Posted on

Why I’m excited about Craft Central tomorrow

Ok, I’m always excited about markets, not least because they make me knuckle down and spend time doing what I really love: sewing.

But this market is extra special, because for the first time ever you’ll be able to buy products from fabrics that I’ve designed myself. This is a big deal, and has been not one, but two years in the works. It was October two years ago that I sat down and wrote myself a business plan that included created my own fabrics. I started by learning to screen print, but quickly realised that I’m a bit of a messy bunny, and that wasn’t really going to be the way for me to go.

So instead I’ve been focusing on building my skills using illustration software. I had a bit of an idea about what fabrics I would launch this spring, but then in early July I sat down to eat my lunch and my muse turned up.

Literally.

My muse
My muse

This fellow sat watching me the whole time I was eating, and then kindly posed for a photo.

The image I drew from that photo became the base for the first of the fabrics in my first range. The other fabrics feature a tui and a kaka, both from photos taken by my husband (you can check out his landscape photography at www.newzealandscape.com).

Tomorrow at Craft Central is the launch date for products made from those fabrics. I’m starting with wallets, visual diaries and lampshades.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

So, tomorrow is Craft Central. 10 am – 3 pm at The St James Theatre on Courtenay Place, Wellington.

Who’s coming to see me?

It's on tomorrow folks!
It’s on tomorrow folks!