Meet The Makers

My love of craft stems from my childhood from my mum and dad; my mum taught me how to sew and my dad was always painting.  Both of my parents were passionate about gardening and taught me everything they knew, which is where my love of growing plants came from.  All my adult life I've loved to garden and grow things, which led to launching Rainbows Nursery, offering a range of plants from annuals and perennials to shrubs and grasses. I learnt to crochet items, from greeting cards and baby blankets to hats, scarves and crochet jewellery.  Up until the first lockdown hit, I had been working as a mobile hairdresser for nearly 40 years.  During lockdown I decided to turn my love of gardening and passion for crochet into a business supplying my creations to QUIRK... I also run B&T Botanical Beauty with my daughter. 

I have been in the flooring industry for 42 years.  When the pandemic struck, I took the opportunity to put my creative ability to a different use and also help my family at the same time.

I repurposed my retail shop into QUIRK...

I really enjoy creating original and unique pieces that are a bit 'quirky'.  I am also able to envisage potential and possibility and give new life to items that may have previously had another purpose.  I have developed a range of lamps, clocks and note pads and plan to be adding new gift ideas to QUIRK... all the time! 

I have always loved art, especially pencil drawing, since I was at school.  I gave up working in law when my children were born and it was then I reconnected with my love of art.  I attended art lessons and have learnt many new skills and love using different mediums to create art pieces to provide stock to QUIRK...

Art by Tania 

Working as a health and beauty journalist and digital marketing specialist provided me with a keen interest in the health and wellness sectors.  I realised that I could utilise my knowledge of health and wellness to create a brand that would offer a unique product range designed with sustainability, integrity and innovation in mind.  During the first lockdown, my mum and I teamed up to make B&T Botanical Beauty a reality.  We spent hours crafting recipes, cherry-picking ingredients, and testing out different combinations, before finalising out product range, which currently comprises of soy wax and beeswax candles and soy wax melts infused with organic essential oils which are all available at QUIRK...

Sewing has always been a passion of mine; It started out as a childhood hobby and has since evolved into a 'side hustle' alongside my job as a paediatric nurse in Bristol Children's Emergency Department.  After a hectic day, I find that sewing - and crafting in general - allows me to calm my mind, relax and switch off.  Fuzzy Bee Crafts was created during the first lockdown when I began to sew more regularly, perfecting a range of new patterns.  I currently offer a range of handmade goods at QUIRK... including children's clothes, accessories, cards, reusable makeup wipes, bags, and much more.

My love of crafting was born when QUIRK... launched; seeing everyone's amazing work made me think 'maybe I could do this'.  I loved the concept of finding a craft that would be good for me; I orginally made handcrafted bows and now I have also begun to make 'bedazzled' hand sanitisers and light up, floral table decorations.  While crafting is fairly new to me, it's something that I love to do as it's fun, enjoyable, and easy to fit around my daughter. RA RA Designs

During Lockdown, to keep myself busy, I started to create key rings and pictures out of fuse beads.  I have always enjoyed art and, with help, progressed to working with resin to make jewellery.  MIYAKAT is a range of key rings, jewellery and accessories which are for sale at QUIRK... With my family, I can also create personalised fuse bead portraits.