Meet the Maker: Lucy @ Lucy Made Me!

Helloooooooo!

And Aloha to another blooming lovely crafty maker...

It's only in the form of the loveliest Lucy I know!!!

Who are you and what’s the name of your business?

Hello I’m Lucy from Lucy Made Me! 

Where are you from?

My friends laugh when I get asked this because I always say, ‘near Gatwick’ because nobody has ever heard of the little village I’m from which is in between Redhill and Horley in sunny Surrey! It’s a great location right in the middle of the London to Brighton mainline so I can hop on a train and be at either destination within 30 minutes. There’s also plenty of farmland and rolling countryside so it’s the best of both urban and rural living!

Cuteness personified or what?!

What’s your favourite colour?

I’m a rainbow girl so I love bright contrasting colours, patterns and designs. When I was little I use to dead head my Grandparents’ fuschia plants with an old pair of rusty scissors and I remember the beautiful shades of hot pink, red and purple. I also like shades of turquoise, however, if we’re talking sweets then it’s green all the way – starburst, winegums, fruit pastels, jelly babies, skittles even jelly! 

What’s your favourite food?
This is a tricky question but I would have to say bread and butter. Plain and simple, a really nice slice of homemade crusty bread or roll and a big dollop of butter. It has to be butter. 

How would you spend your perfect day?
My perfect day would start early because I like to get up and about and it would involve heading down to Brighton for an early morning wander round the north lanes, antique shops and market where you can pick up some great bargains and find all sorts of quirky items. I especially like the stall selling French haberdashery. There would also be a few stop offs at my favourite fabric shops then heading back home to sew outside in the garden until the early evening, followed by a BBQ with friends and family.

Lucy's favorite haberdashery stall in Brighton (also my favoritist place in the world!!)

 What do you make?

The short version would be handmade gifts and accessories for the home! This includes lots of soft furnishings like cushions, draft excluders and bunting to rosette badges, door signs, coin purses, lavender hearts, make-up bags and gadget cases to name a few. I really enjoy mixing old with new and source vintage materials as well as modern prints and designs for my products. I also hand paint and decorate a lot of my items including wooden hearts, boxes, dolly pegs, coat hangers, key rings, coasters, and alphabet letters. Each item is individually made, painted, or decorated by hand so no two items are every the same adding character to every piece.

 Lucy's stall at Gorgeous Gerties

What’s your favourite thing you’ve ever made?
Another good but tricky question! I would say it’s the first zipped cushion cover that I ever made with my Nan, it was my first time at putting zips in and we did it in her sewing room one Christmas. My Nan did one side and I did the other, it was a cowboy print fabric with red polka dot on the reverse. It was probably one of the most valuable and useful skills my Nan ever taught me because I’ve lost count how many cushions I’ve made since and it also meant I could make other things with zips like coin purses and make-up bags. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her showing me. I learn best by example and watching a demo rather than reading manuals, I’m the person who doesn’t read the instructions!!

Why did you start your business?
I grew up watching my Nan make, alter and mend on her trusty Pfaff sewing machine and when I was five she gave me my first pair of knitting needles. These were a grown up pair of 8 inch needles that my Grandpa had sewn down to fit my small hands! My first make with these needles was a red and blue knitted scarf for my toy rabbit Boxy. And that’s how it first started. Over the years both my Mum and my Nan encouraged me to make things and by the time I inherited my first sewing machine from my Great Aunt I had collected a stash of fabric that had grown into an uncontrollable obsession. My Nan and I spent hours upstairs in her sewing room as I began making small items for family and friends which led to bespoke orders and personalised gifts. My Nan and I soon realised we couldn’t store everything we were making so in October 2012 I set up Lucy Made Me and did my first craft fair in a church hall and it was a great success. From there I began selling more at local craft fairs and markets which led to my products being stocked at a high street retailers and a garden centre. And so here we are! 

What are your inspirations?

For me this question is more who than what and it would be my Nan. She taught me everything I know about sewing and she gave the best advice and the biggest love. I miss her everyday but I’m surrounded by lots of things she made me and I use her sewing desk and cutting table so she’s everywhere and still a huge part of LMM.

What would be your one tip for anyone taking up a new hobby, or turning that hobby in to a business?

The best advice I can pass on to anyone thinking of turning their hobby into a business is the advice my Nan gave me: ‘Don’t work so that you get too weary and tired. Remember to take time for yourself. All work and no play’. I need to remember this! If it becomes a chore you’ve just ruined a hobby you love. Make sure you enjoy it, my mum also told me a great quote recently and that’s, 'Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.' Mums and Nans always know best!

And there she is, that was lovely Lucy!!

If you'd like to see more of her lovely makes, more of what she's up to, trust me, it's definitely worth a gander, or do a little bit of shopping, just click here!

See you soon,

Ms Bee

xxx