Say Hello to… Mary-Anne Makes

Brighton, craftNo comments

Today we catch up with Fairy Tale Fair seller Mary-Anne, who sold with us at Brighton Racecourse on Small Business Saturday. Her stall was certainly a popular one! Read on to find out why…

Please introduce yourself and your brand…..

Hello, I am mary-anne makes… and my passion in life is to create things. I have always loved sewing and crafting since I was a little girl inspired by the female generation in my family my grandmother was a great seamstress and and I was lucky enough to inherit her love of the sewing machine, and an instinctive urge to make and do! I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by nature and a childhood of play and imagination which continues to inspire me. When I wasn’t having my own little adventures I’d be sat with my mum at the kitchen table making various creations. I am addicted to beautiful patterns, colour and texture and love rummaging about in charity shops, vintage fairs and fabric shops and feeding my obsession! I love using vintage fabrics giving them a new lease of life and continuing their journey into something new. I juggle my sewing around a young family and if I’m not on my sewing machine, I’m making something out of an old loo roll and some felt! My creations are inspired by nostalgia and memories from the past as well as the two little rascals that inspire me every day. Each of my hand made pieces tells its own playful story, inspired by the people, places and things around me and I hope they will do the same for every-one else.

Tell us a bit about your creations and how you make them….

I make all sorts of hand made items from beautiful cushions, children’s clothes, and gift items like soft toys, little purses, and brooches which I sell on my etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/maryannemakes and have taken commissions for making reams of wedding bunting. I love using recycled and vintage fabrics to breathe new life into these beautiful old and often forgotten about textiles.

How long have you been making your creations?

I have spent most of my life making things and giving handmade gifts to friends and family. When I had my daughter 2 years ago I decided that the fabric collecting was getting out of hand and this urge to make needed a new direction and purpose. So I decided to set up an etsy shop and begin making for the purposes of selling and sending these creations off to be loved by others and enjoyed in their new homes.

Do you have a best seller or most popular item?

The cushions are very popular as a lot of the fabrics are very nostalgic for people and it means they can have a slice of their past in their homes, also the soft toys are a winner, especially their secret little pockets for stuffing little treasures and notes in or the odd tooth for the tooth fairy!

What do you enjoy most about your craft/ work?

It is so satisfying to be able to fulfil a passion of mine by creating lovely things out of beautiful recycled vintage fabrics and it is such a wonderful feeling, very exciting, when some-one else comes along and falls in love with something you’ve made and it makes them really happy, it’s like giving a gift.

What are your plans or ambitions for the future, or have you already achieved them?

I hope to continue expanding my etsy shop and taking part in makers fairs like the wonderful Fairy Tale Fair, I was very excited to be part of it this year.