A little bit about me:

Growing up in Liverpool with four siblings, a window-dressing Mum and a Dad with a wealth of creativity, an affinity with arts and crafts was in my blood.

My earliest memory of experimenting with textiles was when, at the age of only 6, I made my very first pincushion. My youthful, hands-on creative streak was subsequently honed as I created outfits for my dolls and often altered my own clothes in my teenage years.

At school, my well-meaning teachers recognised this innate artistic flair, when they advised me to “keep to art”. However, with a slightly aggrieved determination to prove myself in another field, I made use of my love of numbers and entered the world of work as a wages and ledger clerk. This career appealed to my sense of logic but my creative side needed an outlet outside of the office environment and I continued to experiment with textiles by making my own, often admired, clothes and soft furnishings. A business idea began to grow as people admired the self-made, machine-knitted clothes that I wore and I started to take commissions and host clothes parties. This ideally fitted in with my family life with small children.

My career path took an artistic turn when I later became an art technician in a secondary school where, amongst many other things, I was involved in running out-of-hours arts and crafts workshops for children, organising school displays and running community workshops. I also developed my own skills at night school gaining qualifications and running workshops and talks for the Embroiders’ Guild.

I took the momentous decision to leave my day-job when a close and creatively talented relative passed away prematurely, sadly without fulfilling his retirement dreams of pursuing artistic pastimes. This sad event and seemingly stolen opportunity made me take a hard look at my own aspirations. I decided to fulfil the pursuit of my passion which is, and always has been, working with textiles. I looked forward to continuing to combine this with my love for technology through my business.

The inspiration for my designs is deeply rooted in my fierce pride for the city in which I live. Liverpool has a wealth of culture and stunning architecture and I could spend hours gazing upwards at its stunning buildings. This motivated me to create one of my favourite pieces – my Liverpool Denim Skyline. My current range includes numerous Liverpudlian architecture textile designs, using my textile art pieces as the colour palette.

My “Home Is Where The Heart Is” Royal Liver Building design is my best-seller both online and at the local artisan events I attend. This was my first building commission I’d sewn over 10 years ago when my career as an artist was still in its infancy so it holds a special place in my heart. I’m at my happiest when found at my sewing machine, working on new designs from my purpose-built studio in my Liverpool home. I’m currently developing a range of new skyline designs for other cities which brings with it new levels of challenge and reward as I’m getting to know their wonderful architecture – which I am excited to embrace.