Our 1st three months

As you may know we opened our doors early September to offer local people and visitors craft courses, parties and corporate events. Our 1st three months have very exciting and the next year promises to be even better. In these early stages there is experimentation with classes to see what is popular in a new area. Our most popular classes have definitely been dressmaking, soap making and beginners patchwork. All of these will be added next year and lots more new courses with a seasonal theme. Private lessons and group bookings have been more popular than expected so certain weekends will be laid aside for these throughout the year so if you want to learn a skill with friends book a private class or party soon! We were lucky enough to host a corporate day for Waitrose in October when 12 ladies came for a day of soap and candle making with lots of Devon cream teas. We have had a Christmas shop here for the last few weeks & have decided to keep a small selection of exclusive gifts all year round. We have also got teaching collaborations with arts spaces in Torrington & Okehampton for next year. With articles in several major magazines due in the early part of 2012 & lots more classes, party options & craft holidays to be announced it looks like a busy year ahead!

Fair pay for a fair days work

I was intending on writing a blog post today about a lovely Shabby chic shop that I found locally...however that will have to wait as a new topic has been brought to my attention today and I felt the overwhelming need to share my views on the subject.  I am not normally one for this kind of post, I tend to lean towards the light and easy to read but when I feel strongly about something it has to be said.   Many of the people that are likely to read this are in the handmade industry and others are small holders and those trying to tread a little lighter on the earth.  I will be the first to admit that I have had my time of being consumer driven and a bit of a spend thrift, in my youth I rarely cared about where my clothes were made as long as they were the right price. The concept of sweat shops was foreign to me, I just wanted clothes, shoes and plenty of them.   I don't even want to contemplate the amount of clothes and 'things' that I really wanted and have ended up at the charity shop or worse in the bin. 

Over the years I have by necessity become very thrifty and in turn very conscious of the items I do buy and their origin.  I make what I can and use recycled items to do it where possible.  When I purchase something I take into account where the item is made, what it is made of and how long it will last.  Price although a factor is last on the list and I will save for something that I
 really need and occasionally want.  I have a small wardrobe in terms of clothes and I tend to lean towards good quality, British made items that are durable...and before you say it, most of them are from charity shops with a few key pieces purchased new and made to last.  But we are not here to discuss my wardrobe!  In my crafting I use recycled fabric, locally produced wools and the occasional piece of new fabric although this is mainly for clothing.  It is a bit of a bug bear that the origin of new fabric and where it is made is not easy to find out.
When I make handmade items to sell I try and price them to include all my costs and to give me something approaching minimum wage.  I know this is often not the case for many crafters, they may only be making to fund their hobby and can therefore price lower than someone who is trying to make a living.   I suppose I could use cheaper wool in my knitted items possibly acrylic but I want to support local business and for that matter British wools.  The wool I use is certainly not the cheapest but it comes from farmers who share a sustainable ethos and farm rare breed sheep which produce fantastic thick wool perfect for those of us who often work outside in cold months.   Knitting is difficult to price realistically because a handmade item takes time which can never be truly reflected in the final cost to the consumer.   I often hear people saying that handmade knitted items are too expensive.  Take gloves for instance,  I have seen some from high street chains for £35 and some for £6 and many priced in between.  I doubt the high street gloves are made in this country and very much doubt from British wool.  Knitting for me is more a hobby than some of my other making and it will never make me rich but it is not made in a sweat shop.  There are many people that will pay a fair price for an item such as this and if all of the handmade industry work together to price accurately and raise awareness of handmade we can change peoples thinking.   This all comes from the perspective of someone who does not have much money to play with and would prefer now to have less and make every purchase count both financially and ethically.   In recent decades we have become a throw away society where it is easier to buy something again than look after it properly and repair it, I repair things and those that are beyond repair find themselves made into something else.  I am noticing recently on my courses that there is a greater interest in recycling clothes into new ones and am trying to do my bit when teaching sewing to encourage people to find fabric in more unusual places and to think differently about old clothes.    I don't imagine for a moment that we can turn around the fortunes of companies like Primark by purchasing ethically and with thought, but maybe we can help those working in the handmade industry in this country.  Excuse the length of this post and if you have made to here I am very appreciative!  I would love any comments on this topic.

Christmas is coming......

Our chickens are getting fat but they won't be on the menu!

I will soon be adding some lovely handmade country Christmas goodies to my Etsy shop, here is a little preview.

I am also working on some great knitting kits to make chunky cable fingerless mittens and a matching mug Cosy. Perfect for the knitter in your life! If you just want to get straight to the mittens then they will be available at www.fromthewilde.com

Sewing Machines

I love sewing machines, if you ever come to my studio you will see that immediately, they are everywhere and in all shapes and sizes which is just how I like them.   My first sewing machine was a Toyota and it was shockingly bad at sewing not a good trait for a machine really.  When I started sewing it was to make for a shop in London so I invested in a decent machine which was worth every penny meet my Pfaff.

 She sews beautifully and handles whatever I can throw at her although sadly at the moment she is very poorly and awaiting fixing due to being dropped!  All my other machines are Vintage or Antique ranging from late 1890's to 1970's and a real mix of treadles, hand cranks and electrics.  I try to sew on all of them at some point to keep them moving and because they all have different characters and are such a joy to use.   People often assume that treadles are hard to use and not a fast as modern machines, in some ways they are right, it takes practice to learn to treadle but once you get the knack you can go as fast as a modern machine and get the blood pumping in your legs.  

Hand cranks are perfect and many crafters such as Elsie May & Bertha are turning to them for the precision and control they offer not to mention the lovely sound they make and how safe they are for little sewers.  I have taught a lot of children to sew with hand cranks and they are probably the machine I sell the most of.  I have one in our lounge to sew on during cold winter evenings when the fire is on and we want to all be together.

I do have  a soft spot for vintage electric machines and have been incredibly lucky that all the machines I buy on ebay are in good electrical order or just need a new motor which is often very easy to buy and replace.  I have one machine set up purely to do free motion quilting because it does it better than any machine I have tried on and is set in a lovely table which needed a little love and a lick of paint.

One of the best things about older machines is they are solid, don't break easily and you can maintain them yourself with basic knowledge.  If you are contemplating a sewing machine and don't have a budget for something like a Pfaff then think about a second hand machine, don't be daunted by treadles and hand cranks and really think what you need from a machine, 95% of the time I use straight stitch so older machines are ideal as they sew a very good straight stitch.   If I had to choose only two machines it would be a Hand Crank and a solid 1960's electric that does zig zag. 

We will soon be selling restored treadles and hand cranks as well as offering lessons on how to use and maintain them.  If you are looking for a sewing machine and really don't know where to turn for advice drop me an email, I am always happy to offer assistance and maybe we will have the perfect machine for you.  

Sarah

New Arrivals

We had a great Launch tea party on Sunday and lovely people came along, had tea and cake and got to see what we have to offer.  The feedback was fantastic and everyone loved the space, stroked the new fabrics and booked courses.  Once I had calmed down from all the preparation for the launch I got back to sewing and sourcing new stock for the studio.  In the next few weeks we will be bringing in lovely shetland wool from Chrissie at Purple Hurdle a local farmer of rare breed sheep that I met at Woolsery Show here in Clovelly.  Her wool comes in 6 gorgeous colours as seen below

       

I will also be stocking Aran wool from another local farmer Gillian at South Yeo Farm East from her rare breed Balwen Sheep.

 

We already have bamboo knitting needles from Clover in a huge variety of sizes and some Knit Pro needles in the smaller sizes as well as stitch holder's, point protectors, cable needles and row counters.  Our knitting accessories as all of our stock will increase as the demand is there allowing us to grow organically as a business.

 

On a more personal note I have started a new hobby, I have been fascinated by spinning for some time particularly as it falls into my love of all things traditional and people powered.  I am awaiting a spinning wheel currently being restored by my Mum, in the meantime she gave me a drop spindle and a huge bag of different types of cleaned and carded fleece for Christmas.  It has been untouched until now, in typical fashion I jumped on youtube found some videos and off I went, as you can see above my yarn is very uneven but I am hugely satisfied with it as a use of my time.  In that vein I am currently searching for a local Spinning teacher to run classes with me here at the studio, there is a big gap locally and lots of lovely fleece around, if you know of anyone in Devon who would like to teach please let me know.

Have a lovely Evening!

Sarah