About

Photo by Vic Phillips

I love vintage printed and patterned fabrics. Give me a pair of flowery curtains and I will stitch & snip, glue & gather. I dream of fabrics from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The inside of my head is wallpapered with them. Call it DIY, indie crafting or neo-craft. I love it and have done it since I needed a dress to wear to a gig that rocked. The dress became a bag, the bag became a cat, the cat became a fascinator. Dressing up and setting up stall, taking pics and putting up shops, chatting with my crafty pals, it makes my sun shine. 

Duckie Fair at the Barbican Xmas 2011

I am a self taught textile artist and studied print making at the City Lit.  My inspiration comes from generations of women in my family who made me sweet dresses and toys and taught me to sew. As a child of the 70s, I grew up with a belief in the importance of creativity instilled by Tony Hart on Vision On and Puffin books and 70s kids craft books.  

As a teenager, the DIY spirit of the post-punk and lo-fi music scene gave me the confidence to happily try out new things and meet amazing talented people.  I have always printed and sewn, from early beginnings making handprinted dresses whilst at school to sell to friends at my local market, and designing and printing covers for cassettes and records in my Bi-joopiter music days. 

As well as Fabric Nation, I am one of the Seaside Sisters, a print and textile collective with a love of coastal themed design. Here we are taking a break from our Jubilee workshops in our Seaside peep-thru picture board!

We exhibit regularly at Craft Central and you can see us in action of this video made during our residency on board the LV21 Lightship.

I also run Crafty Pint, promoting local designer makers and providing affordable, sociable workshops.  I love seeing how people pick up a new idea and turn it into something new.