Evolution of a bag maker

Well this is my first post on my new blog site, previous blogs have always been attached to my website and I don't think that they are ever as good. So, for my first post I thought I would talk about.. well, Me! Just by way of an introduction. Here goes....

I have always sewn. I didn't learn anything about sewing from Mum, she was a knitter, but my Dad taught himself to sew using my Nan's old Pfaff sewing machine (one of the old hand sewing machines), and I too learnt to sew on this machine. People were always amazed that he made mine and my sisters dresses! So from when I was very young there was always a sewer in the house and as I was a bit of a 'Daddy's girl' it was obvious that I too would sew. He was an inspiration and a great teacher. At first I didn't really know what I was doing, my first attempt at making a dress for my doll was basically a tube with holes cut in for the dolls arms! Not technically brilliant but I was delighted that I had made something that my doll could actually wear. Later at School we were taught cross stitch and I remember making a sewing needle book. In fact they thought me so good that I was asked to help the younger children. In my last year at Junior School I remember the girls had to make a completely hand sewn blouse, lots of back-stitching involved in that! At Secondary school I continued to learn and even made my School summer dress. Since then I have made everything from clothes to soft furnishings, which I made professionally for a few years.

I gave up my curtain making business thirteen years ago, not because it wasn't successful - it was, I had a three month waiting list! But to look after my Granddaughter so that my Daughter could go back to work. Once she started School I got a part time job as a Merchandiser working for a well known greetings card company. Gradually the job changed, became more pressured and hours were cut and I soon started hankering after working for myself again. I began thinking about making bags - why? I don't really know where the idea came from other than the fact that I  love beautiful things;  fabrics, trims, buttons, and though I don't really have the kind of lifestyle where I need lots of evening and occasion bags - I do love them! So having nursed this ambition for a couple of years, in June 2010 I took the plunge and gave up work. By October of that year I launched Wild Rose Designs. The name came from my surname (Wild) and my middle name (Rose).

 I can't say it's been easy to get things going, it's been much harder than when I started making curtains, but I'm determined to make it a success,  I've recently extended the range of bags and added some  home accessories. I'm doing something that I love, and I can fit it in with doing the afternoon School run. I'm my own Boss again and you really can't beat that!