About me

Embroidered brooches, and other accessories, have evolved from more than 40 years of the joy of accumulating needlework experiences and skills.

I have always made things - knitting and sewing and modelling when I was a child.  My house is not minimalist. People who know me would laugh at the thought.  My button tin had its origins in my Gran's house (or maybe earlier!) I'm sure you start to get the idea. All possible storage areas have been utilised for my stash of fabrics, yarns, beads and buttons. I love to buy rare-breed wool, or hand-dyed yarn, as souvenirs from holidays and cherish the items I make! I have enjoyed 'rescuing' vintage linens, some I use for their original purpose, those which are too damaged to save are repurposed into my craft work. We don't have enough book shelves, and yet we don't have anywhere to put any new ones.

 It is this heritage of possessions, materials, photos of places that we have visited and so on, that keep my recollections of experiences clear in my mind, and these fuel my designs.

I feel that it is very important to pass on our skills and to do as much as possible to support and promote the skills of others. I think an appreciation of where items come from and of the skills and effort involved in their production is important. My children saw me doing craft work, from an early age, and just copied me. I have a photo of my son knitting at the age of three.

It is important to be to minimise the negative effects which my way of life has on the environment. So, as a family, we recycle responsibly, garden organically (producing as much fruit and veg as we can), purchase as ethically as possible and do everything we can to support all aspects of 'Fair Trade'.