Each month at The Home Crafters we spend some time with one of our crafters, getting to know them a little bit better, finding out more about their craft and sharing their story with you.!
November 2023, our Maker of the Month is Belinda (aka Billie) from Billie Makes
Belinda is another one of our ‘long-termers’; she started selling her creations with us at our craft fairs way back at the very beginning (in 2015!) and has developed her offering over the years too...
Here's her story:
"You’ve been a crafter for a long time, Belinda! Tell us, where did it all begin for you?…"
I attribute my love of crafting to Valerie Singleton from Blue Peter. I loved making things from sticky back plastic and washing up bottles. Making things for my teddies and dolls. Throughout my school years I carried on making things learning to sew and embroider at school. I made my own wedding dress as well as the 3 bridesmaid dresses including their headdresses. My trusty sewing machine accompanied me when not long after my wedding we moved to Gibraltar. I made clothes for the children when they came along, made curtains for the house and often other small 3d objects
I dabbled a bit with paper crafting along the way and made all of my daughter’s wedding stationery in 2014/15 which got me well into paper crafting but I never really got the satisfaction of a lovely finished thing so I would only do some now and again.
"How did your hobby develop into a business?....
I took early retirement so my crafting took on a bigger role in my life as I set up Billie Makes with sewing being my main focus at first. Then one day I saw an advert for a paper crafting workshop so though I would give it a go. Held in the Home Crafters shop in Yate and run by my now upline Jan Plenty. I loved the workshops and learned lots of new techniques and made some lovely cards using products from a company called Stampin’ Up! Then in January 2018 I was given a copy of the new catalogue my wish list came to over £200 which was more than my budget allowed for and then a chance conversation with one of my newfound workshop friends Sonya Gortzak Hughes for whom I will be forever grateful who suggested that I could join Stampin’ Up! and get everything on my wish list plus more for £99.
So, on the 26th February 2018 I became a demonstrator and I could then get 20% discount on future orders which gave me more products for my money but of course I couldn’t stop there and by the end of March 2018 I had arranged to run workshops in the Home Crafters shop. 3 weeks later I welcomed my first customer (she is still with me today) and it all started from there. Here we are 5 1/2 years later, and I am a Silver demonstrator, managing a team of demonstrators and still running workshops every week plus twice a month scrapbook your memories workshops
"Sounds brilliant, we’ve heard of Stampin’ Up, what are they like to work for?…"
Stampin’ Up! is an American company set up by 2 sisters on the kitchen table. Still a family business 35 years later and now the CEO is a daughter of one of those original ladies. The SU family is just amazing, and I have made some great friends along the way. When my husband died suddenly in 2022 that community kept me going
What I particularly love about SU are the beautiful colours, over 50 of them with new ones every year when we say goodbye to a few too. I can buy everything that matches from cardstock to the most beautiful designer series paper. The stamp sets and dies are such good quality that these days I never use any other brand. Being a demonstrator with SU I have been lucky enough to attend their On Stage events the latest being last November when I went to Vienna for a 3 day conference, it was amazing!. Meeting up with friends and making lots more new ones. Next one is March 2024 in Rotterdam which I am looking forward to. They also do local events in the UK with one very soon, On Stage @ Home and I can’t wait to see what that has to offer.
"Would you say you’ve learnt a lot from this huge crafting company?…"
Well, being American, I’ve had to adapt to their customs, I guess: Things perplexed me like not realising that American paper size is different to the UK A4 and wondering why what I was making just didn’t work and dropping an open ink pad onto my jeans – a nice dark green shade I remember which left a full imprint on my leg!
But the main part is the community and guidance they offer, I run weekly paper crafting workshops and have a number of loyal customers who come every week. We make 2 projects at each workshop one of which is usually a fun fold – something a bit different from a standard card with a fold in the middle.
"Would you say you are a Stampin’ Up Ambassador?…"
Yes! SU sell amazing craft kits which are ideal for beginner crafters as they contain everything needed to make a number the box projects. There are lots of choose from: Birthday, Christmas, gift tags, there is a birthday card organiser, boxes for children’s parties to name but a few – my workshop in November is for these kits - buy a kit and get help with making it up and ideas for changes to create different ones using the same supplies plus a bit extra.
"So, what's next for Billie Makes?…"
I love running my business, I am continuing to develop my workshop schedules to try and reach as many customers as possible. The SU schedule covers 2 or 3 months at a time and using a different stamp set for a few weeks before we move on to the next one picked carefully from the SU catalogues (3 each year). I spend lots of time perfecting samples for each week and they do usually end with a bit of bling added for extra sparkle – have to love a bit of sparkle.
I am hosting a couple of sessions at The Home Crafters in the coming months so please do get in touch if you would like to be a part of them:
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If you are interested in starting a hobby business, are looking for an outlet for your handmade products and maybe would love to be featured as our next Maker of the Month please do get in touch with us either in store at our craft shop in Yate Shopping Centre or via our contact us page here. We would love to hear from you!
