A lifelong love of creating and making things has led me to where I am now.
Using driftwood found on my meanderings along the beautiful north east coast of England, I make my quirky and engaging folk. Each piece of work is completely unique and lovingly brings together fine skills accumulated and honed during a lifetime of making, with materials I feel passionate about.
On a beautiful day the beach with its treasures beckons, while if the weather outside is grim I can sit indoors, blissfully unaware, and indulge myself with cups of tea and knitting.
Dust never has a chance to settle on my sewing machine as I’m regularly sitting at it making tiny pairs of jeans from the pre-loved clothes that friends and family often pass on to me. My neighbours are used to the sound of me working away in a tiny corner of my garage, sawing up pieces of wood, using chisels to round off the top of a head, and sanding, buffing and polishing my tiny folk until they shine!
People I meet at events often ask about my background, and where the idea came from: as the daughter of a doll maker and a carpenter, perhaps this was always my destiny! And the idea? It has evolved from a pile of driftwood I was collecting for another project, a photo of a peg doll, and as a positive alternative to returning to what some people might call a ‘proper job’, one in the rat race that I simply don’t want to go back to.
The first batch of driftwood folk I made were an odd looking bunch, but hours and hours of beachcombing to find the right pieces of wood, and yet more hours of workshop time, has seen my folk evolve into the very individual characters they are! I’m so grateful to a wonderful friend who, seeing their potential, encouraged me to break some of my early creations free from the box they had been banished to. I’ve learnt from feedback what appeals to my followers, but generally if I love something I’ve made, others do too.
If you’d like to track me down, have a look at the Find Us link. You can also see what events I’m attending and the workshops I’m running. Come and see us soon: we would love to meet you!