Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Journal.
Creating My Happiness
As a five year old, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be a fashion designer when I grew up. I have no idea where this far-fetched idea came from, as both my parents worked in Law and had no real interest in clothes, outside of ensuring Dad's work shirts were ironed properly for the day. If I think back, really hard, this probably stemmed from my obsession with Barbie dolls, despite being a quite short and tubby brown-haired, pale-skinned English girl. Who taught me the word "designer", we'll never know. All I know is that it became an obsession, from drawing outfits on every scrap of paper I could get my hands on, to endlessly observing every seam on every garment I came near and working out, in my mind, the shapes I thought made these clothes. In one memory, I distinctly remember creating a small, red velvet two piece from a pair of old burgundy velvet curtains, with a hexagonal pearl and metal button sewn on the front. As I pulled it on to one of my favourite dolls, I felt that this pathway of creation was just meant for me.
Christina WaltonPublished 3 years ago in JournalThe Forgotten Art Form of Papercutting
I’m a storyteller. My stories consist of words but I’ve always been drawn to visual art, even though I can’t draw or paint, or at least not well. I wanted to learn a new way of storytelling when I randomly saw an ad for papercutting. This is it, I thought. A new way to explore telling a story without having to draw or paint. I can use my hands and imagination and touch something other than a keyboard. A few videos later, a "papercutter" was born.
Andrea JardinePublished 3 years ago in JournalBuilding a plane
My grandfather owned a furniture store, in which he made all the items. He also fixed and upholstered other people's broken furniture. He did it all, built the frames, and did the upholstery for chairs, sofas and such. I used to hang around his shop as a child and I’d help him and over the years I kept up on my sewing. I’m no expert, but I do pretty well with a sewing machine and a needle and thread, so about year and a half ago when my friend asked if I wanted to go to Montana to visit his father who’s building a plane and work on the upholstery for it, (and also work on the instrument panel since I know computer systems as well) I jumped at it!
Robert KegelPublished 3 years ago in JournalGood Things, Small Packages
Sixpence is a stationery line I started during Quarantine made out of old books and vintage postage stamps. I am a prop stylist and I live in Brooklyn, New York.
Kate FeiglesPublished 3 years ago in JournalWhere are the good scissors?
“Where are the good scissors?” Growing up, this was a question my mother repeated often, growing more frustrated as my sisters and I got older. The “good scissors” differed from the numerous other pairs of scissors in the house as they were sharp and capable of reliably cutting through materials. Although the “good scissors” belonged in the cutlery drawer beside the stove, they were most often found anywhere else. When my mother would buy a new pair of good scissors to replace an old pair that had been lost – by us – we would promise her that once we had finished using them, we would return them promptly to the drawer where they belonged. We did not.
BQ BoudreauPublished 3 years ago in JournalMy Tiny Sock Snowmen
I am a Neonatal ICU Nurse. Retired now, I worked for nearly 40 years in a level 3 Neonatal ICU. We were the tertiary center for the State, where the sickest of newborns were sent to receive care. We cared for infants with heart defects, surgical emergencies, inborn errors of metabolism, but the bulk of our population were premature infants. My heart was especially drawn to the extremely premature infants, otherwise known as "micro preemies". Imagine if you will, cupping a tiny life that fits neatly between your hands to gently turn them. Like a tiny bird fluttering as you contain their arms and legs to decrease stress.As you can imagine, this was an extremely stressful job, despite my love for it. And I frequently brought that stress home.
Susanna RhodesPublished 3 years ago in JournalFormless
Growing up I was the girl who growled and barked on the playground. Every recess was a break that allowed me to catapult into another reality. Immersed in every day dream, I would pride myself on assuming my fictitious role to the best of my ability. This was the foundation of a much greater skill that I would one day harness into a hobby and side job.
Rene HarrisPublished 3 years ago in JournalLove At First Snip
Welcome to my love story with sewing. To better understand my passion, I first must tell you why it began. I had the drive to create a bikini line that truly supported and represented women of all sizes, born from my struggles in finding swimwear that came in my size. The journey of designing swimwear to embrace curves, not just cover them up, took off with excitement and was coupled with a hunt for the perfect manufacturer to meet my extended sizing goals. While saving to afford such a manufacturer, I sustained an injury. My injury required me to undergo surgery to have a prosthetic replace part of my elbow. With this prosthetic and surgery sending me into debt, the reality of starting my swimwear line slipped far out of reach. In the months following, I worked at regaining use in my dominant arm while planning and thinking of ways to make my dream again reachable. Proving more difficult than imagined, planning and striving for this was not bringing my dreams within sight of reality, leading to my spur-of-the-moment purchase of a sewing machine. Never having had sewn, I decided to focus on learning a craft and taking things into my own hands. In the beginning stages, fabric cutting and simple hand stitching came slow and with such struggle to a recovering arm, yet as I cut my first pattern from the fabric the excitement for my goals and myself began to return. With only a week into sewing, I found myself unable to step away, and starting as a new study and learning the ways of simple stitching to pattern making and fabric cutting, I was starting to make progress rather quickly. At the point I was making what feels like wearable art, I was long hooked and deeply devoted to a passion I would never have seen for myself. This new craft was giving me a sense of healing, not only in strengthening my hand but also in my mind, and continues to do so. Sewing altogether reshaped how I looked at my injury, bringing me into a growing passion for something I did not know I needed or had a talent for. Although I maintained a can-do attitude throughout my surgery and recovery process, I hadn't fully convinced myself that I was remaining on the bright side of things. I pour every ounce of my heart into everything I make. To bring joy to the people I create for continues to fill my own heart with joy, each time acting as fuel for my love of the craft. May 18th, 2021 I was able to launch my bikini line with excitement and pride, hand-making every piece and giving me true creative freedom to make pieces in all sizes that help ensure confidence in those who wear them. Knowing that my passion has helped aid in a person's recognition of their beauty only pushes me deeper into my love for the art of sewing. Every part of this process has and continues to teach me so much more than just a new trade or hobby. Seeing just how capable, devoted and persevering I can be in one area is doubt by doubt erasing the things that can and have held me back in many areas of life. I am still learning and growing in my craft and my life, but with more excitement than has encompassed me in a long time. My appreciation and love of sewing grow with each day with every stitch. That extinguishing of self-doubt for me began with the first delicate cut of fabric with my Fiskars rotary cutter and fabric scissors, and for that, I would like to thank them for being a part of my journey and a continued part of my passion.
Kayla ColleyPublished 3 years ago in JournalPut the scissors down, THEN run!
How do people segregate their lives? You put on the employee hat. Take it off, put on the parent hat. Put on the hobby hat. Put on the sports fan hat. Put on the travel hat.
Jeanette WattsPublished 3 years ago in JournalWood Florist- From Hobby to Home Business
As a brand new bride-to-be in 2016, I began exploring all of my wedding vendor options. My criteria list was short: budget friendly, customizable package options, and high value to reasonable cost ratio. Kind of a tall order in the wedding industry.
Michelle Bullock AmmermanPublished 3 years ago in JournalLatch Hooking for Love
Hi, I’m Katie and I’m a latch hooker. (There HAS to be a better name for that… but I haven’t come up with one yet.) Most people try latch hooking when they’re about 11, but I didn’t give it a go until I was 41. And I fell in LOVE! I’ve always been crafty, trying lots and lots of different projects all my life. But something about latch hook just made my heart sing. It was the perfect craft to bring comfort during the early, scary days of the pandemic. We were told to spend our time at home, and this was something that made me happy to do so. I first started with kits from the local craft store, then found vintage ones online, and eventually started designing my own. The tools are safe and simple (no sharp needles!) and the projects are easy to do from the couch. You just need gridded canvas, yarn, your latch hook tool (it’s like a safety version of Captain Hook’s hand) and Fiskars kids scissors! There’s nothing to injure you when you discover them later in the couch cushions. The repetitive motion of placing the yarn, and the project getting softer with each strand you add… it’s like creating a hug that smiles at you. Nothing other than hot chocolate (which is like drinking a hug!) calms me as much as latch hook.
The Frog on Roller Skates
It started with a sketch of a frog on roller skates. It is now an online shop full of handmade products, a podcast series, community-based events, and a long-term dream. It has taken me a while to find my pathway, dabbling in many crafts like music and prop making, but nothing has particularly stuck until I re-discovered rollerskating, or more specifically, park and ramp skating. I say re-rediscovered as I have been skating since I could walk. My dad was adamant that I would learn how to skate just like he did, and we went to the local rink every week together.
Daiz WestburyPublished 3 years ago in Journal