Growing up, I was interested in knitting and was taught by my mother and grandmother (originally a Jones) and at school we embroidered cross-stitch. My grandfather was a keen embroiderer and there were always tablecloths, cushion covers and pictures around my grandparent’s house that he’d embroidered by hand. I loved to see the way the different stitches created different textures and how that, along with the subtle shading of the threads, gave reality to the subjects.
During the early 1990s I worked in the Colleges at Cambridge where one of the seamstresses showed me how to make curtains and blinds, my confidence grew and I gained the ‘I could make that’ mentality and regularly started to make curtains, blinds and soft-furnishings in my home with a little creative sewing.
Latterly, I’ve branched out from my textile base (although that is still where my heart lies). I am never happier than when I’m looking around a craft or haberdasher’s shop thinking about what I could make with all of those delicious things. I also love to see what other people are making, mentally deconstructing it and thinking about how I could use those techniques in my own work.
The family experience in making and teaching many forms of crafts is now being put to good use, with classes for individuals and small groups teaching skills such as curtain and blind making, paper craft and knitting.
This website showcases the results of hand making with roots going back through three generations of Willsons and Jones. If there are things that you like but it’s not quite right for you, do contact me to discuss a bespoke item.
Jenny Willson