Cookston Crafts is 6 years old - How it all began....

Cookston Crafts is 6 years old!

When I started in 2015 I had no idea where it was going to go but it literally began around my kitchen table teaching people how to crochet.

If I’m completely honest, I was feeling a bit broken and lost. I couldn’t find a way to work in my old job with three kids aged 7, 4 and 1 and a husband who worked away from home a lot. Childcare costs and the stress of getting everyone where they needed to be outweighed any salary and I felt a bit pushed out of the working world. Who’d employ a stressed mum who was rebuilding herself after a baby with silent reflux* and averaging 4 hours sleep a night! (*if you know, you know)

I knew I needed something for me but wasn’t exactly sure what it was. The one thing I enjoyed after a busy day was a few hours of crochet time in an evening and I quickly realised making minion hats for £10 wasn’t going to work commercially and also it kinda took the joy out of it for me. So instead, I started saying, no I can’t make it for you but I’ll teach you how. I’d teach classes in an evening while the kids were in bed and give everyone a bit of time out for themselves.

Seeing the spark in someone when they had mastered it and seeing confidence grow in other people was addictive. I knew it was what I wanted to do. So for about 2 years or so I taught classes at home and in other businesses locally until I decided to renovate an old farm steading to have a dedicated workshop space.

Sadly, my grandma had recently passed away and having taught me lots of her crafty skills, it seemed really fitting that when she left me a little money, I used it to buy plasterboard to create the workshop space I work in today. I’m sure she would have loved it so thank you Mama Milne!

It’s been an absolute pleasure to share this space with others and hopefully we’ll be able to host lots more workshops with other tutors soon.

Playing with wool, colour and textiles became my passion so hand dyeing yarn was the perfect add on to the business and I started with a few skeins of yarn and a learn to dye kit.

I’ve been dyeing wool for 4 years now and I love seeing your creations with it.

I’m sure with a business plan and a marketing budget I might have gotten here quicker but the thing is, it has always had to fit in around my family. I can’t thank you all enough for helping me make this happen.

This last year has been crazy, the balance has been tipped several times and I have felt like giving up at times. Could it be done better? Could it be bigger? Would I be better off financially in that old office job? Yes is the answer to all of those but it is what works for me right now and that is the main thing. Ask me those things again in another 6 years 😂

I can’t wait to open up the doors again and see the excitement in people when they’ve made something with their own hands, it’s the best job in the world.