I’m on to my 6th interview and Kat Dibbits of Made With Love fame is in the hot seat this week.
1. What is the name of your business and how did the name come about?
My business is called Made With Love. I needed something to use when I set up my first shop on Etsy (before I discovered Folksy) and it sprang to mind. Now I get name envy all the time when I see people with really creative, clever names for their shops, but people have told me they like it, and I’ve built it up as a bit of a brand, so it’ll have to stick!
2. Tell me a little about your business – what is it that you make and sell and where are you based?
I’m based in Horwich which is a little town in Lancashire. Technically it’s part of Bolton, but it’s edging out towards the countryside and has a very self-sufficient feel to it. There are also several charity shops which is important as I make one-of-a-kind jewellery pieces created from reused vintage finds and they’re a good source.
3. What inspired you to start your business?
I was talking to a colleague at the newspaper where I work about making Christmas presents for friends. Initially I was going to make fudge but it turns out I am no Nigella Lawson. I had lots of vintage bits and bobs lying around though so I decided to try and turn them into something. Of course I bought far too many findings, got caught up in the fun of it all and had loads of items left over – so I decided to try and sell them.
4. How long does it usually take for you to complete a piece?
Some are very simple and only take about an hour, but some, like the Blushing Leaves earrings, involve a lot of very fiddly wire wrapping to create the long strings of stones, so they can take several hours. And some pieces just take a long time to come together – I’ll take them apart and try something different. One piece which will be on sale at the Royal Exchange in Manchester this Christmas took me three days before I was happy with it – I’m a bit of a perfectionist like that.
5. Where do you work?
I work on the floor in my living room at home – it’s not very professional but it works OK for me!
6. What would be your dream project?
It’s hard to say – I’d love to create a really big, intricate piece using the most expensive supplies I could – really go OTT!
7. What is the most challenging piece you’ve ever made?
I made a necklace using a vintage chandelier drop and loads of twisted vintage chains – getting everything to hang just right took ages! I priced it at £60 with that in mind and one of my regular customers snapped it up, so it just goes to show that people do appreciate the work that goes into handmade items.
8. What is your favourite thing to do when you are not crafting/working?
I love riding my horse, Meg. She’s half thoroughbred, a real classic small English hunter and she’s so clever. I’m teaching her flying changes at the moment. We do dressage and showing and even though she’s 18 (which is quite old for a horse), in her head she’s only six – she’s always so eager to be doing stuff. I’ve also just started writing a novel, whether or not I manage to finish it is a different matter of course!
9. Who are some of your favourite crafters/artists/designers?
I love what John Galliano does at Dior and with his own collection – he’s so constantly inventive and I have pictures of his Marie Antoinette inspired collections pinned up at home to inspire me. There are also lots of amazing people on Folksy – I love Owl On The Sill’s jewellery, Hide and Seek’s designs and Midsummer Stitches cute vintage fabric birds… the list could go on and on!
10. What inspires you / where do you get your inspiration when you are designing/creating your products?
A lot of the time the vintage item I’m working with suggests a design itself. So a brooch might look great as part of a necklace combined with some vintage ribbon, or as part of a bracelet with chains and semi-precious stones. It’s a very organic process. I’m inspired at the moment by lots of very romantic things – ballet dancers, Marie Antoinette, fairytales etc, but always with a bit of a tough girl edge.
11. What are your favourite blogs and what online site do you visit a lot?
I’m a bit obsessed with Widget’s Year: Diary of a Sock Bunny – the pictures are so cute and funny it cheers me up even on the greyest days. I also spend far too long on Twitter (@made_with_love) – at first I didn’t really see the point but now I’m hooked.
12. Where do you source your materials/supplies?
Findings I buy online, for convenience as much as price. But the vintage pieces I use are sourced from flea markets, jumble sales, car boots, charity shops – if there’s a shop with a dusty window, I’m in there straight away! Being able to handle pieces minimises the chances of being fobbed off with imitation vintage rather than the real thing.
13. How do you balance your day job [if you have one] and your crafting enterprise?
Well I’m an arts journalist so actually it helps – firstly because it means I know how to write which is great when it comes to putting together press releases and trying to get my items featured. And secondly because I’m exposed to beautiful things all day every day – whether that’s a cool press shot of a rock star (the Bat For Lashes ones in particular are always amazing), advance info about an art exhibition or the programme for a gorgeous-looking theatre production. Being surrounded by creative people keeps your brain in that mode – I’m not slogging away doing something tedious. That means that when I get home I’m in the mood to be doing stuff, not heading for the wine after a bad day.
14. If you could have any super power what would it be?
The ability to stretch time – there just aren’t enough hours in the day!
15. What is the last book that you read and enjoyed?
At the moment I’m devouring the James Bond books. I’m having a real 1950s moment – they’re so glamorous and brutal.
16. What is the last film you watched and enjoyed?
I fell asleep halfway through Flame & Citron the other night. It was very late and I was gutted because the first half at least is absolutely brilliant – a properly stylish WW2 thriller.
17. If you won a million on the lottery tomorrow what would you do with the money?
A million probably wouldn’t actually be enough (greedy moi), but I’d buy my own dressage yard so I could buy a couple more horses, spend my days riding and the rest of the time building up my business. I’d like a little shop of my own too (well, a shop-slash-tea room-slash art gallery actually) so I’d probably invest some of it in that.
18. Where can we find your products for sale or see you products online?
I have a Folksy shop and I’m also just about to properly launch my own website.
19. Any advice for other crafters out there who may want to start their own business?
Just dive right in – I think if you think about it too much you’ll scare yourself. I just made it up as I went along and everything seems to be turning out great!
20. What is your favourite recipe – savoury or sweet – care to share it?
Tapas-style chorizo in red wine is great, you just cook the chorizo sausage in a bottle of red, leave it for 12 hours or overnight then fry it up and serve with crusty bread and salad. Everyone loves it and because you do most of the preparation the night before it’s great for when you have friends round. I also made some syllabub which I accidentally overwhipped and it went heavy – I used it as topping on butterfly fairy cakes and it tasted fantastic, so that’s a mistake I definitely will be repeating.
Many thanks Kat for taking the time to answer all my questions.
All photographs taken with kind permission from Kat’s online shops/blogs.
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Do you want to get featured on this blog? ‘Milomade 20 Questions’ is going to be a regular spot on my blog which will showcase other crafters/designers/artists who work predominantly with recycled, upcycled and reused materials. If you are interested in getting featured then please get in touch.
