So this page is a bit more about my bag making! 
I love working with fabrics and have always been fascinated with sewing machines, especially old ones! In 2015 I made my first bag as a gift for someone on the ancient Vesta sewing machine I inherited from a dressmaker, and liked it so much that I just kept on going! I find the process of creating something beautiful and useful from a stack of fabric very satisfying.
All of my bags are completely designed and stitched together by me, and I now also print all of my own fabric. Screen printing is something I knew nothing about until a couple of years ago, but it seemed like a good skill to learn for transferring my own artwork onto fabric. It absolutely blew me away to see how well my designs came out onto cotton and still now it’s my favourite bit of the process! Each decorative panel that I print is specifically shaped and sized for a particular bag. This takes a lot of planning in the early design stages to make sure everything fits together perfectly, but it means that each bag features a little handprinted artwork by me on it, which I’m very proud of!
After experimenting with different fabrics for the main body of the bags, I’ve settled on a beautifully soft waxed cotton made in the UK by Halley Stevensons of Dundee. The wax treatment makes the bags robust and resistant to water, but it is still soft and sews together beautifully, and comes in a wide range of bold colours which I love. The straps on all my bags are long so you can wear them cross body (as I like to).
If you see a bag you like on this site, please do get in touch and I’ll be able to let you know which colours I can make it up in, and I’d very happy to talk to you about special commissions.
When I’m not sewing, I’m most often in a field with my dog or trying to make nice sounds come out of my clearly broken cello, but Gallery 10 is definitely my happy place. I’m passionate about promoting the excellent work of all our brilliant local makers, and love a good chat with our customers!
