My mum was very big on crafting when I was little. I remember my sister and I both having things my mum made, from containers for our hair clips to little bags to store our treasures. She was also very much into knitting, stained glass and baking – just being creative in general.

The first thing I ever sewed was a little bag when I was around 12. I saw the design for it in a shop but it was far to expensive for me to buy, so I got out my mum’s sewing machine and proceeded to just make it up as I went, and that’s how I tend to do things now.

I find doing things the way I’m told to is not always the fastest or the best way for me to work – I also get bored easily and tend not to finish things if it’s too complicated. I also find it fascinating how things come together, and can usually see how they fit once I’ve cut out a pattern and so tend to forgo looking at the instructions. I have however, just started using vintage patterns, and I do tend to look at the sewing instructions a bit more because most of the patterns have no labels on them which makes it slightly more difficult than a modern day pattern.

I have never had any real formal training except that in high school, when I was about 15 I took textiles for a year. I learnt all about reading patterns and understanding what went into making a good pattern. I also learnt to make felt and I made my very first pair of pants (I think they were a disaster though, and I’d never wear them). Then after that I went away for a year and didn’t really get back into sewing until I went to University when I was 18.

The main thing that inspired me to start an Etsy shop really was the vintage blogging world. I couldn’t believe that I had stumbled across this gold mine of inspiration. Your blog was one of the first I found and I instantly knew I wanted to start a blog too. It’s just over a year old now, and looking back I can certainly see the effect that bloggers like you have had on my style. I was searching for a style that was me because I had grown out of my university days of jeans and a t-shirt and was craving inspiration but had no idea of the direction I wanted to go.

I got up the courage to start my own blog but didn’t tell any one, even my partner. I would sneak off to do photo shoots until I was caught one day. He didn’t bat an eyelid, just asked me if I wanted him to take my pictures, and so my blog was born.

I spent hours finding new, wonderful blogs and then David showed me Etsy. I started to read about bloggers who were Etsy-ing full time and I decided that that was what I wanted to do too. It took me about a year to figure out what I wanted to make and sell and then another 6months of planning and preparation, but I got there in the end.

Thanks Casey, you’re always so lovely – I think the first time I commented on your blog and you emailed me back was one of the most exciting times of my blogging career – I had little butterfly’s in my stomach and a smile on my face for the rest of the day!!

I’m still coming into my own style – I don’t think I’ve quite perfected it yet but it’s getting there. One thing I always like to have lots of in my wardrobe is separates, mainly because you can mix and match them up and have a completely different outfit each day and you only need a few key pieces. That is why I initially decided to make skirts.

I am currently working a full time day job and its difficult to squease in making new things for the shop each week – after I had initially made my basic skirt design, I knew I could mix it up, add embellishments and make individual pieces that people could enjoy. I love the high waisted look and the looks of the 40’s and 50’s and I’m also starting to enjoy the looks from the roaring 20’s and 30’s too, so I hope to start adding elements of those era’s into my designs.

In the long term, I hope to have a full range of items from skirts and blouses, to dresses and little jackets.

I think the issue of global warming and recycling is a hot topic at the moment – we only get one planet and we really need to start looking after it. Vintage is also a hot topic in fashion right now and so blending the two together really does just make perfect sense.

I also love using vintage fabric because most of the time it was ethically made and made to a high standard, unlike today’s mass produced stuff. Don’t get me wrong though, I do buy fabric from the fabric store, I drive a car and I am guilty of not doing everything I can to make the world slightly happier. But I try to make up for it by recycling when I can, I have a little worm farm out the back of my house and I use vintage and upcycled fabrics in all of my designs.

Of course not. I’d love to be doing this full time. I’m not sure how reasonable a dream that is but I plan to give it a good go at the end of this year. My job is coming to an end and while I’m still welcome to step back into my old job of being an assistant manager, after being a manager for a year and doing things my way, I don’t see that happening.

I also really want to take a break from full time work and maybe spend some of my days on my etsy store and my other days working in a bookstore (there is one in particular down here that I would love to work in!), I also love the thought of being answerable only to myself and doing things for me. Next year though, is a mystery because my partner is working on getting scholarships to do his phd and that could be here in NZ, UK, Canada, USA or even Australia, so we’ll see.

This is an interesting question – I am always searching for tips and ideas but find that I’m really one of those ‘lets just make it up and see if it works’ people – whether that’s a good trait or not, we’ll just have to see.

I had rough idea of what I wanted to do in regards to the shop, and I have a rough idea of where I want to go – whether things pan out that way though is another matter. It’s a scary thing to do, but also something I’m craving to give a go, and at the end of the day, if it fails, at least I gave one of my many dreams a shot – and some people don’t get the opportunity to even do that.

One key piece of advice that I have picked up along the way is going the extra mile to keep your customers happy. I like to think of my customers as my friends, I like to think of people who visit my blog/shop as friends and treat them in just the same way.