Before I began writing this post, I scrolled back through my Instagram profile, searching for the key dates and milestones to talk about. It was a lovely walk down memory lane, and a wonderful way to see just how far I’ve come.
When I first entered the world of business ownership, I had no idea of the work involved, the many hats you must wear, the time it takes, the life it sucks out of you and the great sense of accomplishment and joy it can bring.
There is nothing easy about owning and running your own business, and I have at times asked myself ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing’, but despite how hard it can be, how much time it consumes, I am so happy I went down this path.
I have met so many beautiful people on this journey and made so many connections through a common love of handmade, stitch, fabric and craftiness. I have learnt so much about so many things. I have formed wonderful friendships, built a following of supportive customers, met mentors who lift me up, support and share business knowledge.
I have grown as a woman, as a maker, and as a businesswoman. I have learnt how to write patterns, create graphics, style, shoot and edit photos, film and edit videos, curate a selection of products, build and run a website, write a blog, teach workshops, build pop up shops, do my accounts and manage admin.
Over the past 20+ years I have grown my expertise in English Paper Piecing, crochet, embroidery and slow stitching. My skills have improved, my knowledge expanded, and my creative drive burns so bright sometimes it’s blinding.
When did it all Start?
I have been a crafter and makers since childhood, but it wasn’t until 2013 that I had the idea of turning my craft into a business, a little side hustle to bring in some extra money while working full time as an Interior Designer. Back then I had fewer responsibilities, my husband Tim and I got married in 2012 and bought our second home in 2013. I had decided to open an Etsy shop, Miss Leela Handmade, to sell my handmade EPP wall hangings and mini paper template packets.
After falling in love with tiny EPP, I had the idea to cut and sell my own paper templates in the small sizes I liked as I found them hard to come by. I invested in a Brother Scan n’ Cut machine and started cutting and packaging up templates in my home studio.
Above: some of my handmade EPP hoop wall art, pincushions and needlebooks
Over the next three years I continued to make and sell mostly handmade items. In 2016 while pregnant with our first child Matilda I began crocheting Amigurumi toys and when Tilly was just six months old, I attended my first market, holding a stall at the Blue Mountains Etsy Made Local Christmas Market. I still remember setting up the gazebo I had borrowed from a friend in my loungeroom and doing a practice run through of setting up the tables and my products so that I knew exactly what to do on the day of the market!
I had an amazing time at the market, selling quite a few of my handmade goodies, and meeting wonderful people who were as passionate about handmade and supporting artisans and creatives as I was.
Above: Some of the many crochet toys I’ve made and sold.
Above: My first ever market stall at Etsy Made Local 2016
The following year in 2017 I joined the Blue Mountains Maker’s Committee. We were a not-for-profit organization that supported local makers and artisans through our social media and hosted markets. We held a total of four Etsy Made Local markets from 2016 to 2019, three independently run markets, helped co-ordinate stall holders at a local festival, and hosted two virtual markets during the Covid Lockdowns.
By 2020, with markets harder to organize due to Covid restrictions, the committee dwindled to four remaining members, myself as one of them. We landed on the idea of dissolving the not-for-profit organisation and started again as a business partnership with a view to open a bricks-and-mortar store, a bit crazy given Covid and all that came with that! But despite that a perfect space became available and we officially opened the BMM Shop 1st December 2020.
What followed was a whirlwind three and half years running Blue Mountains Makers. After our first year, two of the founding partners left and I co-owned and ran the shop with one other partner. By 2022 the financial crisis hit us hard, and we limped through 2023, managing to cover the expenses of having the shop, paying our makers their sales, but barely paying ourselves. It was one of the toughest years I have had to endure.
Through sheer determination, we saw the business through to the end of our lease and on the 29th of March 2024 we officially closed the Blue Mountains Makers Shop and dissolved the business partnership. It was bittersweet. I was glad to be rid of the stress, but I also appreciated all that I had learnt in those years running that business and all the wonderful makers and artisans we were able to meet and support.
Above: Blue Mountains Makers Shop
Back tracking to 2018, my daughter was now two, I was still working full time as an Interior designer, and I started to think about growing my business. I wanted to expand the EPP side and start writing and releasing my own patterns. I didn’t feel that doing this under my Miss Leela Handmade business was right though.
I started toying with the idea of starting a new business or brand specifically for my paper templates and patterns, with an idea to also sell the notions I use. It was around this time that I started dreaming of one day being able to open my own bricks-and-mortar patchwork shop.
I can’t remember now how I came up with the name The Maker’s Stash or if I had other name ideas. I have always called myself a Maker and like many other crafters, I had amassed by this stage a sizeable stash of fabric, yarn, and other crafty bits and bobs. And so, I came up with the name The Maker’s Stash to represent myself and the stash of goodies I curate for other makers to buy and enjoy.
On the 10th of February 2019 I opened The Maker’s Stash Online web shop. All I had was a small selection of my paper templates, Sewline Glue Pens and Re-fills, bottom line thread and milliners’ needles! Later that month I had my first pop-up shop at my local Blue Mountains Quilters Guild.
Above Time for Tea my first pattern collection.
In August 2019 I launched my first pattern collection, Time for Tea, a collection of eight EPP rosettes framed in embroidery hoops and named after different teas. I was beyond nervous! I had never written a pattern before, had to draw graphics and explain how I had done things in word form. It was a real ‘pull up my big girl pants’ moment for me!
Since then, I have released a total of 16 Patterns (24 if you count all the time for tea ones individually).
- Flicker Beat Mini Quilt
- Flower Garden Ramble Mini Quilt
- Garden Friends Rosette
- Granny’s Flower Patch Quilt
- Happy Love Quilt
- Hexie Flower Decoration
- Hexie Hearts Pattern Collection
- Jewel Heart Pouch
- Jewel Roses Rosette
- Skip Around the Garden Quilt
- Spinning Flowers Rosette
- Star Ornaments Collection
- The Koralli Mini Quilt
- The Polly Quilt
- Time for Tea – Berry Tea
- Time for Tea – Chamomile Tea
- Time for Tea – Earl Grey Tea
- Time for Tea – English Breakfast Tea
- Time for Tea – Lemon & Ginger Tea
- Time for Tea – Peach Tea
- Time for Tea – Peppermint Tea
- Time for Tea – Rosehip Tea
- Book Lovers Pouch
- Dahlia Rosette
Above: My patterns
After my first little pop-up shop, I attended Camden Quilt Show in July 2019 with my stall. From there I exhibited at my first real big (to me anyway) craft show Craft Alive in 2022. It was also at this show that I yet again had to pull up those pants and step out of my comfort zone, doing my first Trunk show and talk in front of an audience, nerve racking to say the least! That same year I exhibited at Quilt NSW Annual exhibition, where I unfortunately came down with Gastro the night before the show started! By the end of the first day, I was lying under the tables of my stall utterly exhausted! At the next year’s show in 2023 there was fortunately no gastro, but I still felt sick with nerves as I taught my first ever workshop, how to stitch a Hexie Heart.
In May 2020, I gave birth to our second child Leo. What followed was a crazy time of sleepless nights, tired days, baby snuggles, keeping myself sane through stitching, and perhaps crazily building not one but two businesses! My motivation for entering the BMM partnership was to earn an income while focussing on building up The Maker’s Stash as I had decided not to return to my Interior Design job of fifteen years when my maternity leave ended.
I was not prepared for the workload of BMM to overtake and demand so much time away from my own business. With the doors finally closing on that business it was wonderful to finally be able focus and go full time on The Maker’s Stash in April 2024.
Above: My first proper stall with The Maker’s Stash at Camden Quilt Show 2019
Above: First stall at Craft Alive 2022
Other Highlights
A huge highlight in my stitching career was being featured in the book Flossie Teacakes Guide to English Paper Piecing. I had long been a follower of Florence, and I still remember silently jumping and screaming for joy as I read the message she sent inviting me to be featured in her book while my husband slept beside me.
Another incredible moment was my studio being featured in an article in the inaugural In Her Studio Magazine. I still find it incredible opening up that magazine (which I love) and seeing my story and photos of my studio in its pages. My studio looks so different now and has so much more stuff in it!
Above: My feature in Flossie Teacakes Guide to English Paper Piecing and article in In Her Studio magazine.
Other highlights over the past six years of The Maker’s Stash have been running two social media challenges, the I Love Epp Party in October 2019 and 2020 and the My EPP and Me challenge in October 2021.
In 2020 I collaborated with my beautiful friend Emma of the Vintage Sewing box to run the EPP Christmas Ornaments Sew-Along. Last year I also hosted the Connecting Hearts Sew-Along and this year I am running the Skip Around the Garden Quilt Sew-Along.
In February 2023 I was able to fulfill a big dream of having fabric in my online shop, starting with some beautiful Tilda Bundles, pastel solid fabrics and my first Liberty Curated fabric bundle.
In June 2024 I released Miss Leela’s Guide to English Paper Piecing, a digital PDF book that I had worked on for over twelve months, pouring all my knowledge learnt from the past 20 years doing this craft. This was a very big achievement for me and I’m so proud of it. The next goal is to turn it into a physical book!
Most recently I have loved collaborating with Lauren from Molly and Mama on the Book Lover’s Bundle*, a collection of 8 free book themed sewing patterns from eight different designers. I have also enjoyed being a part of the Maker’s Bundles a side project run by Lauren and Nic of Craftapalooza.
*The Book Lovers Bundle closes Wednesday 26th February 2025.
What’s Next for The Maker’s Stash and Me?
For the past 10 months I have worked solely on The Maker’s stash, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. I have poured my heart and soul into the business, even a bit of blood, sweat and tears. While sales and awareness of my business have grown, I’m unfortunately back in a position of not being able to properly pay myself a wage. It’s a hard pill to swallow, loving something so much, being so passionate, feeling like it’s the thing that I’m supposed to be doing with my life, but being unable to support my family from it.
Does that mean its goodbye for TMS? Absolutely Not! I have so much planned for this year, so many exciting ideas and I’m not yet prepared to give up on the dream of opening my own physical shop space. It means that I am currently looking for a little local part time or online work to bring in a bit of cash to help with family expenses while still pouring as much time and energy into my business, plans and goals as I can.
To close out this rather long blog post (cheers to you if you are still reading!), I want to say how fortunate I feel to have been able to follow my dreams and pursuit my passion. I could not have done so without the love and support of my husband, children, family and friends, or the many people who follow me here and on social media.
It means so much to me to be apart of such a wonderful community of stitchers, quilters and makers and I so appreciate everyone I have met, everyone who has contributed to this journey. A big thank you to everyone who has made a purchase from my shop online, Etsy shops or in person at a show, and an even bigger thank you to those of you who are repeat customers. I honestly do a little happy dance every time I hear that cha-ching sound go off on my phone, signaling an order has just come in!
Here’s to looking forward to the next chapter.
From the depths of my heart Thank You and Happy Stitching
Miss Leela x