I thought it might be an idea to do a blog explaining where my designs come from.
A few years ago I was wandering through the storeroom of a fabric supplier, when I came across rolls and rolls of faux fur, within in seconds of stroking the beautiful fabric I was in love. (It was like finding chocolate in the fridge you didn’t know was there). I couldn’t
bring myself to leave without purchasing several meters of chocolate brown (faux bear) fur. This was turned into curtains for my sitting room and became a stroking magnet to all who entered. I had a metre spare and thought it would make a good circular rug, but what to do to make it a little more interesting. Hence the paw rug was born. It was another few years before I saw them as a business opportunity.
In February 2010 I moved to beautiful, but rural Wigtownshire, to my then fiancées farm, where I hoped to start a new customer base making curtains, but being new to an area work was hard to come by. It was at this point I remembered my paw rug and wondered if I could sell them at craft fairs.
It was while looking for fabric on line that I discover a chunky fleece similar to sheep
fleece and though it would make a great lamb rug. I looked on the internet for a photo of a sheep, drew it, made it chunky and slightly more exaggerated and then scaled it up until it was a size I thought suitable for a rug. There was a lot of experimenting with ears and seam allowances but when I was happy I took it to market, so to speak. I was very pleased with this rug and expected it to sell well. At my first show a lady approached me and said ‘I love your lamb rug, do you do a beltie’? I think my blank expression prompted her to enlighten me. The beltie is a Belted Galloway cow, native to the area I was living in. My husband thought it was an excellent idea, and being a beef farmer was a tremendous help in its design. Back to market I went. Yes I had a hit on my hands, but like before, I was approached by a lady who asked if I did a highland version, and so this is how it continued. Every time I bring out a new design someone asks if I do a different one which is why I have the range you see today in my online shop, and why next month I have to look at designing a border collie.
