My name is Fiona. I’m a designer and a creative entrepreneur, making stuff and making stuff up. I thrive in the overall vision of a project, and bringing that vision to life. I love colour, I love textiles. I love how a final project makes you feel. I am especially drawn to mid century lines and aesthetics: simple, thoughtful and impactful. Think: “Is this necessary? Are we improving things?”
Today, I design, I restore, I renovate and I upcycle. I will share projects and get back into selling goods, just as soon as I re-settle in this new-to-me old house.
My creative journey
When I was a kid, I learned how to crochet and knit. Not in any elementary kind of way … I was obsessed. I had my own subscription to Crochet Today that I would try to read and hide while babysitting. I was trusted to paint my own bedroom walls, and I remember hanging a ceiling fan in mid-teens. I learned early that if you could visualize something you could bring it to life.
When I moved into my first basement suite, I learned how to sew. I took great pride in making my own clothes and eventually wore out my basic Kenmore sewing machine. I graduated to computerized machines after an aunt introduced me to quilting. I never saw myself as the quilting type, but after I learned you could break all the rules, I was hooked. I bought a free motion machine, long-arm machine to finish quilt tops myself and I still have this baby up in my loft.
On a quest to find an industrial sewing machine, I stumbled on an ad to purchase an entire saddle making studio. I didn’t have to think twice. In addition to two industrial machines, I scored a boatload of leather making tools and resources to launch new creative inquiries.
Sadly, with the amount of moving I do, it wasn’t reasonable to haul my heavier machine across borders, so I replaced it with a portable Sailrite machine in the summer of 2020.
The pandemic has been tough, isolating. I hope to keep my creative muscles exercised both therapeutically and productively. This is a place to share and hopefully connect with others that are on their own creative journey.