I was really excited to sit down with Hayley Barker from Truly Dotty over coffee and cake to find out a bit more about bunting, being amazingly creative and the highs and lows of self-employment.
Hayley lives in a Suffolk village with her husband Brett and two girls Mia (14) and Tegan (12). Having always made soft furnishings for her own home, family and friends, a year ago Hayley finally took the plunge and started Truly Dotty. Which is lucky for us, as it means we now get to have her lovely designs in our homes as well.
Having always been a slightly envious of anyone who can take just a few simple items and turn them into something beautiful I jumped at the chance to have a chat with Hayley and see where she gets her inspiration from.
Q. What made you decide to set up Truly Dotty?
A. I’ve always really enjoyed sewing and creating beautiful pieces for not only my home, but friends and family. My girls were getting older and I was ready for a new challenge. It seemed like an ideal opportunity to start my own business.
Q. Where do you get your ideas from?
A. I get my ideas from my surroundings. Even the smallest of items can inspire me. I love looking through magazines and can spend hours looking for the right fabric.
I really enjoyed designing the range for Little Tiger Gifts and I knew it was important to make items that appealed to both parents and children. Hopefully I have succeeded.
Q. All your items can be personalised by Hand Applique. Can you just explain what that actually means?
A. Quite simply, Applique is a crafting technique in which small pieces of fabric are sewn onto a larger piece of fabric. This can either be done on a sewing machine or by hand and it’s this method that I use to personalise my orders.
Q. What are the challenges of being self-employed?
A. Although compared to a lot of new businesses the start-up cost were relatively low, it was still scary spending money and not knowing if I’d make it back.
It’s also been a challenge getting my products out there. Crafts fairs have been good initially and now appearing on the Little Tiger Gifts website has meant that I can reach a much wider market.
Q. What are the benefits of being self-employed?
A. I definitely feel a real sense of achievement from turning my hobby into a business. My customers are lovely and so complimentary about the items I make for them.
I’m always a little surprised at how much creative freedom they are willing to give me with custom orders. Some have quite a detailed brief whilst others will just tell me the colour and leave the rest up to me. It’s really flattering that they trust me so much although it can be a little nerve racking when I hand their order over. So far I’ve only had happy customers.
Q. Finally what’s next for Truly Dotty?
A. I’ve been really pleased with how things have gone but over the next year I would like to build the business up via the website and try to engage more on social media.
I have started to get repeat orders from previous customers and so to build on that would also be great.
It’s definitely important to keep up with new trends and I currently have two new bag designs to promote plus a very busy summer of craft fairs.
I would like to thank Hayley for taking the time to talk to me and I’m looking forward to seeing these new bags!
