Cheekyhandmades stands for believing that everyone is creative, everyone can sew, and everyone will walk away from their class with something they are proud of!
Hi, my name is Jennie! I set up Cheekyhandmades back in 2010. I really wanted to use all my creative skills, skills I’d had for many years but never had time to use any more, and skills I realised I could and wanted to pass on. And I am doing all of that now, and am loving it. I get to be surrounded by fabulous people, great fabrics, my kids, now also my granddaughter Vivienne, and cats, and listen to music all day.
When I first began teaching it was out of necessity, a way of making enough money to pay the mortgage. Teaching seemed a good stop gap. I presumed I would have taught everyone in Walthamstow in 6 months and then I would need to get a ‘proper’ job. How wrong I was! That was in 2010 and I’ve never looked back. I had a sewing studio purpose built in 2016 and now we have space to spread out in a peaceful setting in my beautiful garden. And I was really fortunate to publish my book ‘In Stitches: Sewing With Confidence and Creativity’ in 2017, with a 2nd edition out in 2022.
I’ve grown as a teacher and as a person too. My students often teach me as well as me teaching them. They may not realise this happens. It can be as simple as a new composition with my fabrics, colour combos I had not thought off. Or it may be they tell me about their work and their lives and that teaches me things. Or sometimes my reaction to people teaches me a lot! I may have an instant like for someone and I try work out why. Sometimes students become friends. Sometimes (extremely rarely) people jar with me and that is just as interesting when I try to work out why!
I love empowering people to express themselves creatively. It makes me really happy to hear that someone feels they have learnt this amazing new skill which will unlock all kinds of new things in their life. Sewing is not just about practical skills – although of course it is an extremely useful skill to have and I believe everyone needs to be able to operate a sewing machine and sew on a button or put a hem back in!
Sewing is however so much more. It is a means to being creative, to making something for yourself or as a present, as art, or as something useful. Being able to think of a garment and then knowing how to create it or knowing how to follow a pattern or knowing how to make a fancy dress costume for your child… Priceless. It is empowering and fun and makes you happy.
Talking of happy, sewing is amazing as a therapy too. It won’t cure your depression but it can certainly help you feel better. If nothing else if you immerse yourself in something creative you will feel a sense of achievement and it will have taken your mind off your worries for a while. I have crafted my way through some major crises in my life and nowadays I feel very odd and a bit twitchy if I cannot sew or knit or crochet for a few days.
Since starting Cheekyhandmades it’s incredible to see how the focus for slow fashion, re-use and repair, and mindful crafting have come to the fore! The brand may be bigger, but the ethos of having fun whilst learning remains.
Cheekyhandmades stands for believing that everyone is creative, everyone can sew, and everyone will walk away from their class with something they are proud of!
I have a few amazing people in the Cheekyhandmades team now too!
Cloud
Cloud teaches most of the sewing the classes for kids (8+). Cloud is a Queer multidisciplinary creative working from London in community organisation regarding climate emergency. Their history as professional tailor provided unique insight into human-object relationships whilst undertaking Critical Practice for Fashion Media and Communications at London College of Fashion for their undergraduate study. The culmination of their BA research is in Scavenger-Crafting as an actionable methodology for forging relationship-oriented modes of living within a dying planet. Their work activating this field branches broadly, seeping into as many access points as possible, including performance art, academic text, primary school teaching, Queer event organisation, poetry, film and Drag.
Amy
Amy is my sidekick for quilt repairs. She is a superbly talented puppet maker, sewist and problem solver. I am still blown away by her work and skills. Amy has 20 years experience as a puppeteer and puppet maker. She loves to sew! She just isn’r fond of having her photo taken!
And she is a gorgeous human too, as are all of my team!
Suzie
Suzie is a Milliner and seamstress based in East London. Having worked with private clients and within Film and TV under her Millinery label, Suzie Smith Millinery, in 2020 she founded Make do and Wonder where she specialises in clothing repair and using waste textile to create new clothing.
Her workshops and classes share her skills as an upcycler and textile restorer with a view to encouraging others to buy less, mend more and create your own unique apparel.
Suzie is now teaching upcycling classes to adults and kids in my studio, whoop! I have known Suzie for many many years and am so pleased she is now on the team 🙂