Category Archives: COMMUNITY

‘I’m an optimist. Because what’s the point of the alternative?’ Patti Smith What makes for an admiration is to encounter a person with harmony within. A quiet yet determined sense of achievement, not only in the realms of a career, but as a mother, a wife, an active member of her community, and an inspiration…

“…it is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in the broken world. …” Mary Oliver It is also a serious thing to recognise the tools we have at hand to overcome hardship, stress, depression, sadness, loneliness to name a few. For everyone it is their own, for your neighbour it…

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African Proverb In Buddhist tradition it is believed that it is the mind that creates the illusion of separateness, but once the state of enlightenment is reached within an individual, the fog of illusion lifts and one is able…

Justice McNeil is the epitome of a modern renaissance woman. She paints, sings, sews, holds down a job she loves, looks after her cats and plants and plays the ukulele. Unlike the belief that you ought to take sides on whether you are for nature or technology, perhaps today where the most exciting change is…

When I first encountered Christina Alexander, what came to mind is a quote from Angela Duckworth’s book : Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success: “…there are no shortcuts to excellence. Developing real expertise, figuring out really hard problems, it all takes time -longer than most people imagine…Grit is about working on something you…

“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” Mother Teresa Most of my grandmother’s contemporaries knew how to sew, knit and mend a pair of trousers, there was minimum waste as almost anything from a piece of wire to an old jacket would be reused over and over again, the…

At the beginning of the 20th century women were still not allowed to paint anywhere apart from their family homes, their male contemporaries were portraying a far wider repertoire of subject matter, from nudes in brothels to plein air landscapes, needlework and sewing however were very much the realm of women’s expected pass times. Emancipation…

Behind every person, there are stories to be told, a life lived sometimes not so very much unlike your own, even if you were born thousands of miles apart. Community bound by a common interest brings not only wisdom of experience to be shared or the joy for that interest, as this project slowly unfolded…

You can always spot a doer from afar. Katherine (Katie) Merisko is a doer, finding great joy and comfort in using her hands, whereby most of us might rest in a semi permanent state of procrastination when it comes to creative home solutions, Katie is churning out project after project and seems really rather quietly…

Slow fashion, sustainability, ethical consumerism: terms sadly starting to water down from general overuse, but once in a while you meet someone who lives, breathes and embodies this very way of living, Morgann McCoy is one such lady. Somehow Morgann makes entrepreneurship seem far easier and much more accessible, which is a wonderful catalyst for…

Mother (of four !), maker and owner of two separate businesses with a flair for fashion and style and a depth to her soul, Warlene Rene inspires with both her sense of freedom to explore her potential (wether it be a bridalwear business or running her own fashion label) and hard graft. Warlene has chosen to…

From her online presence, Katie Kortman exudes colour and energy filled with contageous positive enthusiasm. She also happens to be a mother of four (hats off!) and manages to regularly update her handmade wardrobe and teach art and sewing online. You can follow her creative journey either on Instagram or by following her blog. Katie…

A lot of you, especially those active within the IG sewing community will be familiar with the wonderful Anna Allen Clothing (and if you’re in the unknown you absolutely must take a look!). Having outgrown her interest in historical clothing construction, Anna opened her business in 2010 and has been steadily growing her loyal 18K+ community…