The buck stops here!
Hello and welcome!
Pull up a chair, it's great to "meet" you!
This is the place where I'm supposed to introduce myself to you and give you a bit of background on who I am and a little about my background etc, so here goes...
Scotland to Australia 1997
I'm a wee Scottish Australian (I call myself a Scaussie). I emigrated to Australia from Scotland in 1997, with my little girl, Laura (she was only 9 years old).
As a single mum, taking that huge step to move to the other side of the world was a nail-biting adventure. I won't lie, it was tough at times, but mostly it was really, really exciting!
I was 3 years into my Australian adventure before I met my husband, John. What a souvenir! He's brought so much light and love into my life.
A man of infinite patience, he tirelessly supports me in my weird and wonderful adventures! We've been happily married for 20+ years and so far, he hasn't "thrown me back" and I haven't thrown him back either!
My business background
My business background has mostly centred around children in some way or another.
I began my business career in 1989 when I started a pre-loved baby equipment store, Lullaby.
A little over 2 years later, Laura had outgrown coming to the shop with me so I started looking for a nursery (daycare) for her only to find long, long waiting lists. That was when I decided to create a childcare centre, Early Days Private Nursery in Edinburgh City. Where did I find the energy? Looking back it seemed so easy.
I've always been in love with all things Australian, so I made the decision to emigrate in 1997 and on arriving in Australia, I designed my own brand of children's apparel, Cloth Kids Australia, but truthfully, my heart wasn't in it. I loved the design and even loved the cutting and sewing but the business side, I found frustrating so I made the decision to sell.
After spinal surgery in 2018 I decided to tap into my creative side and I found out how much I love making things, and other people seemed to like them too! So now, I work from my home workshop and can often be heard singing at the top of my voice along with Michael Buble, David Bowie or P!nk as I cut fabric or laser cut dog leash holders!
My business career and my life, so far, has been a wild ride and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!
What I'm loving
I'm utterly loving being a Nana! My granddaughters bring me so much happiness, I can't focus on anything else when they're around...
I'm loving that I'm finally learning to play the piano. Also, I'm learning to love exercise after I gained 20kg after back surgery in 2018. But it is a slow process and I have fallen off the wagon here and there, but still get back on.
Future plans
Of course, That Aussie Handmade Place is a hugely important part of my future so I'm working smart and hard to bring quality, unique and interesting products to market.
That's it, folks, thanks for visiting!
So... that will have to do for now. I've probably said far too much, as usual.
I did warn you, I do love to blether!