Who wants a FREE gift?! Rachel currently has a January sale running on her site, so if you’re interested in getting a free gift, head over to her blog where you’ll find a gift code on the post about her January sale!
Rachel Stevens
I keep chickens
I have to have a cup of tea after eating ice cream
I hate my skinny legs (so skinny I have to have to get boots from somewhere that customizes the calf width)
I love growing vegetables and preserving them.
What got you started crafting?
I’ve always been arts and crafty and my education root took me through a degree in costume design. I also ended up teaching fashion for a while, but I what I found I really loved doing was designing and creating my own pieces.
I have always enjoyed being given a brief, like say a principal girl panto costume that can’t be pink or blue and needs to be adjustable to fit a number of people, and coming up with a solution and a fun design to boot.
I love coming up with ideas for bags and clothes that offer function as well as form, and I love getting custom orders.
What is your source of inspiration?
I often find inspiration in the fabrics that I buy, I’ll go pick out stuff I really like and then look at it and wait for it to tell me what it wants to be… okay so that sounds a bit weird, but I do spend time looking at the fabrics and considering what they’d look best as.
I also like adding vintage touches to my designs particularly the 1950s, and as some of the fabric and trimmings I use are vintage that can influence the design too.
Another source of inspiration is pockets… I like finding new ways to make or present pockets and I might come up with the rest of the design around that. The critter bags I make were all centered around these little creatures that I thought would be fun to carry in pockets on the outside of a bag.
What have you made recently?
As well as selling stuff, I like to make gifts for my family and friends. This Christmas I made a 1950’s style apron for a friend who’s getting really in to cooking. She loves 1950s style and I had this fabric that she’d seen and been excited about – it’s printed cotton, white with black polka dots and red strawberry clusters. So I decided to make her and apron taking in all those factors.
It had a full skirt with red pockets trimmed in black, with a red wide waist band and cute red and black heart shaped buttons at the top where the neck tie is fixed on. She was so pleased with it and I had other good feedback from it that I’m currently designing a range of 1950s style pinnys and aprons to put on my site.
Where do you sell your crafts presently?
On my website, on my etsy shop and to people locally who know of me : ) I can also pick up trade through my facebook page and my blog, I’m always happy to have people mail me with requests for custom items… or perhaps for something they’ve seen on my site, but in a different colour/fabric.
Why are handmade crafts important to you?
I feel if you have creative skills you ought to use them, and if you can make money doing something you love then so much the better.
I personally love hand made items because they’re unique, especially if you have them custom made to fit you. I also think it’s important to support small enterprises that produce quality items, and hey, doesn’t it make you feel good when people notice you’re wearing something a bit different, or carrying an unusual bag or if you gift a friend something they haven’t seen or can’t get in a shop.
Find Me
LocationSouth East England
Email Address
Rachel Stevens
Personal Website
http://www.whimsicalwardrobe.co.uk
Store Website
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RachelsWardrobe
@whimsywardrobe
http://www.facebook.com/rachelswhimsicalwardrobe