From Corporate to Craft
My name is Julia and I am a mother to a beautiful two-year-old girl called Elizabeth. Up to the point of having Elizabeth I worked in a very driven corporate environment and didn’t’ had any time to explore my creative side.
However with the birth of my daughter I decided to become a stay at home mum, which gave me the freedom to dabble into all of the creative mediums that appealed to me for so long. I had all this time on my hands and after working most of my adult life, watching Peppa Pig all day didn’t sit well with me – I just had to get stuck into something!
I came across eco friendly wool felt at an crafts fair and fell in love with the feeling of warmth and earthiness that came from it. It really did feel different to the mass produced felt that you will get from you main crafts store. I experimented with it for a while and finally found that making accessories for babies and children is was I really love doing, particularly headbands.
There is also another reason behind it; I was lucky enough and Elizabeth had a full head of hair at the age of one, but all babies are different and mothers get really frustrated and annoyed when asked if she is a boy! I really wanted to create something that was soft and almost weightless, yet elegant and cute. What mother doesn’t enjoy dressing her little girl up?
And this is how Mixie Pixie (www.mixiepixie.co.uk) came about, it is not just online shop for accessories, it’s a lifestyle boutique dedicated to offering unique, handcrafted accessories for babies and young children (with a few things thrown in for us too).
My process begins receiving a general order and then taking to that personalised level, determining the desired design and colour scheme. Once the felt arrives, I spend about two evenings cutting it (I am a mother after all). Each flower and peace is cut and put together (there can be thousands of pieces). Once the arrangement has taken shape, I photograph them and ship them off to their new home. I always ask my customers to send in photos of their children or them wearing my creations and have an entire album on my Facebook page dedicated to them – it’s always unbelievably touching to see smiling – happy customers.
I now work with a number of different photographers that use my creations as photo props and the satisfaction of seeing a final image of a new-born baby wearing my headband is unbelievable.
Also, as a parent myself, I understand how important it is to provide safe, practical products that will be enjoyed, loved and treasured by the little people they are intended for. The constantly evolving selection of accessories and essentials are sourced with organic, ethical and sustainable production methods in mind wherever possible, avoiding anything that has been cheaply produced with nasty chemicals, plastics or harmful dyes.
Wool felt is not what I work with the most and really love, however I also make bespoke stone earrings which happened to be a massive hit and sold out completely in the first 24 hours.
I am a very active and sociable person and having Elizabeth has increased my need to find like-minded mothers that I can share the joy of motherhood with. A year ago I created a Facebook social group for Russian Speaking Mothers in London, which now has over 2700 active members. On regular bases I organise outings for mother and children, fairs where mothers that are looking to share their hobby can sell their goods and also get inspired, as well as nearly new sales, seminars and many more.
I believe it is really important to love what you do. I cherish each order and every peace that leaves my hands. My accessories serve the purpose of helping preserve memories, and I love that! I really hope that my little story will inspire mothers out there that it is possible to combine motherhood and do something you really enjoy!
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