Sewing our way to SUCCESS

Two women share their story of turning their favourite hobby into a business

- RUTH ADDICOTT

‘I finally found the courage to do what I love’

Gillian Redin, 63, is the founder of Lovingabag, and lives in Loughton, Essex.

I’ve always loved sewing, but I never had the confidence to do it full-time. My nana Rose taught me how to crochet when I was 10, and I made a blanket that I’ve still got today.

After leaving school, I qualified as a hairdresser and then worked as a teaching assistant for 18 years – if there was anything arty going on, I was always in the thick of it. When COVID-19 struck, I had to shield for medical reasons.

Although I was clinically vulnerable, I’m not one to give in. When I saw a post on Facebook calling on people to donate scrubs bags to the local hospital, I thought, I can do that! I put a post out asking friends and family if they had any old duvet covers and pillow cases, and I was inundated. Within a couple of days, the house was full of fabric. I washed every piece and set myself a goal of 100 bags. The nurses at the hospital were over the moon.

I then joined a national network of volunteers sewing scrubs for NHS workers. By the time I finished, I was flagging. The pressure of lockdown was starting to get to me. I knew someone who had died of COVID-19. The school had reopened and I was anxious about going back.

Then one afternoon, the doorbell went. It was my friend Sue. ‘Why don’t you have a go at making tote bags?’ she said. We’d been friends for over 30 years, Sue loved making things and had brought around some fabric. ‘You could use the material left over from the duvet covers to line them,’ she said encouragingly.