I started my shop in a burst of creativity on a cold winter's night - choosing a name, writing a profile, listing my first items, signing up for paypal, hanging a banner all in one go during my very first visit to Etsy. Cramped and hunched over the computer next to the woodstove, I felt a thrilling sense that I was taking a leap into a new world. So many years later, I often think back to that brave and totally unplanned foray into the world of online sales and I thank my muses for setting me alight that night with the kind of fevered mousing that can change your world one click at a time.

I like to keep it simple. A workshop at home with a window looking out on the garden, using local sources for leather and hardware as much as possible (I have a great leather supplier who will occasionally drive up to my house with a bunch of new hides in the back of his truck if I haven't been out to see him in a while), and I've often got a batch of preserves going on the stove while I work. It's handy to have the kitchen next to the workshop especially when the busy season of harvest and Christmas production collide! Our house is located in a patch of old suburban houses in an urban setting, surrounded by arterial roads and major commercial developments, so our garden is a true local sanctuary. It harbours so much life it is buzzing and humming with birds and insects, brimming with fruit and vegetables and surrounded (to my mind) with protective spells and old country magic.

I also work with a fantastic Canadian handmade accessories design house called Shi Studio, and am eternally grateful to the relationships and collaboration that enabled me to get grounded on the handmade path. Check out www.shistudio.com to explore some beautiful hand made jewellry and to see some more of my leatherwork!