About Handmade By Fi

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My name is Fi and I’m a 35 year old ex archaeologist, ex drug/outreach worker, ex (almost) party animal and busy wife and mother now having left the noisy city to live in the idyllic south Lake District and as you can see from the pics below I’m very lucky to be surrounded by lush fields, farm life, amazing views and very friendly people, it’s bliss despite family demands and daily routine keeping me busy!

‘Handmade by Fi’ can be found at lots of craft fairs and the aim of this blog is to help raise awareness of my busy production line and to sell my products to more people than I already do. My handcrafting gives me the occasional break I need from mummyhood and a creative outlet ie that much needed me time, I’m sure many parents can relate to that! Whilst my little boy (Rufus) is with daddy (Chris) I can sit in the studio enjoying well-earned down time from them both whilst making a little extra cash for the house upkeep and family budget. These days my vices include fabric, yarn, buttons and felt – sometimes production levels are fuelled by a good bottle of wine… I love every minute of it. A great thing to do even more so at this time of year with those dark nights drawing in and the long summer days soon to be a distant memory 😦 I have Christmas and New Year in sight and some lovely seasonal offerings that I am currently working on. So please keep coming back to my site as there’s always something new to see month on month!

If you drop me your email I can send you updates on products on my mailing list. The website http://www.handmadebyfi.com is now up and running so please check it out!

I’ve been crafting for a while now and originally started gift creation as a hobby for friends and family, my first product being a garland of felt birds [soon to be available on the website] for a friend’s little girl from which I received further interest and this started the ball rolling. Despite some of my creations taking a while to do I decided to keep things affordable (we all love a bargain right?) Concentrating on high quality home decorations and kanzashi flower accessories which are attractive, versatile and fun whilst not breaking the bank. I’ve sold handfuls of items to individuals and am also aiming my products at much larger events such as weddings and shop merchandising, inclusion in displays and party decor. Contact me if you want to know how I can help with these – I have lots of ideas!

The joy is in seeing you wearing one of my pieces, or seeing my work in your home. I thoroughly love working on the bespoke commissioned unique pieces and welcome you to send in photos of your purchases in place for inclusion in my blog. They won’t cost any more than the ones on the website and often I can offer discount on larger orders with free postage and packing too.

Please check my blog regularly for hints, tips and general chit chat. I’d love to hear from you so please leave any questions or comments and I’ll get back to you 🙂

I am able to make any number of items for you – so just ask! Here’s some examples of my crafts!

Cute little kanzashi brooch in cream. This piece looks really effective on a brightly coloured scarf or jumper, its a really popular piece at craft fairs

Red Gingham Sheet Music Garland. One of my favourites! This is a really pretty garland made using vintage style Beatles sheet music, red gingham, buttons and twine.

Floral Kanzashi Shoe Clips. Love these!! I started making these to tart up a pair of old pumps, now I’ve got them in virtually ever colour/pattern possible!! I’ll be wearing these today 🙂