Over the years I have thought about starting a business from my passion for crafting and making. When I have made things friends have often said that I should be selling them but more often than not the things that I made would be other peoples patterns or designs - we all start out like that right? - that is how we learn, begin experimentation and then finally create our own ideas and designs. But, especially for me, this is a long process! I am not the fastest worker, am a perfectionist and, until now I hope, could not settle on a craft to pursue and focus on. Also, it is hard to find an item that people want to buy. I would rather make things to order than have loads of stock hanging around that I will never get rid of!
I had a small breakthrough about 6 years ago, I had designed some Halloween bunting which then led on to some Christmas bunting and decorations. I was working in an open plan office at the time and so took some of my makes into work and displayed them on my desk. Soon I had people asking if I could make some for them and as a result sold quite a bit that Christmas. But then life got in the way again, we moved and then had our daughter and making went by the wayside for quite a long time.
Then a few months ago I read an article on the Martha Stewart website about a lady called Inez in Singapore who makes hand embroideries in hoops from her 5 year old daughter’s drawings and doodles. This was like a revelation, I had been amassing all of Chloe’s drawings - there are a lot, she is very prolific! - and so I had a go, first at hand embroidery and then free-motion machine embroidery and appliqué which I have always wanted to get better at but found working with a hoop on the machine to be tricky.
Then the second revelation hit - I found work by a textile artist called Katie Essam. Rather than using a hoop to stabilise her work on the machine she uses a thicker base material, calico, stabilised by iron-on interfacing. The hoop is now a thing of the past in my studio and my work has been totally transformed. I absolutely love my new way of working and hopefully this shows in the work that I am now producing.
I then thought that maybe other people would like their children’s artwork to be transformed into textiles too and so I asked some of my friends if they would mind me working on some of their children’s drawings. They happily agreed and I have been overwhelmed by their responses and the praise they have given for my work. Here are some examples of these collaborations:
If you also have a budding little artist at home and you have a special piece that you would like to treasure forever in the form of a unique piece of textile art please contact me either in the comments, links or via my email: annamaltoys@gmail.com.
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