I thought you might like to know more about the Artisans behind HOMEMADE at The Barn, those invisible barn folk that quietly sneak in bringing you their lovely new makes, the ladies and gents who work behind the scenes to bring the character and charm to The Barn.
So, in the first of our ‘Meet The Artisan’ blogs, I would like to introduce you to Charlotte Trim, the lovely lady behind Carly’s.
Charlotte, tell me how you got into crafting…
Well, it’s a difficult question!
Ever since I could sew I have sewn, regardless of success. As a little girl Saturdays were spent with my Grandma, often spending the afternoon dragging out her fabric stash and trying to sew pieces together.
In time, she taught me cross stitch, embroidery, and eventually how to make my own clothes, although it drove her to distraction that I wouldn’t use a pattern.
Personally, crafting is the most relaxing thing I can do. I call it having tingly fingers when I just feel like I need to make something, I love designing patterns to embroider.
I ended up with so many of my projects in my house, I realised, if I was going to continue I would have to find a way to sell them. It was my first stall at a craft fair where I got the selling bug; seeing people admiring my work and making such lovely comments about the things I had created. It was also at that same craft fair I was approached by HOMEMADE and asked if I would like to sell my embroidery pictures at The Barn.
Having an outlet for my creativity has been so exciting for me, it has allowed me to experiment with different skills, such as upcycling jewellery boxes and knitting, although to this day I can only knit scarves!
There’s nothing as lovely as getting positive feedback from customers, and I always enjoy embroidering the, shall we say, slightly more ‘out there’ phrases, the joy of making up my own patterns is that I can literally embroider anything, which means my Customers can really own something totally unique and personal to them or the person they are commissioning the item for.
Amongst all the pictures I have ever embroidered, my favourite was one I made for a friend for Christmas.
Sadly, her cat had recently passed away and was survived by two kittens. I embroidered a line drawing of one cat on a cloud looking down at the other two.
To be able to bring even a small amount of comfort to someone when they need it is what crafting is all about, whether it’s the person doing the making, or the person who receives it.
Recently I have had a bit more time on my hands and I have really enjoyed learning a new skill; painting with watercolours.
Painting has always been in the back of my mind and being at home recently has enabled me to take up the brush and start to learn.
Whilst my current efforts aren’t quite ready for public viewing just yet, I hope one day they will be good enough to sell alongside my embroidery… Watch this space!