I was born to a family of makers, from engineers to knitters, painters and stitchers. They all had 'day jobs', mainly nurses and engineers they tinkered and stitched, mended and explored in stolen moments from night shifts and later between study and ITV dramas exhausted after long hours. 

I learnt that creativity was a part of a healthy life, (alongside exercise and a good diet which have .... mainly stuck apart from an inability to stick to the family mandated two biscuits). I made my first teddy at 10, a tiny tiger that my mum ambitiously believed me capable of.  He was well loved but rather mis-shapen. I continued to stitch into my teens, copying clothes and making handbags (the noughties were a terribe time to find a handbag with a strap). 

I found work at a local fabric shop in Manchester as a uni student, and learnt the most while working in the haberdashers and asking annoying questions of the employees on my lunch breaks.

I became a proficient maker in Edinburgh while working as a temp. Office hours with minimal work and access to the generous sharing of information from bloggers, and I started to use patterns, try out techniques and start a blog of my own. I moved to Manchester with my now fiancee and decided (rather foolishly) to make my own wedding dress. I pushed my knowledge as far as I could and was very pleased with the result! 

I was then invited on to the Great British Sewing Bee, where I thrived until a tricky zip sent me packing. My highlight was the kilt, and the hilarious wetsuit challenge, but mainly getting to know my fellow contestants. Following my exit, I wrote for sewing magazines for a couple of years, though struggled with the morality of writing about body positivity alongside articles telling women how to sew to look slim.

After the birth of my first child I concentrated on making tiny shoes for tiny toes and keeping my head above water until I was offered a role on Sewing Quarter, a QVC style channel for craft supplies. A fantastic opportunity and confirmed my interest in film and broadcast, though long hours and a high workload alongside part time work became unsustainable when I became pregnant with my second child. 

Since then I have made my own clothes, and some for the kids, while working with makers at Manchester Craft and Design Centre, supporting and advocating for craft careers wherever I can. Here I will be working to bring together my creative and professional careers, my passion for craft with my love of research.