2019-06-01_Mollie_Makes

MEETTHE

MAKER

T

illy,founderanddirectorofthe

multi-award-winningsewing

patternbrandTillyandthe

Buttons,is a totalboss.Notonly

hassheturnedherpassionfor

makingclothesintoa successfulbusiness,

helpingbuddingsewistseverywhereto

learnthecraft,she’salsoauthoredtwo

bestsellingbooksondressmaking, and

teachesonlineworkshops.

Aftertakingsomebeginners’courses,

Tillytrainedat theLondonCollegeof

Fashion,thenbegandraftingherown

patterns.ShecreatedtheTillyandthe

Buttonsblogsoherandherfellow

stitcherscould“geekoutaboutpatterns

andconstructiontechniquestogether.”

Totestthewaters,shehadoneofher

designsgradedintodierentsizes,wrote

someinstructions,andputtogethera

basiccoverdesign.“Thepatternwent

upforsaleasa digitaldownloadthrough

myblog,”sherecalls.“Mymumranga

coupleofhoursafterI’dputit uptoaskif

I’dsoldany.I canstillhearherscreaming,

‘50?!’downthephone.I realisedthere

wasa marketforthemandstarted

workingonthenextone!”

Sincethen,thebrandhasgonefrom

strengthtostrength.Wechattedto Tilly

aboutherjourneyin theSouthLondon

studiowhere she works with her team.

What’sa typicalworkingdaylike?

My18-month-oldsonwakesmeup

around5am.ThemorningfliesbyasI

getusbothready,and– toddlertantrums

dependent– I gettomydeskaround

8am.I’monlyin theocethreedaysa

weekat themomentsostartbyplanning

prioritiesformytimewitha cupofstrong

coee.A lotofmydayinvolvesmeetings

withtheteam,advisingonprojectsand

editingcontent.AndthenI’llbedoing

anythingfromwritinginstructions,

through number-crunching budgets,

ENTREPRENEURANDSEWING

PROTILLYWALNESSHARESHOW

SHETRANSFORMEDHERBLOG

INTOA THRIVINGBUSINESS,

ONE STITCH AT A TIME

CRAFTING A

HANDMADE

BUSINESS

WITH TILLY

WALNES

Words:COLETTEEARLEY

Photographs:FIONA MURRAY