Seeing as I'm wanting you all to follow my blog and my work, I thought you might be interested to know how my little business came to be...
I've always been an arty one, for as long as I can remember, I vividly remember being about 6 and making handbags using paper and a stapler (and whilst my materials may have become more sophisticated, I can tell you that the methods aren't too dissimilar!). I've always had a love of product, so apart from the period when I was determined to be a colouring-in person for Walt Disney it was probably inevitable that I'd end up with a product-based business.
I attended Cleveland College of Art and Design where I studied Design Crafts before moving on to my degree. We covered a lot of disciplines there, which was great and gave me a lot of skills but it's also very confusing and I left with no clear idea of my niche and what my "thing" was - on a Monday I'd be making sterling silver jewellery, Tuesday I'd be preparing porcelain for the kiln, Wednesday I'd be fixing fabric dyes and working on the sewing machine...I didn't have a clue what I was meant to be doing.
I've always been an arty one, for as long as I can remember, I vividly remember being about 6 and making handbags using paper and a stapler (and whilst my materials may have become more sophisticated, I can tell you that the methods aren't too dissimilar!). I've always had a love of product, so apart from the period when I was determined to be a colouring-in person for Walt Disney it was probably inevitable that I'd end up with a product-based business.
I attended Cleveland College of Art and Design where I studied Design Crafts before moving on to my degree. We covered a lot of disciplines there, which was great and gave me a lot of skills but it's also very confusing and I left with no clear idea of my niche and what my "thing" was - on a Monday I'd be making sterling silver jewellery, Tuesday I'd be preparing porcelain for the kiln, Wednesday I'd be fixing fabric dyes and working on the sewing machine...I didn't have a clue what I was meant to be doing.
I played around for a long time but the one discipline I continued to come back to was textiles, particulary felting. Felt is a great material, hand-made felt is so tactile and so many colours and effects can be achieved, whilst "bought in" felt is just so practical, fantastic for linings. And so it began! I started to hand-felt my own bags, with handles that attached to either side (much like my stapled ones!). I also started needle felting which is time-consuming but I love it - it allows me to be extremely precise, which the OCD streak in me loves! To the bags I added large vintage buttons and lined them with strong felt, which actually was the beginning of my next product - large flower corsages. I can't stand waste (nor can I afford it) so I was keen to make products using the scraps of felt left over from cutting the linings.
Personally I love the corsages, they're real big and I treat them so they're stiff and hold the curves of the flower shape. Each flower has a vintage button centre making them truly unique. They've proved popular too!!!
I think that's probably enough for now, will be back shortly to share some more of my products with you! Good night all!
