Firstly ‘Thank you’. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your encouragement and support during my first year in business. Without you guys we wouldn’t be what we are today, so ‘Happy Birthday’!

I cannot believe I have been trading for a year. I cannot believe my dream came true.

I am so pleased and proud of the opportunities I have been given during this year and what Lucy Loves Fabric has achieved.

Would you like to know what we have achieved?

* We have been fortunate to be featured several times in Sew Magazine and have built up a wonderful relationship with the editorial department and long may this continue. We also won ‘Shop of the month’ within the magazine!

* I worked with Kate Baxter of www.fabricofmylife.com when she wanted to use my fabrics for her set at Grand Designs. A real honour and of which bought a lot of business my way. Kate is an amazing Interior Stylist and I feel very fortunate for Lucy Loves Fabric to have been a part of her work.

* We have had many successful days at fairs. I love working the Lucy Loves Fabric stall at a fair as I get to meet such wonderful, creative people and be a part of their creative world. To this day the most amusing thing to watch on these days is when a couple are choosing fabric for their home… I love the boys choice, versus the girls choice and the discussion that unfolds.

* Our commission service is popular, we offer shift dresses too!

*  And then there is the Women’s Institute of course. All I can say is – I love these ladies!!! I have learnt so much from them and at every talk I feel SO welcome. My talk to the WI is called ‘Love to be creative’. I chat about creative topics in the media, I take along projects for them to try at home and we discuss experience’s we have all had in the creative world – it’s an interactive talk and I love it.

* Something that has become ‘my baby’ other than the actual business is my knitting club. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful group of girls coming along to my club every week. Beginners have quickly turned into pro’s and the skill of some of the girls is off the hook. We are a range of ages and everyone gets on really really well and I am so proud of them individually and the group as a whole. I thank each of them.

* During my year I have been toying with the thought and dream of owning a high street shop. I have trolled the streets viewing premises, only to remember early advice of ‘don’t grow too soon’ and I faced the frightening reality of rent and rates being through the roof. I couldn’t see me making the money I make now, let alone more. The other sad thing you realise when viewing premises at different high streets is how many there are to see, how many businesses have closed – it’s a scary thought. So for the time being I’m staying online…

* We have as you know, just before our birthday expanded to own our own studio/workshop space. This is where I am writing to you now. It’s fantastic, and once it is fully equipped and decorated I shall be having an opening party. And I hope you will come. The studio will be able to enable me to have visitors to view my fabric, as I know so many people like to see and feel before buying. I will be offering knitting classes and sewing classes. Maybe a creative bookclub and film night too. Sound like fun?

I think it’s fair to say I’ve had a busy year, and that my dream has come true. I loved my ‘city career’ but there came a time when I craved to work creatively, to be my own boss and follow my own dream. The toughest battle has been gaining respect that you are working, and that you have ‘a job’ and getting it appreciated how difficult a task that is. I learnt it’s very easy for people to think anything out of the norm isn’t real or important. That’s rubbish.

All in all I thank people close to me for all of their support. Especially my unbelievable husband, how I found him I don’t know… what I do to deserve him I don’t know. But without him I couldn’t have got through this year.

Now to the exciting bit of my giveaway for you amazingly creative people out there. All you have to do to enter is to tell me what your dream job would be. You will be entered into a draw that will be drawn a week today at 12 midday to win a metre of Anna Maria Horner – Good Folks – Buttoned up in Pomegranate worth £9.50. A very stylish and popular design shown below.

Thank you everyone again, tonight I will be celebrating.

Have a creative weekend,

Lucy xx

Crown Street Cafe, Crown Street, BRENTWOOD.

7.30-9.30pm. Monday Evenings.

Contact me on 07739718672 if you are interested in coming along! : )

LUCY XX

(Image: Lucy Loves Fabric)

The first donated squares to our blanket. The Lucy Loves Fabric Knitting Club are knitting for London Street Rescue homeless charity. A few of the girls who attend the club are knitting up squares in between their more complex projects to make some patchwork blankets for the LSR charity. Great teamwork for a great cause!

I haven’t popped by here for a chat in a rather long time… which is naughty. So here I am…

It’s been busy at Lucy Loves Fabric, after the Grand Designs and talking to Homes and Antiques magazine about a potential photo shoot… there has been lots of excitement.

More excitement being in the shape of a lovely white walled inspiring space which is going to be the Lucy Loves Fabric Studio. Gosh – the organising of this project has not been the easiest… BUT the foundations are going down on THURSDAY… yes, THIS Thursday. My lovely luxury log cabin is ordered although I’m STILL waiting for the delivery date….

Everything else is ready to go. All the electrics have been ordered so that I will have my laptop, sewing machine, over locker, kettle (phew), iron, lights, heating all working in my creative emporium.

Working from home certainly has it’s benefits but I cannot express enough how much I NEED this studio space! I need to be able to leave the house in the morning and ‘go to work’, I need to have a proper work bench, I need to have a room dedicated to my work… in the house LLF is gradually encroaching into the other rooms which I always swore wouldn’t happen. Humph. The fact this has happened means LLF is successful do you think!?…. well we have certainly been busy in less than a year.

Our ‘Introduce Fabric into your home Consultations’ are proving a great success. If you are interested please contact me. I love talking and sharing fabric ideas with people, it’s such a pleasure to share something you love so much. Fabric holds so much relevance in life, in clothing and interiors – things that are important to people, important in distinguishing their difference to someone else. Their identity. You can be so individual with your fabric and pattern choices. Possibilities are endless in projects with fabric….

We are also really enjoying our talks with the Women’s Institute. Our latest WI gave me a couple of tickets to a local garden show which I went to with my Mum on Friday. It was lovely to meet Betty at the door and also to be spotted by a couple of other WI members on my walk around. It’s great for me to get involved in the local community with you all.

Once the studio is up and running I shall be having a little opening soiree. We’ll also be hosting beginners knitting lessons and beginners sewing classes. I hope to host a creative book club and the odd creative film night. I hope this all sounds interesting to you all, I’ve had some wonderful feedback from you which has been keeping me going over these testing months of organising the build.

I keep looking at images of Amy Butler’s studio today. My dream…. I’ve popped a few photos in between my post. Talented lady. Check out our Amy Butler range here.

I will keep piecing together my little fabric world… and I’ll keep you all updated. Let me know what’s going on with you too…

- Lucy xx