1
Describe your earliest memory of
haberdashery or textile craft. Playing with the
buttons in my nana’s button jar. I was often sick
with tonsillitis as a child, and it was a treat to be
given the button jar and a tray to play with in bed.2
Can you recall the craft shop/s of your
childhood? What were they like and how
did they diff er from today’s stores? I remember
going into a wool shop, which must have been
a drapery store. They had shelves from the floor
to the ceiling, all filled with colours!3
What was the first thing you remember
buying from a haberdashery shop as a child?
I can’t remember buying anything when I was really
young, although, when we went to the dentist, we
were allowed to choose a new Derwent pencil at
the newsagents as a special treat. My first craft
purchase would have been DMC thread as I learnt
to embroider at high school.4
What was the first project you made with
fabric, thread, yarn or haberdashery? Whatwas it like and who else was involved? Making
clothes for my Barbie doll in both knitting and
stitching, with the help of my big sister.5
What made you decide to own a
haberdashery or craft business? For
example, was there a family history of such
things, did you have retail experience in
another field or did it grow from a love of craft
itself? Having always worked in retail, of course
I ended up working at The Patchwork Angel after
discovering a love of patchwork. My youngest
son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he
was 10 and, after getting over the new routine and
shock of that, I realised I needed to find something
for myself, so I started beginner-patchwork classes
at The Patchwork Angel, in 1999. After some time,
I was off ered a job there, then, in 2006, had the
opportunity to buy the business. Eight years on
and we haven’t look back. We’ve now introduced
The Yarn Angel as a new part of our business,
with beautiful yarns for knitting and crochet.Penny Hornbuckle,
THE PATCHWORK
ANGEL1
Describe your earliest memory
of haberdashery or textile craft.
My earliest memory of haberdashery
and craft is choosing new ribbons for
my ponytails and knitting: both Mum
and my nana knitted.2
Can you recall the craft shop/s
of your childhood? What were
they like and how did they differ
from today’s stores?My Great
Great Aunty Olive owned the local
haberdashery store, so I spent quite
a bit of time there. I loved it when
the new wool came in, rows and
rows of colour. She had the old-style
glass counters, with rows of boxes
on the shelf behind, and there
always seemed to be lots of chatting
going on ... not always about the
haberdashery! It was the antithesis
of the big chain stores of today, less
variety but good-quality essentials
and personal service.3
What was the first thing that
you can remember buyingfrom a haberdashery shop as
a child?I went through a brief
obsession with hooked-rug-
making, so I think that my first
pocket-money expenditure on craft
materials was packets of pre-cut
wool and a latch hook.4
What was the first project
you made with fabric, thread,
yarn or haberdashery? What was
it like and who else was involved?
Mum taught me to crochet, knit
and sew, and my nana also gave me
some knitting lessons. At school,
we had to make various samplers,
patchwork, stitching and knitting- our teacher was very old school.
The first project I remember
completing was a skirt.
5
What made you decide to
own a haberdashery or craft
business? For example, was there
a family history of such things,
did you have retail experience in
another field or did it grow from
a love of craft itself?l’uccello
was born out of a love of beautiful
materials, threads, colours,
handmade crafts and antique
packaging. The business has grown
from a small studio store of vintage
haberdashery to being stacked high
with contemporary fabrics, ribbons
and notions alongside our collection
of antique lace, buttons and millinery.
It has become a bit of an obsession:
I love sourcing beautiful supplies
and then seeing what our clever
customers make with them.Kim Hurley,
L’UCCELLO^1Describe your earliest
memory of haberdashery
or textile craft. My earliest
memory is in the days when
everything was in little boxes on
shelves and stacked high so that
you had to know where to look
to find what you were after.2
Can you recall the craft
shop/s of your childhood?
What were they like and how
did they diff er from today’s
stores? The big change
occurred during the ’80s, when
most haberdashery lines were
hang-sell packaged, so the
customer could see what the
product was. Prices went up and,
because of the size of display
required, the range diminished,
so it was a compromise.3
What was the first thing
you remember buying
from a haberdashery shop as
a child? A roll of thread or a
skein of embroidery cotton.4
What was the first project
you made with fabric,thread, yarn or haberdashery?
What was it like and who else
was involved? A little sampler at
school, or something similar, and
it was made with my nana.5
What made you decide to
own a haberdashery or
craft business? For example,
was there a family history of
such things, did you have retail
experience in another field
or did it grow from a love of
craft itself? As the major stores
started to nibble away at the
market, it became increasingly
diff icult to get everything at the
one place. The larger the format
of store, the less specialised
it became. Starting out small
with a craft shop in the ’80s, we
bought the local Remnant Shop
in the early ’90s and redesigned
it around a wider range of
products. We expanded into 16
display boards of haby alone,
plus patchwork and quilting
accessories. We even still retain
trays of loose bobbins, seam
rippers etc. With the diversity of
the Remnant Shop fabrics plus
our own patchwork and quilting
choices, we outgrew the Remnant
Shop name and renamed it
Needleworx, with the caption,
‘The Hardware Store for Ladies’.Chris (and Ray) Cross,
NEEDLEWORX86 HomespunHSP1511_p084-088 My First Brush with Haby Feature.indd 86 9/22/2014 10:19:25 AM
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