Who is She??
Hi there, my name is Christine and I am the face, owner, accountant, house keeper, media noob and folder-er of fabrics for Transform Fabrics. I live in Northern Ireland and have been sewing for around 5 years, although, I have had a machine for a long time. I only started sewing after I had my second child; when I hit 30. I gave birth, made major life decisions and found that I was a little lost in all the chaos. That was where I found sewing. Anyway my partner, Mr Transformer, and I now have a blended family of seven. Yes 7. I know, sounds like a crazy house, and at times it is, but my partner has 3 amazing grown up kids and even a gorgeous little grandson into the mix and we have 4 together at home 3 boys and a girl.
Why Sewing? Why Fabric?
I love it! I love the creativity, the accomplishment, the growth, I love how putting on me made items makes me feel like I am walking on air! I love the confidence that sewing gives me and I LOVE that fabrics facilitate all of that. I feel like we begin to unlock our authentic tastes when we are greeted by designs on fabrics rather than ready made garments...I mean surely it isn't just me who has managed to unlock the joy of colour through my own makes?? But I will touch more on that later.
Where did I start? How did I end up selling and not just sewing fabrics??
Well to be honest it kind of happened by accident. I was trying my hand at sewing to sell cloth nappies but I quickly realised I did not enjoy sewing to sell so I decided to sell the cloth nappy fabrics online to clear some space when baby number 3 came along.
The feedback I got, was that people wanted more... so I decided to give it a go and off I went on a deep dive sourcing products and I found such an amazing world! Custom designs, UK artists, weights of fabrics, absorbency rates, hemp versus microfibre; my head was soon swimming but excitement helped me push through. I wanted to sell the fabrics at a "reasonable" price so in my wisdom priced items so I was making 20p-£1 per metre on most fabrics and not covering the postage or packaging or time, the purchasing designs or the hours gone into working along with designers to bring my own ideas to life. As you can imagine it wasn't sustainable. So I pulled back to regroup and think about where I was going with my dream to sell fabrics but also make it work for me as a business.
So why am I here now?
Desire. Transformation. The next chapter. The whisper in the back of my mind that fabrics is the world in which I belong. There has been a lot of ground work done over the last few years with learning, collecting designs, contacts, information, practical knowledge and networking and I am here to bring it all together. I have ideas for the future and that will involve other people coming on board and growing longevity into the business but for now Transform Fabrics is just me... oh and the brood of children of course lol!
I want to build community, a place for people to come together and share their skills and knowledge. Grow creativity. Most of all, on a slightly more selfish note... can't all be about you guys yano haha... I want to work in a way that means I get to be present for my kids growing up. I want to be home when they get out of school. I want to be able to give them the best parts of me and show them that they can find their place regardless of when they decide to pursue their dreams.
So What Is The Plan?
Right now? The fabrics are online and being added to all the time. I have a craft club running every two weeks on a Wednesday evening in a local community hub. We get together with whatever craft projects that we are working on There is a pop up shop that is facilitated by Sharlene, So Sew Dressmaking, in Ballynahinch, on the first Saturday of the month at her own sewcial meet ups. I still work in my usual job at the hospital as an Occupational Therapy Assistant and get the kids from school each day, do homework's, housework, dinners...all the usual lol then when the kids are settled after dinner I get to delve into this world, massage my creative mind by coming up with new ideas and actually doing something with them now.
The Future? Well we are mid build for a studio at our home, to use as a shop space for people to come along and see, feel and move the fabrics in person. I have so many plans for expanding the bases on which the custom prints are offered, it is just trying to decide which bases to go with first and which designs... but maybe I can get some direction on that from you guys??
If there is anything else you would like to know feel free to ask...
Christine x
Wow what a creative super star you are delighted for you