

Eventually I started outsourcing coins for kids who could sling my drawings while I stayed cool in the shade.

When the teachers locked the classrooms, I staged a plan, a few students complained about the heat, the window was cracked, and some boys snuck in to retrieve my desk.

I paid them, of course. Respect the supply chain.

It Was More Than Just Snacks

Sure, I used the money for tuck shop treats. But I was trading more than drawings.

I was trading joy.

They felt seen. I felt powerful.

This wasn’t just a lunchtime hustle.

It was the first time I saw art as a way to connect. A way to mean something.

My First Marketing Funnel? Playground Hype

No social media. No email list. Just one kid whispering, “She can draw your dog in sunglasses.” Suddenly I was fully booked.

You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t building an empire.

Spoiler, I’ve Been Monetising Fun Since Day One

That 50c energy? It still lives in Sip & Sass. Create something fun. Make people feel something. Get paid. Share snacks. Different scale, same spirit.

“Serving art & sass since 1996 because mediocrity was never on the menu.”

Brisbane & Gold Coast, you’re up first. Melbourne & Sydney “start chilling the champagne.” 🥂

“The paint and sip party is coming, are you in?”

The passion started long before the brand.✨

We kept going even when it was quiet, and from that, we began building a life that felt like the brand

50c Drawings and a Tuckshop Empire