From hats to bags!
The story of how I got to this point - making bags (mainly) is a long one but my interest in making accessories started with an interest in making hats when I was around the age of 17. I had been taught to sew by my gran at a young age, enjoyed textiles classes at school, made a few of my own clothes and when a hat making course came to my attention I decided to give it a go. I loved it and made hats for everybody, whether or not they wanted one!! After this I studied at Stafford college doing an Art Foundation course, then onto Textile Design at The University of Derby. I worked in various jobs after this including the Music and Arts dept in the town library back in my home town of Stafford. I loved this job, working with music, film and the arts was amazing and kept me stimulated. All this time though I was still making, using my sewing machine and experimenting with other creative interests. Then my two children came along and all of my attention was on them for a few years but I still made things whether it upholstery, dresses for my kids or trying out different crafts. Then...my children started school full time and as with a lot of parents this was the time I felt the need to start something new that fit in with school but using my skills. I knew I could sew, I knew I had an eye for colour and design, I knew I had knowledge of fabric, I'd had some money bequeathed to me by a relative and I knew this person would want me to buy myself a new sewing machine and some materials, so I did. I couldn't think of a name for my shop so my kids chose it and so The Bobbin Case was born. It started with Christmas decorations, slowly moved onto shopping bags and then I discovered Tweed, in particular Harris Tweed and this became my passion and inspired me to design my own bags and hone my skills as bag maker.
